“No single diet is the best for all of us,” writes David Katz, one of the panelists, in a release about the new rankings. “Ultimately, a ‘best’ diet is one that can be adopted, managed and sustained over time,” says Katz, who directs the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center.
Two diets are new to the list this year. The Ketogenic (or “Keto”) Diet is a very low-carb, high-fat approach to weight loss. It’s not a new idea. It’s been used as an approach to prevent seizures in children with epilepsy for decades.
As the Harvard Health Blog explains, once our bodies have used up all the sugars we’ve consumed, our bodies can switch over to using stored fat as a source of energy — which can aid weight loss. This usually happens “over two to four days of eating fewer than 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day,” explains Dr. Marcelo Campos in a Harvard Health Blog post.
Despite its popularity, the Keto Diet comes in last place in the U.S. News ranking. “Our experts agree the low-carb plan isn’t a healthy way to lose weight. It can be extreme — and hard to stick to,” says Haupt of U.S. News.
Haupt says the experts say the Keto Diet is not a good option for preventing or controlling diabetes or heart disease and could be dangerous for people with severe diabetes, heart disease or kidney problems. “You might lose weight in the short-term, but that doesn’t mean Keto is a good (or safe or healthy) idea,” Haupt says.
The other diet new to the U.S. News ranking is the Nutritarian Diet, which is ranked No. 15 in the Best Diets Overall category. It was created by family physician Joel Fuhrman. The plant-centered diet emphasizes foods that are nutrient dense, such as kale and other leafy greens. Its emphasis is on avoiding disease-causing foods.
Copyright 2018 NPR.