Mediterranean Diet Named Best Diet For 2022 Check It Out!

mediterranean diet

mediterranean diet

Updated on 4/21/2024
Martin AlvarezBy Martin Alvarez
Nutritionist/Dietitian Professional Guide
Learn More about Martin Alvarez

According to the rankings released by U.S. News & World Report on Monday, the Mediterranean Diet Named Best Diet For 2022, making it the gold medal for the fourth year in a row.

The Mediterranean diet stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertension. The DASH diet stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertension.

What is it that connects each of these eating plans together? They emphasize minimizing or removing the use of processed foods and place emphasis on the consumption of meals that are abundant in fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.

The Durkin and keto diets, which emphasize eating meals that are either rich in protein or high in fat while consuming very few carbs, came in dead last and second-to-last place, respectively, in the rankings of popular diets. Specialists often give these diets a negative rating due to the fact that they are very restricted, difficult to adhere to, and remove whole food categories, all of which are contrary to the recommendations made in dietary guidelines.

mediterranean diet

mediterranean diet

A panel of specialists analyzed research pertaining to the diets in the fields of heart disease and diabetes, nutrition, diet, and food psychology. The panel looked at research on the diets published in medical journals, government publications, and other sources.

“They take scores for each diet on a number of various measures: how easy it is for people to follow, how can it is to lead to long-term weight loss, how healthful and safe it is, and how can it help to prevent or manage chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease,” she said. "The easier it is to follow, the more likely it will lead to long-term weight loss, how healthy and safe it is, and how effective it is at preventing or managing chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

More Praise For The Health Benefits Of The Mediterranean Diet

mediterranean diet

mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet not only came out on top as the greatest overall eating plan, but it also came out on top as the best plant-based diet, according to a comparison of 39 different eating patterns. The Nordic diet, which encourages consuming foods that are low in glycemic index and are sourced locally, came in second place, followed by the Flexitarian diet, which grabbed third place.

Additionally, the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet, and the Ornish diet all tied for first place as the most honorable and heart-healthy diets. Dr. Dean Ornish, who also established the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in California, is the person responsible for developing the Ornish diet in the year 1977. Ornish asserts that the diet is the only method that has been demonstrated to successfully treat heart disease in a randomized clinical study without the use of pharmaceuticals or surgical procedures. However, specialists have pointed out that the diet is extremely restricted and difficult to stick to.

The Mediterranean diet and the Flexitarian diet shared first place as the best diet for people with diabetes. The Mediterranean diet, along with Weight Watchers and DASH, was also tied for the title of simplest diet to follow and the best diet for healthy eating.

It should not be surprising that the Mediterranean diet has received such high praise because it can lower the chances of developing diabetes, high cholesterol, dementia, memory loss, depression, and breast cancer. Foods from the sunny Mediterranean region can lead to stronger bones, a better heart, and an overall longer life.

mediterranean diet

mediterranean diet

The cooking on this diet is straightforward and plant-based; the fruits, vegetables, healthy grains, legumes, and seeds that make up the majority of each meal are complimented by a handful of nuts and a significant amount of extra virgin olive oil. For all except the most special occasions, you should avoid using processed sugar and wheat. Butter and other fats, such as olive oil, are not used in cooking very often, if at all.

The addition of meat to a meal is often reserved only for the purpose of enhancing its flavor. Instead, meals could consist of things like eggs, dairy products, and chicken, but in far lower quantities than the typical Western diet calls for. Fish, on the other hand, is a staple food.

In a previous interview with CNN, Rahaf Al Bochi, a registered dietitian in Atlanta who educates her clients about the Mediterranean diet, described it as "more than a diet; it's a lifestyle." "It's more than a diet, and it's a lifestyle," she added. "It also supports dining with friends and family, chatting over meals, thoughtfully eating your favorite foods, plus doing a mindful movement and exercise for a healthy lifestyle," it says. "Mindful eating may help you enjoy your favorite foods in a more present way."

The Most Effective Diet Overall For Weight Reduction

mediterranean diet

mediterranean diet

When considering a diet's performance in this area, the panel of experts gave equal weight to the diet's ability to promote weight reduction in both the short term and the long term. The well-known WW (Weight Watchers) program came in a close second place, tied with the Flexitarian eating plan.

According to the analysis of the Flexitarian Diet, "research shows vegetarians tend to eat fewer calories, weigh less, and have a lower body mass index (a measure of body fat) than their meat-eating peers," and "research shows vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index (a measure of body fat"). Suppose you put more of an emphasis on the plant-based component of this diet by eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In that case, it is possible that you will experience satiety while consuming fewer calories than you are accustomed to.

Support is an essential element that must include in any diet if it is to be effective, and Weight Watchers, which also took first place in the category for the best commercial diet, provides this. The strategy includes not just face-to-face gatherings but also optional one-on-one consultations as well as participation in an online community.

According to the findings of the study, “Programs like WW that give emotional support and group meetings led to better compliance than a do-it-yourself regimen,”

New Diets Assessed

mediterranean diet

mediterranean diet

According to Haupt, this year's rankings include:

  • The Autoimmune Protocol diet (AIP).
  • The Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet (GAPS).
  • The modified keto diet.
  • The Noom diet.

These four diets are new additions to the rankings.

According to Haupt, “Out of all of these, Noom had the best performance; it came in at No. 12 overall, which is excellent for a rookie.”

Room is an app that allows users to keep track of their daily weight, as well as their meals, snacks, and exercise activities. Noom recommends consuming meals with a "low caloric density," which means they are heavy in the water yet have a low number of calories relative to their volume.

In a manner analogous to that of WW, Noom offers support groups in which dieters can "assist one other with anything from how to limit distracted snacking to how to make plain old water more pleasurable," according to Haupt.

The traditional ketogenic diet is more stringent in its requirements than its offspring, the modified keto diet, often known as keto 2.0. According to the report, people who follow the modified keto diet get about 82 percent of their daily calories from fat, compared to 90 percent of their daily calories from the fat on the traditional keto diet, 12 percent of their calories from protein, instead of 6 percent, and 6 percent of their calories from carbohydrates, instead of 4 percent.

mediterranean diet

mediterranean diet

The revised version of the keto diet, however, was not well received by nutritionists and ranked 35th out of 39 diets, which is just a tiny improvement over the old keto diet's score of 37.

Haupt said that even while Keto 2.0 "allows for little more wiggle space on what you consume, but experts claimed it is still much too tight," the diet is still far too rigorous.

The Autoimmune Protocol diet, which is often referred to as the Autoimmune Paleo diet, is a diet established to alleviate the symptoms of autoimmune illnesses and reduce inflammation. It asks individuals to abstain from foods for at least a month and then carefully assess their symptoms after reintroducing the offending meal. The diet has been referred to be restricted, and experts have suggested that further study is needed to prove that it offers any benefits.

People with a wide variety of health concerns are candidates for the Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet, sometimes known as GAPS for short. These include severe digestive and immune system difficulties, learning impairments, and major neurological diseases.

According to the World Report & U.S. News, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is the creator of the GAPS diet. She says that she "believes the food, drink, and products individuals consume play a fundamental effect in their brain function." The GAPS diet, along with the keto diet, is ranked quite low on the list of the best diets.

The Diet That Is Best For Rapid Weight Loss

mediterranean diet

mediterranean diet

Because tested the diets for only a period of two months, the rapid weight loss category is for the individual who wants to drop a few pounds for a particular event but does not have a lot of time. According to U.S. News & World Report, it is not intended to be suggested as a long-term diet or as a lifestyle choice in general.

The Health Management Resources Program, often known as HMR, came in the first position, followed by Weight Watchers and the Atkins Diet, which tied for second place.

The Healthy Meal Replacement (HMR) program is a weight reduction and lifestyle modification program aiming to minimize calorie intake by replacing meals with meal replacement shakes that contain additional fruits and vegetables. There are 70 servings of HMR shakes and dinners included in the starting package, as well as support materials, weekly group coaching, and free delivery. The set costs a little under $200.

The Atkins Diet was developed in 1972 by a cardiologist named Dr. Robert Atkins. It consists of four stages of meal planning, beginning with very few carbohydrates and gradually increasing the number of carbs consumed as the diet advances. However, the investigation discovered that "low-carb dieters may eat too much fat, causing health problems." As a result, the diet was ranked 33rd out of 39 diets.

mediterranean diet

mediterranean diet

A certified dietitian and CNN contributor, Lisa Drayer, is worried about any sort of diet that restricts food options excessively and is concerned about the impact of ready-to-eat meals, drinks, and snacks.

During a previous interview with CNN, she stated that "They're not necessarily teaching you how to eat healthfully on your own and how to make good choices," and she went on to say that she had seen this occur much too frequently with the individuals that she worked with.

According to Drayer, "They were so highly limited, and they didn't know how to include other things back into their diets in a fair way." "They didn't know how to mix other foods back into their diets in a decent way." It is really upsetting to learn that not only have they regained the weight that they had lost, but that they had even gained more weight than they had before they began.

Beginning a diet more typical of the Mediterranean region.

Do you plan on making adopting a Mediterranean diet one of your resolutions for this year? To begin, try to prepare at least one meal every week that includes beans, healthy grains, and veggies, and add some herbs and spices to kick it. When you get to the point throughout the week where preparing dinner for one night is a piece of cake, add another night to the mix, and then work backward to construct your meatless meals.

mediterranean diet

mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet places a significant emphasis on "ancient grains," which are grains that have altered little, if at all, over the course of several centuries. Some examples of ancient grains are quinoa, amaranth, millet, farro, spelled Kamut (a wheat grain reported to have been unearthed in an Egyptian tomb), and teff.

Eat just in moderation whenever you do want to consume meat. That translates to no more than three ounces of chicken or other lean cuts of meat for the main meal. To take it a step further, add flavor to a meal that is heavy on vegetables by adding chicken cubes or thin slices of lean meat to a dish like stir fry.

And ponder dessert. In many cultures in the Mediterranean region, the meal is finished off with a seasonal fruit dish.

If eating raw, fresh fruit becomes old for you, try some new preparations. Pears are cooked in pomegranate juice with a touch of honey, and the resulting sauce is reduced before being served on Greek yogurt. It may drizzle honey over grilled pineapple as well as other fruits. Create a sorbet using different fruits, including avocado, as it is technically a type of fruit. Fill a fig or a date with goat cheese, and then top it with a few different nuts. Make an apple crisp with brown rice or even a fruit pie using whole wheat flour.