WWB WATCH: New Year, New Diet? Read this First…The Best 2018 Diets are Ranked and the Top Two May Be the Wisest for All

Its a New Year and many of us are starting a new leaf and a new diet! An estimated 45 million Americans go on a diet each year, and Americans spend $33 billion each year on weight loss products. At World Wise Beauty, I have been sharing wisdom on healthy diets from experts and doctors from around the world. Much of what I gleaned from the experts over time about diet is essentially common sense. We bypass the fad diets here at World Wise Beauty and focus on living life well. I love to quote Marion Nestle, a well respected Nutritionist and author of many books like “What to Eat” and Food Politics.

 “Nutrition advice could not be easier to understand.
Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, balance calories
and don’t eat too much junk food.”
~Marion Nestle

Sounds fairly easy and pretty wise, but for many people, losing weight and keeping it off is challenging.  A lot of it has to do with our habits, our fast food culture, and lifestyle. We are all unique bio-individuals and for many complicated reasons we may have lost our way when it comes to healthy eating habits. We turn to diets to give us structure and regimen. Sometimes trendy diets sound appealing because they are so rigid and definitive. Unfortunately those same trendy diets eliminate entire food groups and this in itself is generally not healthy or wise. The good news is, the two diets that tied in first place overall as the best diets, are also the top two for those with conditions like Diabetes and Hypertension. What makes both the diets ranked highest superior to others, may be the flexibility they offer so many people. The Dash and Mediterranean Diet tied for the number one spot on the report produced by U.S News & World Report. “Here is a quick at a glance definition of the top 2 diets and you can find a complete Diet list from the report below this post.

#1 Diets 2018

DASH Diet: The DASH diet eating plan is a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, low fat or nonfat dairy. It also includes mostly whole grains; lean meats, fish and poultry; nuts and beans. It is high fiber and low to moderate in fat. It is a plan that follows US guidelines for sodium content, along with vitamins and minerals. In addition to lowering blood pressure, the DASH eating plan lowers cholesterol and makes it easy to lose weight. It is a healthy way of eating, designed to be flexible enough to meet the lifestyle and food preferences of most people. It can be considered to be an Americanized version of the Mediterranean diet, with a few more specific guidelines. It discourages refined and processed foods, which are mostly empty calories.

Mediterranean Diet is based on a diet shared by many regions along the the Mediterranean sea ( think countries like Greece, Italy, France, Turkey, Morocco, and Spain). Each of these regions eats differently, but they share many of the same principles. One of them is Olive Oil and it’s a very important example. You can learn more about the power of Olive oil in a Q&A I did with Dr. Simon Poole for the Healthy Epicurean department at World Wise Beauty . He is an internationally respected expert on the Mediterranean diet and also wrote a book called ‘The Olive Oil Diet’ which will be released this March in the U.S. The Mediterranean diet is full of veggies, beans, nuts legumes, whole grains, lots of spices, fish and seafood and moderate amounts of poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt. Oh and a little red wine to wash it all down!

Personally I’m a big fan of the Mediterranean Diet, because not only is it tasty, but I believe it is anchored to important cultural values that matter to people of all races. Valuing friends and family, living simple and sustainably are two major values paramount to a healthy society and culture. I like the 5 Basics the founder of “The Mediterranean Dish’ outlined here and you can also learn more about the Mediterranean Diet and mindset from Maria Benardis, author of ‘My Greek Family Table’.

Both Dr. Simon Poole and Maria Benardis shared their wisdom on the Mediterranean Diet at a recent Rise of Wise event in Princeton, NJ. Check out their inspiring talks below in video. We also featured three other high profile authors and experts in wellness culture. It was a wonderful day filled with wellness wisdom…

 Rise of Wise presents.mov

Whatever diet you select, it should be ideally one that works for your personal body and health condition, and it should be scientifically evidence based. There is no one perfect diet for everyone but there is a perfect diet for you. Get to know your body and genetic profile so you can make wise decisions for your personal wellness program. Weight loss is just one goal for a diet, but health, happiness and longevity are the important and valuable benefits of a good diet. Live, life well, and take time to enjoy your food!