There’s No Such Thing As the ‘Best’ Diet

US News again compiled a rating of all dietswith a revolutionary result:…they all eat food differently. Their website provides a good comparison of the pros and cons of different diets, but the whole concept of declaring one diet to be better than another is broken in the first place.

The very idea of ​​something being “better” suggests that every thing competes with others and that those at the top of the list are better than those at the bottom. (US News reports that they rating diets and nothing more rating them – but, sorry, when you make a list with the “best” items at the top, that’s the ranking. And this feeds the misconception that you just need to find the right diet, the “best” diet, to solve what you perceive to be your weight loss problems or health problems.

Why “best diet” lists are nonsense

Before you even start ranking (sorry, rating) “best,” it begs the question of what a “diet” actually is. Diets on US news lists are a bizarre mix. Some are vague approaches to eating, such as the “flexitarian diet,” which simply refers to the concept of eating meat infrequently. Some are commercial products designed to help people lose weight, such as the subscription app Noom or the multi-level marketing product Optavia. Some are diets designed to treat medical conditions, such as the low FODMAP diet. Combining these disparate items into one line doesn’t really help anyone.

And while I appreciate that US News has stopped including extreme diets like the Master Cleanse, this year’s list includes the “BRAT Diet,” which is not a competitor to any of the above (nor is it a marketing vehicle for Charli XCX). This is a mnemonic for four foods—bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast—that are considered bland enough not to cause nausea in patients suffering from gastrointestinal diseases. Limiting Patients to These Four Foods not even recommended by medical professionals anymoreSo it’s surprising that US News decided to feature it as a “new” diet on their list this year.

How to Actually Choose the Right Diet

First, if you want to lose weightadmit it All weight loss diets work the same way: they allow you to consume fewer calories than you burn.. The “best” diet for this is the one that is easiest for you to stick to, as long as it still provides you with a reasonable amount of protein, vegetables, fats and micronutrients such as vitamins.

Some people do great on the keto diet; some find intermittent fasting convenient; some prefer to eat low-fat and vegan foods. It doesn’t really matter as long as your calorie deficit isn’t too big and you’re not depriving yourself of important nutrients like fiber, vitamins, or protein.

Whether you are trying to change your body weight or not, basics of healthy eating pretty simple: lots of fruits and vegetables, enough protein, not too much sugar. If you have specific health concerns that you have discussed with your doctor, be sure to consider them. (For example, “diet” DASH is a list of recommendations you can follow if you need to lower your blood pressure. Among other things, this involves eating less sodium and more potassium.) If you’re willing to pay for help, you’ll be better off. nutritionist consultation than buying the latest expensive weight loss product.

So, do you want to eat healthier, lose weight, or improve your health? Find an approach to eating that fits your goals and that you can stick to. If you need some structure, you can buy a book that has recipes and a fancy name for the diet. The best diet Mediterranean dietThis is fine. But the paleo diet, ranked 23rd (sorry, in the rankings), despite its silly premise—that cavemen made a lot of fake pizzas out of almond flour and coconut oil, if I remember correctly—can do just as good a job.