In the new best diet report by U.S. News & World Report, the DASH diet won top ranking (4.9 stars) for both heart health and blood pressure control.
Take the “menopause diet,” which earned 4.6 stars from the report’s judges.
For fatty liver disease, inflammation and overall gut health, the Mediterranean diet received four-plus star ratings, according to the report.
For diverticulitis, a disease in which large bulging pouches in the large intestine and colon create significant pain, judges gave the Mediterranean diet a 3.7 rating.
“For fatty liver and gallbladder disease, we do recommend low-fat diets, and the Mediterranean diet, as a diet with leaner meats and healthier fats, has been shown to be beneficial,” Luévano said.
NEW YORK — The Mediterranean diet that has won awards has taken home the 2025 “best of the best” award from U.S. S. Every year, News and World Report publishes a list of the diets that nutrition experts believe to be the most and least beneficial.
Since 2019, the Mediterranean diet—more of a lifestyle than a diet—has taken first place for its emphasis on eating fruits, vegetables, grains, olive oil, nuts, and seeds, as well as stressing the value of shared meals with loved ones and regular exercise. The diet also discourages eating too many sweets and suggests consuming small amounts of dairy and meat, particularly red meat. However, fish—particularly fatty fish like sardines—is a staple food.
Diets have been ranked from No in previous years. One to none. 40 or so, with the diet at the top receiving the “gold medal,” as it were, and the judges excluding diets at the bottom of the list from any consideration for the award podium.
Gretel Schueller, managing editor of health for U.S., stated, “There would be this long list of diets with a whole bunch at the bottom, which, frankly, no one should be really paying attention to for the most part.”. S. . The organization in charge of the yearly diet rankings is News & World Report.
Comparable to the customer rating systems on many commercial platforms like Amazon, this year’s best diet report adopts a different strategy by asking nutritional judges to assign diets a rating of up to five stars.
“Almost every product or item you’re looking at these days seems to get rated on a five-star scale,” Schueller stated. “We think that this new strategy gives people more options and a more customized experience as they think about their eating objectives and health priorities. “.”.
According to this new system, the three diets—Mediterranean, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, and flexitarian—were rated four or higher stars for being the best diets overall, the best diets for eating healthily, and the easiest to follow.
In order to lower blood pressure, the DASH diet places a strong emphasis on limiting salt intake, whereas the flexitarian diet, as its name suggests, permits the occasional indulgence in meat or poultry as part of its vegetarian philosophy. Each of these plant-based diets recommends avoiding red meat, processed foods, and added sugars.
arranging diets according to medical conditions.
New diet rankings for fatty liver disease, diverticulitis, arthritis, and irritable bowel syndrome, as well as for menopause and other life stages, have also been added to the 2025 report.
Since the DASH diet is completely in line with the American Heart Association’s recommendations for heart-healthy eating, it is ranked as the best diet for heart health by the organization. According to the latest U.S. S. . According to News & World Report, the DASH diet received the highest rating (4 out of 9) for blood pressure control and heart health.
Other professional medical organizations, on the other hand, advocate for a more individualized approach and do not advocate for particular diets. The “menopause diet,” for example, received 4 out of 6 stars from the report’s judges.
“There is no such thing as a’menopause diet’ — the only diet that has been shown to help with hot flashes is a whole food, plant-based diet low in oil and high in soy,” stated Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for the Menopause Society and director of the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Women’s Health in Jacksonville, Florida.
Faubion disagreed with U, even though she supported some of the menopause diet’s suggestions, such as avoiding meals right before bed. S. criticism of Nutrisystem’s for-profit menopause diet in News & World Report.
“As a scientist and a menopause physician, I personally would not advise my patients to rely on a paid diet for menopause,” Faubion wrote in an email. It depends on someone putting it in front of them, which is unsustainable, and doesn’t help people understand what they should be doing in the long run. “.”.
Talk to your physician about diets.
The report’s new diet categories focused largely on digestive health and diets that promise to lower inflammation in conditions like gout and arthritis.
Jill Tyrer, an editor with the Arthritis Foundation, emailed CNN to say, “There is no single diet for arthritis or for gout.”. “Plant-based diets, such as the Mediterranean and DASH diets, that are low in processed foods, sugar, unhealthy fats, and salt are the best options to help manage these diseases.”.
“But the majority of people with inflammatory, autoimmune forms of arthritis and many with gout need to take medication to slow or stop the progression of their disease,” she said.
The U should not be used by people who have digestive problems. A. According to Dr. Dot Jesús Luévano Jr., they use News & World Report rankings to make dietary decisions without first consulting their attending physician. works as an assistant professor of gastroenterology at Atlanta’s Morehouse School of Medicine.
Luévano, a spokesperson for the American Gastroenterological Association, expressed concern that people might view these rankings as the ultimate guide because they were created by nutrition experts. As a result, they might not have fruitful discussions with their doctors, who can help them focus on the foods that are best for them.
In order to determine the best course of action for your particular problem, he advised, “you must complete the homework, such as maintaining a food journal of what you’re eating, and then consult your physician.”.
The report rated the Mediterranean diet four or higher stars for inflammation, fatty liver disease, and general gut health. Judges rated the Mediterranean diet a 3 out of 7 for diverticulitis, a condition in which major pain is caused by large, protruding pouches in the colon and large intestine.
“We do advise low-fat diets for fatty liver and gallbladder disease, and the Mediterranean diet, which consists of leaner meats and healthier fats, has been shown to be beneficial,” Luévano stated.
Judges awarded the low-FODMAPS diet 4 out of 8 stars for irritable bowel syndrome. This diet, which was created in Australia, focuses on cutting back on foods and carbohydrates that ferment and produce excess water in the intestines, which can lead to diarrhea, cramping, and pain.
Foods that ferment, oligosaccharides (chains of sugar molecules), disaccharides (lactose), monosaccharides (fructose), and polyols (sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol and erythritol) are all included in the acronym FODMAP.
According to Luévano, “because there are so many subtypes of (irritable bowel syndrome), that is probably the best example of where diet really should be individualized for each patient.”. “A patient might miss out on common fruits like apples and pears as well as some grains that might be beneficial if they attempted to avoid every single item on the most comprehensive FODMAP list.
Since each patient has specific food triggers, “careful discussion with their physician and a nutritionist is necessary,” he continued. “If we take this one out, will it actually help you with your symptoms?”.
