The best diet has been a debate for decades, with fad diets coming and going. Of course, not all of the fad diets we see are the healthiest, or even healthy at all!

To combat misinformation surrounding diet fads, U.S. News partners with nutrition and health experts to rank the best diets each year.

This year, a panel of diet, nutrition, and health experts have reviewed and ranked 40 different popular diets, from healthiest to least healthy, and the results aren’t what some expected.

What’s the healthiest diet?

As it turns out, the Mediterranean diet ranked #1 for being the healthiest, with its emphasis on fruits, vegetables, and olive oil. This may not be too surprising, since the Mediterranean is one of the world’s “blue zones” where people live the longest.

Some of the other top diets include DASH, Flexitarian, and MIND.

Check out some of these plant-based Mediterranean diet-inspired recipes:

The least healthy diet…

However, some may be surprised to learn that the popular Ketogenic diet was ranked dead last. That’s right, it earned the title of being the least healthy diet of 2022.

According to the U.S. News report, “Experts ranked the diet near or at the bottom in every category, besides short-term weight loss.”

Some of the other diets at the bottoms of the list include the GAPS Diet, the Dukan Diet, and Whole30.

Where does veganism rank?

Out of the 40 diets, veganism ranked #17. The report noted, “Overall, veganism is good for diabetes and heart disease,” and cited its restrictive nature and lack of some key nutrients (like B12) as reasons for not being higher on the list.

It doesn’t have to be challenging to eat more whole foods and get plenty of protein on a vegan diet. With the right social support and proper supplementation, a plant-based vegan diet could be one of the best options out there!

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Unfortunately, dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer, and has many side effects. 

For those interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend purchasing one of our many plant-based cookbooks or downloading the Food Monster App which has thousands of delicious recipes making it the largest vegan recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some resources to get you started:

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