According to the 15th annual edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Diets, there are multiple effective diets that are backed by science. A shopper reaches for groceries at a Toronto grocery store on May 30, 2024.Chris Young/Canadian Press
This is the time of year when many of us decide to eat healthier to lose excess weight, manage a health condition, or stay healthy as we age.
According to the 15th annual edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Diets, there are multiple effective diets that are backed by science.
In this year’s report, 69 leading health experts, including nutritionists, doctors, and scientific researchers, evaluated 38 diets across 21 different categories.
Categories include Best Overall, Easy to Do, Weight Loss, Heart Health, Diabetes, Brain Health, Mental Health, Gut Health, Fatty Liver, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Arthritis, Menopause This includes the best diet.
Here are the top-rated diets of 2025.
How was the “best diet” for 2025 determined?
Each expert panelist evaluated 38 meals, rating each on a scale of 1 to 5.
In the Best Overall Diets category, diets were judged on nutritional completeness, health risks and benefits, long-term sustainability, and evidence-based effectiveness.
Panelists also considered the pros and cons of each diet, as well as the specific health goals it would be most effective at addressing.
In the other 20 categories, which focus on general lifestyle goals or the management, prevention, or treatment of specific health conditions, panelists were asked to choose the diet they would most recommend for each goal or health condition. I did.
The percentage of recommendations for each diet was converted into a 5-star rating.
Best “holistic” diets of 2025
The Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes whole plant-based foods every day, has been ranked #1 in this category for the eighth year in a row with a score of 4.8 (also the highest score in 11 other categories).
This gold standard eating pattern is not only the best diet for healthy eating, prevention of inflammation, gut health, mental health, prediabetes, diabetes, high cholesterol, arthritis, diverticulitis and fatty liver, but also the most practiced. It also received top honors in the easy-to-understand category.
The second best overall diet was the DASH diet (4.6). This dietary pattern has been proven to lower elevated blood pressure and is linked to many other health benefits. (DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.) Featured foods in the diet include fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products and beans, lentils, nuts and seeds.
The DASH diet also received top ratings for best diet for heart health and best diet for lowering blood pressure.
The Flexitarian Diet received a score of 4.5 and took third place as the best overall diet. Also known as a semi-vegetarian diet, this diet mostly includes a plant-based diet, but occasionally also incorporates animal products. The flexitarian eating pattern also received the highest score in the Best Plant-Based Diet category.
In fourth place was the MIND diet (4.4), which is a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets, and also includes advice on consuming specific foods related to brain health. Unsurprisingly, the MIND diet also received a top score as the best diet for brain health and cognition.
“Best Diet” in other categories
As in 2024, Weight Watchers, the Mediterranean Diet, and Volumemetrics were ranked first, second, and third, respectively, as the top three diets for weight loss.
When it comes to menopause, the menopausal diet received the highest score of 4.6, followed by the Mediterranean (4.3), flexitarian (3.9), MIND (3.9), and DASH (3.8) diets.
There is no official “menopause diet”. According to US News, a menopause-friendly diet is “a whole-food, plant-first diet rich in fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seafood, eggs, lean meats, and healthy fats.” It is said that
The low FODMAP diet was the highest rated diet for IBS with a score of 4.8. FODMAP is an acronym for a type of short-chain carbohydrate that can cause bloating, flatulence, bloating, and abdominal discomfort when it enters the large intestine.
Diet is a diagnostic tool to reveal which carbohydrates cause gastrointestinal symptoms. It’s not a forever diet.
The highest-rated diets in each of the 21 categories emphasize whole plant foods. It also doesn’t restrict entire food groups or ban specific foods, so you’re more likely to: It can be followed long-term (low FODMAP diets are an exception).
When to seek individual advice
No one diet or eating pattern is optimal for everyone, no matter how highly acclaimed it is. When choosing a diet, it’s important to consider your lifestyle, cultural food preferences, and health status.
For example, depending on your IBS subtype, a low FODMAP diet may not provide symptom relief.
If your goal is to treat or manage a specific health condition, it can be helpful to consult your doctor or nutritionist to customize a dietary approach that works for you.
Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based dietitian in private practice, is Medcan’s Director of Food and Nutrition. Follow her on X @LeslieBeck
