U.S. News Unveils 7th Annual Best Diets Ranking

Face it – you ate horribly over the holidays. Between that second batch of Christmas cookies or those few extra latkes, you blew it. Enter U.S. News' latest Best Diets rankings, here to help in these trying times.

U.S. News' Best Diets 2017, released Wednesday, once again crowned the DASH diet the Best Diet Overall. The plan, created by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to fight high blood pressure, is effective for weight loss, too. It emphasizes more of the foods you've always been told to eat (fruits, veggies, whole grains and lean protein) while shunning the fatty, salty foods you know are bad for you.

This year's rankings highlight 38 diets spanning nine different categories, including Best Weight-Loss Diets, Best Fast Weight-Loss Diets, Easiest Diets to Follow, Best Commercial Diets, Best Diets for Healthy Eating and Best Plant-Based Diets.

The Mediterranean diet jumped from fourth place overall in 2016 to the No. 2 spot in 2017, while the trendy but restrictive Whole30 diet came in last place. ("Sodium content is off the hook, a reliable calcium source is lacking and there’s far too much cholesterol," said one U.S. News expert panelist.)

Diets are scored by a panel of experts, including nutritionists, dietary consultants and physicians focused on diabetes, heart health and weight loss. They assign each diet a score of 1 to 5 in a slew of categories, including how safe and nutritious it is, and how likely it is to lead to short-term and long-term weight loss.

In addition to the rankings, readers can browse advice on the "body positive" movement, how to make a diet more sustainable and how to mentally prepare to start a diet.

"By profiling diverse diets, this important, annual report can help reaffirm the fundamentals of better eating for all, while empowering people to make well-informed, personalized choices," expert panelist Dr. David Katz, the director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, said in a news release. "The 'best' diet, like the best exercise, is the one you actually manage to practice and maintain."