The American Heart Association did a ranking of the 10 most popular diets for heart health and found that the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension or DASH diet was ranked No. 1 with a score of 100.
It’s a diet that prioritizes vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and low-fat dairy, and it’s supported by doctors, clinicians and nutritionists.
Also, it encourages “people to limit certain things like really salty foods, or fatty meats or foods that are rich in sugar, like soft drinks,” Washington Post health columnist Anahad O’Connor told WTOP.
He added that the DASH diet is great because it’s adaptable and not extremely restrictive.
“You can adopt it based on your personal or cultural preferences. It’s also not super expensive. It’s affordable,” O’Connor said.
According to the report, a Mediterranean style diet was ranked No. 2 while the paleo and keto diets were ranked the two worst because they tend to restrict a lot of heart healthy foods.
Even though nutrition and health experts say that the healthiest diets may not be the sexiest diets, O’Connor said, “They’re the diets that have been proven and shown to work in studies for improvements in your cardiovascular health, for lowering your risk of chronic diseases and obesity and the greatest chances at longevity.”
Here is a list of the 10 most popular diets ranked by to the American Heart Association:
- DASH style
- Mediterranean style
- Vegetarian-style/Pescatarian
- Vegetarian-style/Ovo/Lacto
- Vegetarian-style/Vegan
- Low-fat
- Low-carbohydrate
- Paleolithic
- Ketogenic
The American Heart Association said that these findings suggest “dietary research and interventions to promote health equity, recognizing the importance of social determinants of health in shaping dietary patterns.”