U.S. News & World Report

Mediterranean diet wins top honors again in 2025

January 8, 2025

The Mediterranean diet has once again been recognized as the best overall diet by U.S. News & World Report, continuing its streak since 2019. This diet emphasizes the consumption of fruits, vegetables, grains, olive oil, nuts, and seeds, while reducing the intake of sweets and red meat. It also highlights the importance of family meals and daily exercise. This year, the ranking system was updated to a five-star rating scale, similar to consumer rating systems on commercial platforms, allowing for a more personalized approach to diet selection.

In addition to the Mediterranean diet, the DASH and flexitarian diets also received top ratings of 4-plus stars for being the best overall diets, the best healthy eating diets, and the easiest diets to follow. The DASH diet focuses on limiting salt intake to reduce blood pressure, while the flexitarian diet allows occasional indulgence in meat or poultry within a primarily vegetarian framework.1,2

The 2025 edition also expanded its categories to include 12 new ones focused on specific health and lifestyle needs, such as Best Diets for Arthritis, Brain Health & Cognition, and Menopause. Additionally, 13 new diets were evaluated this year, including the Acid Reflux Diet, AIP Diet, and Whole30 Diet. Evaluation methodology was developed in partnership with The Harris Poll and involved 69 expert panelists, including clinicians, registered dietitians, and nutritional epidemiologists.3

Sources:

1. LaMotte, S. (2025, January 3). CNN. 2025 best diet wins gold for wellness and disease prevention. https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/03/health/2025-best-diet-wellness/index.html

2. (2025, January 3). U.S. News & World Report. Best Diets 2025. https://health.usnews.com/best-diet

3. (2025, January 3). PR Newswire. U.S. News Releases the 2025 Edition of Best Diets. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-news-releases-the-2025-edition-of-best-diets-302341561.html