Which Diet is the Healthiest? The Diet Hierarchy
Felix Weber
2026-03-23
4 min. read
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In the beginning of 2021, the U.S. News Portal published a hierarchy of diets. Altogether 39 of the most popular eating habits were examined by a group of specialists. The Mediterranean diet came in first place. This was no surprise, as this diet had dominated the hierarchy for several previous years. Also on the podium were the DASH diet and the flexitarian diet, which came in second place ex aequo. It is worth noting that some diets were at the bottom of the hierarchy, and the reasons for this lie in many questionable assumptions.
How the assessment was created
In the course of the ranking creation, 39 of the most popular diets were evaluated. These evaluations were conducted by experts in the field of nutrition, nutritional psychology, as well as specialists in the treatment of diabetes and heart disease. The evaluations covered several categories, including: ease of adherence, effectiveness in short- and long-term weight loss, nutritional completeness (or whether the diet provides all necessary nutrients in adequate quantities), safety, and potential for prevention and treatment of heart disease and diabetes. Each category was rated on a scale of 1 to 5. Based on these evaluations, rankings were created. One of them pertains to the best diet in the context of healthy eating. During its creation, nutritional completeness and safety were taken into account, with the safety rating being doubled. It was also noted that a healthy diet should provide an adequate amount of calories and should not significantly restrict the intake of nutrients or entire food groups.
The most recent guidelines on nutrition
In 2020, the most up-to-date nutritional guidelines were established for the population of Poland, which define the required amount of energy and nutrients necessary to meet the nutritional needs of almost all healthy individuals in a given population. Adherence to these guidelines guarantees protection from diseases caused by nutrient deficiency (e.g. osteoporosis, anemia), as well as from excessive intake (e.g. obesity, hypertension, hypervitaminosis).
Recommended daily dose of nutrients for adults
Female: about 2000 kcal, Male: about 2600 kcal (31–50 years, moderate physical activity).
Ketosis-based diet
The diet that occupies 39th place in the ranking, the ketogenic diet, entails a significant reduction in the intake of carbohydrates and energy provision mainly from fat. Such a dietary approach induces the body into a state of ketosis, during which the body breaks down fats from both dietary sources and fat tissue, leading to rapid weight loss. For this reason, the ketogenic diet takes 4th place in the ranking of diets, in terms of effectiveness in rapid weight loss. However, it is important to note that in the ranking of diets that considers long-term effects of weight loss, this diet drops to 15th place. The classical version of the ketogenic diet, which is used in medicine, for example, in the treatment of chemotherapy-resistant epilepsy in children, assumes that 90% of calories come from fat, 6% from protein, and only 4% from carbohydrates. A modified version of the diet is somewhat less restrictive, but the proportions of macronutrients deviate significantly from the recommended ones. The ketogenic diet is primarily based on fatty meats, bacon, fatty fish, dairy products, eggs, plant oils, avocado, nuts, seeds, and vegetables with low sugar content.
The high-protein Duncan Diet
The Duncan Diet, which is second to last on the list, is a high-protein diet that involves high protein intake while limiting carbohydrate and fat intake. The diet consists of four phases: phase I (seizure) lasts from 1 to 10 days, with a high protein intake while limiting carbohydrate and fat intake, phase II (alternate) is the longest, lasting from the start of phase I until the desired weight is reached, with mainly protein-rich products being consumed, and occasional intake of vegetables, phase III (consolidation) allows for small amounts of fruits, bread, and starchy products to be consumed, but the basis of the diet remains protein-rich products, phase IV (stabilization) involves a return to a normal diet, but with the requirement to consume protein-rich products for one day a week.
The plant-based diet, also known as the raw diet
The plant-based diet ranked 36th in the diet rankings. In its most restrictive form, it is a vegan diet that prohibits heating products above 40-48°C. Individuals following the plant-based diet believe that heating destroys enzymes and mineral components in products and contributes to global warming. The diet includes fresh and dried fruits, raw vegetables, pressed juices, nuts and seeds, cold-pressed oils, and fermented products such as kimchi and pickled vegetables. Cooked, baked, and processed products are avoided.
