The top-ranked diet may be one you've never heard of

The best diet as determined by U.S. News and World Reports is one you’ve probably never heard.  The publication, which regularly ranks best colleges, hospitals and cities, released its list of the best diets Tuesday.

The top diet is the DASH, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, which contains foods lower in sodium and centers on veggies, fruits and low-fat dairy.  It was developed by the National Institutes of Health and doesn’t have the marketing firepower that commercial diets with now-svelte celebrities have.  The DASH made it to the top of the list, because of its nutritional completeness and safety.

 Sample menus for the DASH eating plan

Following closely behind DASH was the Mediterranean diet, the TLC diet (diet to improve cholesterol levels), Weight Watchers diet and the Mayo Clinic diet (heart healthy diet).

A panel of health and nutrition experts ranked the diets according to seven categories: Short-term weight loss (the first 12 months), long-term weight loss (maintaining weight loss for two years), how easy it is to follow (feeling full, taste), nutritional completeness (how it meets dietary guidelines), safety, ability to prevent or manage diabetes, and ability to prevent or manage heart disease.

The full list is here, and that includes rankings for the best commercial diet, weight-loss diet, diabetes diet and heart-healthy diets.