DASH Diet Ranked as 2014 Best Overall Diet Among 32 Popular Diets Including Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig Diet [WATCH VIDEO]

CREDIT: YouTube/Judie Burns-Dietzler

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension or DASH Diet was ranked by the U.S. News and World Report as the 2014 Best Overall Diet among 32 popular diets including Weight Watchers and the Jenny Craig Diet, which are endorsed by Hollywood stars like Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Hudson and Jessica Simpson. The DASH Diet was also considered the Best Overall Diet from 2011 to 2013.

According to the U.S. News and World Report, the DASH diet is also the #1 Best Diet for Healthy Eating and the #1 Best Diabetes Diet. They consider it as a heart healthy and nutritionally sound diet.

But, what exactly is the DASH Diet? The official Web site of DASH Diet describes it as an eating plan that was developed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health to lower blood pressure without the need for medication. It is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, fish, lean meat and poultry. Unlike other diets, it doesn't totally eliminate a particular food group, but encourages people to eat in moderation. It focuses on a low fat and high fiber diet with low fat or nonfat dairy and low sodium content.

The DASH Diet recommends that people eat at least 3 whole grain foods each day, 4-6 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2-4 servings of low fat or nonfat dairy foods, fats and sweets. Basically, it suggests that in order to be healthy and fit, people should eat less fatty, salty and sugary foods such as doughnuts, fried chicken and ice cream.

It has reportedly been proven to reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure and insulin sensitivity because it is rich in fiber, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin D, potassium, magnesium and calcium.

The U.S. News and World Report ranked popular diets including Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig Diet, Biggest Loser, TLC Diet, Ornish Diet, Mediterranean and Flexitarian Diets. A panel of health experts, including heart health, diabetes, weight loss, human behavior specialists and nutritionists reviewed the U.S. News and World Report's detailed assessments of the 32 popular diets. The diets were rated by these experts according to seven categories, which include nutrition, ease of compliance, safety and weight loss (short- and long-term). Click HERE to see the panel of experts who reviewed the diets.

Unfortunately, even if the DASH Diet has been ranked as the 2014 Best Overall Diet among 32 popular diets including Weight Watchers and the Jenny Craig Diet, it is still not as popular as the other commercial diets like the South Beach Diet and Zone Diet. Hopefully, because the DASH Diet has been at the top of the charts of healthy diets and eating plans for three years in a row, people will start to take notice of it and actually follow it, not just to look good, but to feel good and live much longer without the need for pricey medication.

Click HERE to learn more about the DASH Diet. Click HERE to see the other diets that made the U.S. News and World Report's Best Diets 2014 list.