This holiday season, give yourself the best gift of all…health and well being!

As the holidays near, it is hard to avoid all the goodies, parties, and cookie exchanges.  We don’t want to correlate these happy times with weight gain, but for some it seems inevitable.  As an RD, my advice would be to eat what you like in MODERATION.  On the special day (Thanksgiving), enjoy the company, and take the focus off of food.

If you are committed to avoiding weight gain over the holidays, there is good news.  Recently, a panel of experts found there are several diet plans which not only promote weight loss, but also improve health.

According to the panel convened by U.S. News & World Report, the diets listed below are nutritionally complete and promote healthy weight loss.

Experts rated 20 popular diets on a scale of 1 to 5 — 5 being best. For the ranking, they focused on nutrition and safety. The “Top Diets” are:

• DASH Diet, 4.8. Endorsed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, DASH is designed to prevent high blood pressure. It’s heavy on produce and low in saturated fat and salt.
• TLC Diet, 4.7. The National Institutes of Health developed this plan. It’s high in fiber and calcium and low in saturated fat.
• Mediterranean Diet, 4.6. This eating plan includes lots of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, salmon, and ”heart-healthy” fats such as olive oil. Red wine in moderation is encouraged.
• Mayo Clinic Diet, 4.5. The plan developed by Mayo Clinic experts includes foods with low energy density, such as fruits and vegetables. It allows dieters to eat more while eating fewer calories.
• Volumetrics Diet, 4.5. Another plan that’s based on low energy-dense food, Volumetrics focuses on fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nonfat dairy, and lean meats.

At the bottom of the list were the Paleo Diet, Atkins, and Raw Food Diet.  These plans excluded too many food groups and were lacking in vitamins/minerals.

Sources: U.S. News & World Report and WebMD