Diet researched in BR again ranked as one of the best ever developed

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A diet researched by doctors at the Pennington Biomedical Center in Baton Rouge has again been ranked one of the best diets ever developed.

U.S. News & World Report announced the new 2023 rankings. They list the Dash Diet as number two among the best overall diets and number one among the best heart-healthy diets.

“At this time of the year, people are more health conscious and are looking for diets to help them get on the right track,” said Dr. Catherine Champagne, one of the lead developers of the Dash Diet. “U.S. News’ rankings year after year show that the Dash Diet is a great choice because it is proven to help those with a history of heart disease or people with diabetes, but it is really a diet plan for everyone because it is easy to follow, and it can work for anyone in the family.”

An updated methodology for the 2023 U.S. News & World Report rankings was developed under the guidance of more than 30 nutritionists, doctors, and epidemiologists. They examined 24 diets to help every person find a diet to meet their goals.

According to the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the Dash Diet focuses on increasing a person’s intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and dietary fiber in addition to lowering a person’s intake of sugary drinks and sodium. In order to save calories, dieters are also urged to use low-fat or fat-free condiments, reduce oil and margarine in recipes by half, and order salad dressings on the side.

For more details on how the Dash Diet works, click here.

Officials said Pennington’s Dr. George Bray, Dr. Donna Ryan, and Dr. Catherine Champagne were some of the top creators of the diet. Scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the Duke Hypertension Center, the Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center, and Johns Hopkins also played roles.

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