About this time of year – every year – you can expect to see “best of” lists for nearly every kind of book, song, product, and service.

The diet business is no different.

We’ve gotten our hands on U.S. News’ Best Diet Rankings for 2014. Diet categories are created and plans are judged and ranked within those categories. To keep things here brief, we’ll just list the winners in each category.

Please understand, our discussion does not endorse any of these diet plans specifically. If you feel like one or more of these plans could help you, please visit us here at Mediplan or consult with your doctor prior to beginning the plan.

Best Weight Loss Diet:

Weight Watchers – Their point-based plan has established a history of helping millions of people lose weight for a reason. When the plan is followed, it is effective.

Best Diabetes Diet

The Biggest Loser – Choose a Biggest Loser book to guide you through the plan and discover the benefits of more and “smarter” exercise and meals that emphasize fruits, vegetables and lean protein sources.

Best Heart Healthy Diet

Ornish Diet – In his book The Spectrum, Dean Ornish, a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, outlines how he believes nutrition, exercise, stress management and emotional support all play a role in healthy living.

Best Commercial Diet 

Weight Watchers narrowly beat out Jenny Craig in this showdown of big name diet plans.

Best Healthy Eating Diet

The Ornish Diet’s holistic approach to health and fitness put it atop this category.

Easiest to Follow Diet

Weight Watchers’ point system took the top spot in this category.

Best Plant Based Diet

The Mediterranean Diet – Oldways, a nonprofit food science organization in Boston developed a consumer-friendly Mediterranean that emphasizes fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes; eating fish and seafood at least a couple of times a week; enjoying poultry, eggs, cheese, and yogurt in moderation; and saving sweets and red meat for special occasions.

Best Overall Diet

The DASH Diet – Originally developed to combat the effects of high blood pressure, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (or DASH) plan impressed the U.S. News panel enough to name it their overall best pick.

Want to learn more about this year’s big winner? Click here to read, download and print a pdf file that walks through the high points of the DASH diet.