These Are The 7 Diets Nutritionists Say You Should Follow In 2018

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute promotes this way of eating to prevent and lower high blood pressure. It suggests you cut back on saturated fats, cholesterol, and trans fats, and up the amount of potassium, calcium, protein, and fiber in your diet. That means loading up on whole grains, low-fat dairy, fruit, and fish. 

The Mediterranean Diet moved from the No. 2 position in 2017 to sharing the top spot with the DASH Diet. It's touted for helping with weight loss, as well as heart and brain health, cancer prevention, and diabetes control and prevention. Plus, you're tasked with eating meals that'll put you in a vacation mindset. Grab anything you'd find at an oceanside restaurant in Greece: fish, olives, nuts, whole grains.

Flexible + vegetarian = Flexitarian. In other words, these are the veg-heads that won't drive you crazy with their incredibly strict diets. The goal is to have your meals revolve around plant-based proteins instead of animal ones. There are generally five food groups foods should stick to: New "meats", like tofu, lentils, and eggs; fruits and veggies; whole grains; dairy; and sugar and spice, which includes salad dressing and dried herbs.

Counting points sounds tedious, but don't knock it 'til you try it. Weight Watchers has been around for decades (even Oprah is a fan), and with the launch of its new Freestyle program, you can eat almost anything in moderation. People who follow the plan are told they can lose around two pounds every week.

This diet's meant to target brain health, and it's a combination of two others on this list: MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. There are five food groups to avoid — red meat, butter, cheese, sweets, and fried food — and 10 good-for-your-brain ones to focus on: green leafy vegetables, all other veggies, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine. (Yes, wine!)

Anyone who's looking to lower their cholesterol should consider the TLC Diet. The creators of the plan claim your bad LDL cholesterol could drop 8 to 10 percent in six weeks. You'll need to cut back on foods high in saturated fat, including whole milk dairy, anything fried, and fatty meat. What you should eat: lean proteins, like fish, turkey, or skinless chicken; produce; and whole grains.

The idea behind this weight loss plan is that the amount of food you eat doesn't have to change, but the food's calories-per-gram should decrease. Anything low in calories is referred to as low-density, and it helps you feel full and satisfied as you diet. Meals revolving around fruits and veggies, broth-based soups, and low-fat meats are ideal.