I was going to review the diet plans one at a time but in my research I found this article where the work was already done in a thorough manner. If anyone has a question about a specific diet you can ask me and I will be glad to research it. This is a fairly comprehensive list but I do want to add a little about two that did not make this list although my analysis will not be as in depth as theirs. The best line from a study that I read when researching this topic was: sticking to the diet plan was more important for overall effectiveness than the type of diet. So if you are doing one of these plans and it is working for you keep it up as long as it is not bad for your health. The two I want to add a little information on are gluten free and blood type diet.
Gluten free- Much attention has been given to eating gluten free recently. Gluten is a protein found mostly in wheat. Some people have an allergy to gluten that results in celiac disease. It is serious and affects about 1 in 100 people. A simple blood test can tell if you are affected. For the rest of the population gluten is really not a problem in itself. The problem is that it is associated with high carbohydrate foods that often cause a spike in blood sugar and all of the related health effects. Many people have great success in gluten free diets but it is most likely the overall reduction in “bad carbs” than the gluten itself. Gluten free is difficult because of the widespread presence of gluten but if the diet works for you enjoy.
The blood type diet is based on the idea that different people should eat different classes of foods based on their heritage determined by their blood type. The research shows the blood type diets do work but they have no correlation to your blood type. They each are better at different health outcomes so if the diet fits you give it a try but remember it makes no difference what your blood type is as to which of the diet plans you adopt.
For the rest of the diets go to this link and see what you like. I personally recommend the Mediterranean diet with healthy parts of some of the others brought in.
http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-diets-overall
Next I will discuss the perfect meal and see if it exists or is the dietary Unicorn.