Is the Mediterranean diet as healthy as you’ve been told? Here’s what you need to know.

By Emily Smith BSc(NutrSc) BA (Media & Comm) - Nutritionist and Health Content Creator

As fad diets are more and more firmly on the ‘outs’ list for 2024 and beyond, there’s one dietary pattern that remains in the good graces of nutrition professionals and the health industry: the Mediterranean diet. But have you ever wondered what sets this “diet” apart from the rest? And is it really as nutritious and beneficial as you’re led to believe? Let’s dive into exactly what the Mediterranean diet is, how it’s different from regular restrictive diets, and the scientifically proven benefits of eating in this way.

What is the Mediterranean Diet?

More of a lifestyle than a diet, the Mediterranean diet is a pattern of eating which is not designed to restrict or limit your food intake or choices. Unlike other diets, which require you to eliminate specific foods or food groups from your diet in order to lose weight (though often they’re advertised as helping you “be healthier” - but let’s not get it twisted, almost all diets are focused on weight loss, often at the expense of other health measures like nutrient deficiencies), the Mediterranean diet is designed to be flexible, simple, and supportive of a generally healthy lifestyle. It’s modelled off a traditional dietary pattern seen in countries like Italy and Greece which border the Mediterranean Sea. 

Much of the Mediterranean diet is actually focused on things outside of food. Things like:

• Being physically active every day - mostly in incidental ways, like walking to places you need to go instead of driving, being active in your job, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, cooking and so on. There’s a lot less emphasis on the high-intensity exercise styles we have come to prioritise in western culture.

• The prioritising of social connection, especially over meals. The Mediterranean dietary pattern emphasises the importance of preparing, sharing and eating a meal with loved ones, as an opportunity to get more out of your meal than simply nutrients. The benefits associated with this emphasis on social connection prioritised by the Mediterranean lifestyle have been held up for promoting longevity, increasing lifespan, and preventing disease. In fact, the ways in which food is eaten as part of a Mediterranean diet is just as important as what is eaten - the social aspect of sharing a meal, and the connection and pleasure that comes as a result, has been shown to help reduce stress and increase happiness, and improve other health markers too.

• Focusing on increasing your intake of nutritious, health-promoting foods, rather than shaming you into reducing or avoiding certain foods.

When it comes to food, the Mediterranean diet focuses on what to include more so than what to limit or avoid.

Foods the dietary pattern encourages you to consume daily include vegetables, whole grains, fruit, nuts and seeds, extra virgin olive oil, and legumes. Fish and seafood, yoghurt and cheese, and poultry are recommended a few times per week, and red meat, refined carbohydrates, high-sugar foods and saturated or trans fats should be eaten less often. Plenty of water is advised, and a small red wine with your meal is allowed too. And coffee is, of course, a feature (thankfully!).

The Proven Benefits

You often hear the Mediterranean diet is “the healthiest diet” or “the best diet” - but what exactly does this mean? “Healthy” can be interpreted many different ways… so does the evidence support these claims?

The Mediterranean diet supports fertility.

This dietary pattern improves both egg and sperm health and quality for anyone trying to conceive, or thinking about it in the near future. The high intake of healthy fats in the Mediterranean diet improves reproductive health, and the abundance of antioxidants and other fertility-supporting nutrients found in the foods it encourages further enhance these benefits.

In fact, the Mediterranean diet has even been proven to improve IVF outcomes in men and women, due to improvements in sperm quality (including sperm shape, concentration and movement) in males, and better implantation, pregnancy and live birth rates in women.

The diet’s anti-inflammatory effects further help to improve fertility, as do its impacts on weight (more on this soon), insulin resistance and general wellbeing - all of which improve your chances of successfully conceiving and having a healthy pregnancy.

It improves cardiovascular (heart) health.

The Mediterranean diet also helps to reduce your risk of cardiovascular complications and disease. In fact, eating more foods promoted by the Mediterranean dietary pattern has been shown to be more beneficial for heart health, compared to avoiding “less healthy” foods commonly included in western diets. So clearly, the health benefits of Mediterranean-style foods are significant, owing to the improvements to inflammation, blood sugar levels and body fat levels. The diet can help prevent coronary artery disease, stroke (in women) and early death.

It’s anti-inflammatory.

As we’ve touched on, the types of foods promoted as part of the Mediterranean diet are highly anti-inflammatory, and reduce your risk of chronic diseases such as some cancers, type 2 diabetes, depression and cardiovascular disease. Inflammation plays a significant role in your general health, with higher levels of inflammation putting you at greater risk of developing these conditions. If inflammation is left unchecked for too long, this can cause damage to your healthy cells, tissues and organs and result in tissue death, DNA damage and scarring to previously healthy cells, all of which can eventually lead to the development of these serious illnesses. 

However, the Mediterranean diet is rich in antioxidants, minerals and vitamins which have powerful anti-inflammatory properties, allowing this dietary pattern to improve inflammatory markers and resolve inflammation in the body. This allows the diet to have a beneficial effect on conditions like insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, both of which are predisposing factors which may lead to the development of type 2 diabetes, cancer, depression and cardiovascular disease.

In fact, the Mediterranean diet has even been shown to reduce symptoms of arthritis and joint pain, again owing to its anti-inflammatory properties. As you can see, sticking to this pattern of eating over time strongly supports your general physical health.

The anti-inflammatory benefits of the Mediterranean diet shouldn’t be underestimated in their ability to improve general physical and mental health - particularly when extra virgin olive oil is a regular feature in your diet. 

It can help with weight management.

This diet can also help with weight management, largely due to its ability to improve satiety or feelings of fullness after you eat. The inclusion of plenty of healthy fats into your meals means you’ll likely feel far more satisfied after each meal. This means you’ll feel fuller for longer, and be less likely to turn to sugary snacks between meals, or overeat at main meals due to feeling unsatisfied.

The satiety you may feel when following the Mediterranean pattern, along with the slower consumption of meals when shared with others, also improves your ability to eat mindfully, which can further help to manage your weight and prevent weight gain. You become more in touch with your body’s cues as to when you’re hungry and full, meaning overeating and binge eating become far less common. More on this later!

It enhances brain health and function, and mental wellbeing.

The Mediterranean diet has also been shown to reduce your risk of dementia, and slow down any ageing-related cognitive decline. More research is needed for us to understand the mechanisms which make this happen, but studies strongly support the dietary pattern’s benefits to mental wellbeing, including reducing and managing symptoms of depression, and brain function. Once again, the healthy fats it encourages do wonders for your brain health!

It helps you build a positive relationship with food.

As mentioned, how you eat is just as important for your physical and mental wellbeing as what you eat is. And given the Mediterranean diet’s focus on eating in a balanced, positive way and connecting with loved ones over a shared meal, this comes with a whole host of health benefits.

This positive approach to eating makes mindful eating much more achievable, and allows you to notice and honour your body’s hunger signals - instead of eating for the sake of eating, as we so often do with a western diet. As we’ve touched on, the satiating aspect of the foods included in this dietary pattern means you’re more likely to feel full and satisfied after your meals, so you won’t need to turn to binge eating or overeating to feel satiated. Instead of having a restrictive mentality towards food, and focusing on what you “can’t” or “shouldn’t” eat - as the western approach and the majority of diets encourage - the emphasis is on including more healthy fats and omega-3 fatty acids - which has endless benefits to your brain health, heart health, weight management, satiety, joint health and more. But beyond these physical benefits, the focus on adding rather than eliminating from your diet allows you to foster a really healthy, positive relationship with food. It allows you to enjoy your food and drink with family and friends, and foster an eating experience which values mindfulness, pleasure and balance. Instead of counting calories, you’re encouraged to be aware of and honour your body’s internal signals to know when you’ve eaten enough. Instead of exercising to burn calories or “earn” your food, movement is intended to be moderate and incidental, and to bring joy and be sustainable in the long-term.

All of these factors mean the Mediterranean diet is not only beneficial to your physical health, but also immensely supportive of your mental wellbeing and your relationship with food and your body.

The Verdict

All in all, the Mediterranean diet is the gold-standard when it comes to modelling a healthy, balanced way of eating. While it’s more of a lifestyle than a diet, its emphasis on inclusion of healthy fats, vegetables and fruits, fish, legumes, olive oil, nuts and seeds, allows for both physical and mental health benefits from eating in this manner. The key message to walk away with is this: regular diets make you feel deprived and miserable in your attempts to “be healthy” - which in itself is unhealthy and unsustainable. Instead, the Mediterranean diet encourages a healthy lifestyle, including focusing on the way in which you eat, so you can enjoy being and feeling healthier without feeling restricted or overwhelmed.

If you’re not ready to go all-in on the Mediterranean diet and just want to focus on the most important takeaways after reading this article, you can prioritise:

• Including more legumes in your diet. These can be easily “snuck into” your meals if you’re not a fan - add some lentils into a bolognese or burger patty, buy lentil pasta instead of regular varieties, or throw some roasted chickpeas into your salads and curries. Legumes are one of the most health-promoting foods you can eat, so start introducing them slowly (and don’t panic if you experience a little gas as you adjust!) and build up over time.

• Less is more. Don’t overcomplicate things. Don’t try to cut out a bunch of foods from your diet to be “healthy”. Instead, focus on eating more veggies and fruit, more seafood and fish, and more healthy fats (think nuts and seeds, and extra virgin olive oil), and allow for any foods in moderation. Consider how you eat as much as what you eat.

• Extra virgin olive oil is your best friend. There’s a reason that extra virgin olive oil is one of the number one foods prioritised in the Mediterranean diet. Not only is it a super rich source of healthy fats, it also helps you to absorb more nutrients from your food - as well as containing its own antioxidants, polyphenols and vitamins. Ideally, you should serve or cook all your veggies with some olive oil to improve your nutrient absorption.

There you have it - the Mediterranean diet is hyped up for good reason after all! 

Want more evidence-based nutrition strategies to improve your health and support your relationship with food and your body? I’ll help you prioritise the tools and changes that make the most effective difference to your health, and ditch anything that isn’t worth your time, effort or money. Book a consultation with me, Anni Expert nutritionist @emilygracenutritionist today to walk away with the tools and strategies you need to live a healthier lifestyle which is simple, easy and enjoyable!

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About the Mediterranean Diet:

The Mediterranean diet is renowned for its health benefits and delicious variety of foods. Based on traditional dietary patterns of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, this diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and moderate amounts of fish, poultry, and dairy. It's associated with numerous health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. The diet is also linked to better weight management and longevity. Embracing the Mediterranean diet can be a flavorful and nutritious way to improve your overall health and well-being.

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