A way of eating
Mediterranean
Olive oil, vegetables, fish and nuts — the pattern with the strongest trial evidence behind it.
A way of eating built around vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish and extra-virgin olive oil, with nuts most days and meat occasionally rather than daily. It is the most rigorously tested dietary pattern there is: PREDIMED randomised more than 7,000 people to it and stopped early because the benefit was already clear. Nothing about it is restrictive — it is largely a matter of what the plate leans on.
A day, roughly
Not a schedule to hit — a picture of what this pattern tends to look like, so the question “what do I eat” has an answer on a tired evening. Most of these link to the recipe.
Morning
Something with whole grain and fruit, or eggs with vegetables.
Midday
A legume or grain base, vegetables, olive oil.
- · Lentil salad with roasted peppers and parsley
- · Chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, olive oil, lemon
- · Barley with grilled courgette and white beans
Evening
Fish or legumes, vegetables, a whole grain alongside.
Something small
Nuts or fruit, most days.
- · A handful of almonds or walnuts
- · An orange
- · Olives and a little cheese
Leans on
- Extra-virgin olive oil as the main fat
- Vegetables at most meals
- Legumes — lentils, chickpeas, beans
- Fish and seafood, a few times a week
- Nuts, most days
- Whole grains rather than refined
- Fruit as the usual sweet thing
Goes easy on
- Red and processed meat — occasional rather than daily
- Butter and cream, where olive oil can do the work
- Sugary drinks and packaged sweets
This may suit you if
- · You would rather change what a plate leans on than count anything
- · You eat fish, or are happy to lean on legumes instead
- · You want the pattern with the most trial evidence behind it
What this rests on
Randomised trial · 2018
In more than 7,000 adults at high cardiovascular risk, a Mediterranean pattern with extra-virgin olive oil or mixed nuts reduced heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death by around 30% against a low-fat control. The trial was stopped early on evidence of benefit.
PREDIMED randomised controlled trial · New England Journal of Medicine
Systematic review · 2025
An umbrella review of the evidence found the pattern effective for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Umbrella review of Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular prevention · PMC