Mediterranean diet

American  

[med-i-tuh-rey-nee-uhn dahy-it] / ˌmɛd ɪ təˈreɪ ni ən ˈdaɪ ɪt /

noun

Mediterranean diets plural

1. a diet traditionally followed in Greece, Spain, southern Italy and France, and parts of the Middle East, with emphasis on fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seafood, and olive oil.

   A study showed that people who ate a Mediterranean diet had a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease than people following a low-fat diet.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Mediterranean diets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Mediterranean diet

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

The comparison group followed a traditional Mediterranean diet without calorie restriction or exercise advice.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

A 2025 review in Cardiovascular Research described the Mediterranean diet as one of the best studied dietary patterns for cardiovascular prevention, citing large randomized trials including PREDIMED, PREDIMED-Plus, CORDIOPREV, and the Lyon Diet Heart Study.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

And eating right: There is a growing body of evidence that eating a so-called Mediterranean diet may dramatically lower your risk of dementia.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 11, 2026

Researchers observed lower rates of stroke overall among women who most closely followed the Mediterranean diet.

From Science Daily • Feb. 9, 2026

Diets such as the Mediterranean diet, which is consistently associated with lower risks of both dementia and heart disease, include cheese alongside vegetables, fish, whole grains and fruit.

From Science Daily • Feb. 4, 2026