Mediterranean Diet Basics

In the 1950’s, researchers discovered people around the Mediterranean Sea had lower numbers of cardiovascular disease and were living longer. The Mediterranean Diet is more than just a diet. It is a lifestyle change. What's the secret to this decades-old way of eating?

Learn what is a Mediterranean diet, what is on the Mediterranean diet food list and basics of this way of eating from a Franciscan Health registered dietitian and cardiologist.

Key Takeaways: Mediterranean Diet Basics

• The Mediterranean diet reduces cardiovascular disease risk by up to 25%, replacing saturated fats with healthy unsaturated fats from olive oil, nuts, and fish while increasing fiber intake that helps trap cholesterol.
• The Mediterranean diet meal plan is flexible, not restrictive. This eating pattern emphasizes balance and variety rather than calorie counting or deprivation, making it sustainable for long-term health goals and easier to maintain than restrictive diets.
• The plant-forward diet centers on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and healthy fats, while including fish, seafood, and poultry as primary protein sources instead of red meat.
• This eating plan is accessible and affordable. Most Mediterranean diet ingredients are available at regular grocery stores, can be stored in your pantry (oils, canned beans, grains, seasonings), and the flexible approach allows you to start with small, manageable changes.

What Is The Mediterranean Diet?

The Mediterranean diet, with its focus on whole, minimally processed foods and healthy fats, has long been recognized for its positive impact on heart health, weight management and overall wellness. If you are looking to make a meaningful change to your diet, you are not alone—many people have improved their heart health by embracing this flexible, delicious and nourishing way of eating.

The Mediterranean diet meal plan is not about strict rules, calorie counting or deprivation. Instead, this way of eating emphasizes balance and variety, inviting you to enjoy a wide range of flavors and colorful ingredients. People find it easier to stick with Mediterranean-style eating because meals are filling, satisfying, and enjoyable. Consequently, this diet pattern supports long-term health goals and fits well within family lifestyles, making it accessible to people at any stage of life.

So what does this balanced, flexible approach look like on your plate? Let's break down the food groups that form the foundation of Mediterranean-style eating.

What Foods Are On The Mediterranean Diet?

Exactly which foods belong to the Mediterranean diet is controversial, partly because there is such variation between different countries. While many people think Mediterranean diet as stemming from Italy or Greece, it includes countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including Spain and Morocco. Common elements of these diets include fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, legumes and healthy oils.

“Following the Mediterranean diet doesn’t meal you have to eat like a rabbit! Yes, you are eating more plants, but there are so many ways to enjoy fruits, vegetable sand whole grains,” says Amanda Crosby, registered dietitian with Franciscan Health Lafayette East.

Foods to consider for the Mediterranean diet are:

Legumes

• Beans
• Peas
• Lentils
• Pulses
• Peanuts
• Chickpeas

Tubers

• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Turnips
• Yams.

Nuts

• Almonds
• Pine nuts
• Walnuts
• Hazelnuts
• Pistachios
• Pecans

“Look at your almonds, your walnuts and pecans,” Crosby said. “A fourth of a cup of almonds is only 150 calories packed full of vitamin E, packed full of fiber and protein, and it gives you that satiety.”

Whole grains

• Whole oats
• Brown rice
• Rye
• Barley
• Corn
• Buckwheat
• Whole wheat, whole-grain bread and pasta.

Fish and seafood

• Salmon
• Sardines
• Trout
• Tuna
• Mackerel
• Shrimp
• Oysters
• Clams
• Crab
• Mussels

Poultry

• Chicken
• Duck
• Turkey
• Quail

Eggs

• Chicken eggs
• Quail eggs
• Duck eggs.

Herbs and spices

Many seasonings found in your pantry, like Garlic, basil, mint, rosemary and pepper, are used in Mediterranean foods.

“Lemon and lime juice are a great way to bring out flavors without needing to add salt, “ Crosby said.

Healthy fats

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Olives
• Avocados
• Avocado oil.

The Mediterranean diet includes mindful eating, making the meal the focal point of your day.

Heart Benefits Of The Mediterranean Diet

These nutrient-rich foods aren't just delicious—they're powerful tools for protecting your cardiovascular health. Here's how they work together to support your heart.

Research shows that people on the Mediterranean diet had a very low rate of heart disease and very healthy and long lives.

"That is one that has a lot of great data and, let's say that the main things about these diets is that they minimize processed food," said Ryan Daly, MD, a cardiologist with Franciscan Physician Network Indiana Heart Physicians. "Processed food, I tell people, is food that a caveman wouldn't be able to find if he went hunting and gathering, or God didn't put on this planet."

Crosby adds other reasons why hearts benefit from a Mediterranean diet: a drop in saturated fats, an increase in fiber and an increase in antioxidants.

“You're getting rid of saturated fat and replacing with healthy unsaturated fats,” Crosby said. “Instead of focusing on red meat for protein sources you eat more beans, nuts, seeds, fish and low-fat dairy, and lean poultry filled with unsaturated fats.”

"The fiber you’re eating with fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains traps the cholesterol, and stops it from entering your arteries.” Crosby said.

Other Health Benefits Of Mediterranean Diet Foods

While heart health is the Mediterranean diet's most celebrated benefit, research shows this eating pattern supports your body in multiple ways, including:

• Cognition and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease
• Reducing inflammation
• Increasing your energy
• Lowering blood pressure
• Reducing cancer risk
• Potentially reducing pregnancy complications.

Repeated studies have linked eating the Mediterranean diet to having a lower cardiovascular risk. One study, published in 2018 in JAMA Network Open, found that among nearly 26,000 U.S. women followed for up to 12 years, adherence to such a diet was associated with a one-quarter lower risk of any of four cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke.

Mediterranean-style eating was incorporated into the recent update of an American Heart Association tool for evaluating heart health. The tool, Life's Essential 8, produces a score based on eight easily measured assessments: diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep health, body weight, blood lipids (cholesterol and other fats), blood glucose and blood pressure. 

The experts behind Life's Essential 8 supported both Mediterranean-style eating patterns and DASH, or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, which have many similar components. In individuals, Life's Essential 8 rates diet based on a screening tool for what's called the Mediterranean Eating Pattern for Americans.

Ready to experience these benefits for yourself? The good news is that adopting a Mediterranean diet is easier and more affordable than you might think.

How To Shop For The Mediterranean Diet

Most of the items needed for the Mediterranean diet are available in general grocery stores, but some items may require you to go to a specialty store.

“Take baby steps, this plain is flexible, can be low cost, and limits ingredients. Start looking in the ethnic food aisle at your local grocery store. There is now a wide variety of grains available as well located near the pasta and rice. If you are ready to adventure, check specialty or ethnic stores for more options,” Crosby said.

Items for the Mediterranean diet can be kept in the pantry like oil, canned goods like beans, seasonings and rice, so buying those ahead of time and storing them is a good idea. This makes preparing meals and cooking quick and easy if you already have the necessary ingredients.

“When it comes to meal planning, it’s picking out what works best for you that’s going to be consistent,” Crosby said. 

Ready to get started? Check out these Mediterranean Diet staples to stock your pantry with.