The Mediterranean Diet for Beginners

The Mediterranean diet is an healthy eating pattern that's been linked to longer life, reduced risk for heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Good sources of plant-based fats are abundant in the Mediterranean diet and include olive oil, nuts, avocados and more. They're also low in salt. The core of the Mediterranean diet is vegetables, beans, fruits, whole grains, seeds and nuts. Extra-virgin olive oil and a little wine are other hallmarks of this eating pattern. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, isocaloric diets that replace saturated with polyunsaturated fats (canola oil, soybean oil) lower LDL cholesterol. Although many foods in the Mediterranean diet provide both unsaturated and saturated fats, extra-virgin olive oil in particular has anti-inflammatory properties that may reduce heart disease risk. In 2017, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics published a position paper on the Mediterranean diet. The authors note that it's hard to pin down specifics of