What is Mediterranean Food?
People often ask whether Mediterranean food is just a fancy term for Greek cuisine, or if there’s something different about it. The truth is more nuanced than you might think.
Mediterranean food represents a broader dietary pattern found across countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea (including Greece), and Cretan food is a notable example of this healthy eating approach.
When American physiologist Ancel Keys launched his groundbreaking Seven Countries Study in 1958, he wasn’t looking for the next food trend. He was trying to solve a medical mystery: why did heart disease rates vary so dramatically between countries? What he found on the island of Crete changed nutrition science forever.
Cretan Diet VS Mediterranean Diet
The Cretan diet that Keys studied wasn’t designed for health or longevity. It was born out of necessity – quite simply, what was available to Cretans on this isolated rock in the Mediterranean.
Yet, this diet of unprocessed, natural foods, abundant in olive oil and featuring minimal meat, became the blueprint for what we now call the Mediterranean diet.
Here’s what makes this connection fascinating: while Mediterranean food encompasses the eating patterns of at least 16 countries around the Mediterranean Sea, the Cretan version stood out as the healthiest.
Rural Cretans in the 1960s had remarkably low rates of cardiovascular disease despite consuming one of the highest-fat diets among all populations studied. The secret wasn’t avoiding fat – it was eating the right kinds of fat, primarily from olive oil.
So when you hear about Mediterranean food being healthy, you’re hearing about a dietary pattern that Crete perfected through centuries of necessity and tradition.
The island’s unique approach to food – emphasizing natural, unprocessed ingredients, abundant wild greens and herbs, and a culinary philosophy that respects each ingredient – has become the model that nutrition scientists point to when discussing optimal human nutrition.
Why Mediterranean Food is Healthy?
Let’s get specific about what we’re talking about here.
When nutrition researchers use the term “Mediterranean diet,” they’re not referring to pasta primavera or Greek salad from your local restaurant. They’re describing a very specific eating pattern that was documented across Mediterranean countries in the mid-20th century.
Here’s what the data shows: Traditional Mediterranean diets shared common characteristics across at least 16 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, including Greece, Italy, and Spain, despite significant differences in geography, economy, and culture.
The core pattern includes:
- Daily consumption of whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and low-fat dairy
- Olive oil is the primary source of dietary fat
- Moderate fish consumption (2-3 times per week)
- Limited intake of meat, dairy, and processed foods
- Moderate wine consumption with meals
But here’s where it gets interesting. While these countries shared similar patterns, their health outcomes varied dramatically.
Research from the Seven Countries Study provided foundational evidence that diet and lifestyle are crucial determinants of heart disease risk.
It showed that Greek cohorts, particularly from Crete, had the highest olive oil consumption and were highest in fruit intake.Â
Why? The answer lies in both what Cretans ate and what they didn’t eat.
Why Crete Became the Mediterranean Diet Gold Standard
The numbers tell a compelling story.
In the 1960s, when Ancel Keys was conducting his research, rural Cretan men consumed about 40% of their daily calories from fat, mainly olive oil. In most dietary frameworks, that would be considered excessive. Yet cardiovascular disease was virtually nonexistent, and cancer rates were remarkably low.
Let’s break down what made the Cretan diet different:
Quality of ingredients:
Cretans didn’t just eat plant foods – they ate wild greens (horta). The island has over 1,600 different plant species, with 170 growing only in Crete. These weren’t cultivated vegetables; they were nutrient-dense wild herbs and greens that sheep and goats grazed on naturally.
Did you know that one piece of a traditional Cretan pie filled with wild greens has 10 times more antioxidant properties compared to a glass of red wine? That’s the power of these indigenous plants that Cretans incorporated into their daily meals.
Fat composition:
While other Mediterranean populations used olive oil, Cretans consumed it in extraordinary quantities. But here’s the key: it was unprocessed, extra virgin olive oil rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.
Animal products:
When Cretans did eat meat, dairy, or eggs, these came from free-range animals that grazed on wild plants, herbs, figs, and natural grasses. This resulted in products naturally high in omega-3 fatty acids.
Minimal processing:
Everything was local, seasonal, and minimally processed. There were no refined sugars, no processed foods, and no artificial additives.
The result? Keys found that Cretan men had the lowest rates of coronary heart disease among all populations studied, despite consuming one of the highest-fat diets.
Lifestyle:
Residents of rural areas in Crete led physically active lives through agricultural and livestock farming activities.
This wasn’t about restriction or counting calories. It was about the quality and the source of this high-fat intake diet, along with the lifestyle.
The Health Science Behind Mediterranean Food
Here’s something that might surprise you: the Mediterranean diet is the most extensively researched dietary model in the world when it comes to longevity, cardiovascular health, brain health, and the human microbiome.
We’re not talking about a handful of studies here. Recent comprehensive reviews show strong evidence for Mediterranean diet benefits on cardiovascular health, including reduction in cardiovascular outcomes and risk factors like obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and dyslipidemia.
Let’s look at the numbers from major studies:
Heart Disease Prevention:
The landmark PREDIMED study followed 7,447 men and women with high heart disease risk for almost 5 years. Participants following a Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil or nuts showed significant reductions in heart attacks and strokes compared to a low-fat control group.
The study demonstrated that a diet rich in unsaturated fats from natural vegetable sources is more beneficial for cardiovascular health than a low-fat diet.
Diabetes Management:
Recent research shows the Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by encouraging healthy fats that aid in regulating blood sugar levels, while limiting refined carbohydrates that can cause blood sugar spikes, and providing fiber and antioxidants that support metabolic health.
Brain Health:
Recent studies show that adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with an 11-30% reduction in the risk of cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.Â
Weight Management:
The Mediterranean diet is effective for weight management and obesity prevention due to its balanced composition of healthy fats, fiber, and nutrient-rich foods, combined with limited intake of processed meats and sugary drinks.
This evidence comes from a combination of randomized trials, large cohort studies, and meta-analyses, making it one of the most supported dietary patterns for long-term weight control.Â
But here’s what makes this research particularly relevant to our Cretan food discussion: The majority of the Mediterranean diet’s beneficial effects are primarily related to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, as well as its effectiveness in controlling waist circumference and obesity.
Sound familiar? That’s exactly what the traditional Cretan diet delivered naturally.
More Than Just Food: The Mediterranean Lifestyle
The Mediterranean diet, based on eating habits from around 1950, isn’t just about individual ingredients. It encompasses a complete approach to eating and living.
The key components that researchers focus on include:
- Non-processed foods (exactly what Cretans ate out of necessity)
- Abundant fruits and vegetables
- Pulses like beans and lentils
- Olive oil as the primary fat source
- Regular fish consumption
- Moderate meat intake
But there’s more to it than the food itself.
The Mediterranean diet philosophy includes how you prepare food, the tradition of sharing meals at the table, and maintaining physical activity.
This mirrors the traditional Cretan lifestyle perfectly – families gathering for meals, physical work in agriculture and shepherding, and food preparation that respected natural ingredients.
The Mediterranean diet pattern has become the current prevalent framework in nutrition research, moving away from analyzing single nutrients to studying overall dietary patterns.
This approach makes sense when you see how Cretans lived: they didn’t think about individual nutrients or count macros. They ate what was available, prepared simply, and shared with others.
How Cretan Food Exemplifies Mediterranean Principles
Let’s get practical here. What does this look like on an actual plate?
Traditional Cretan dishes showcase every principle that makes Mediterranean food so healthy. Take the humble Cretan pie (kalitsounia or nerati) – a simple combination of wild greens, local cheese, and olive oil wrapped in thin pastry and cooked in a pan.
This single dish delivers:
- Wild greens are packed with antioxidants (remember, 10 times more than red wine)
- High-quality fats from olive oil
- Protein from local cheese made from free-grazing animals
- Minimal processing – just a few simple ingredients
Even the Cretan breakfast follows Mediterranean principles perfectly. Fresh bread with local honey, graviera cheese aged for months, seasonal fruits, and herbal teas made from wild mountain plants.
Everything is local, seasonal, and minimally processed.
The cooking methods matter too. Most Cretan pies are pan-cooked rather than oven-baked, using generous amounts of olive oil that create a crispy exterior while keeping nutrients intact.
This traditional technique delivers maximum flavor with minimal equipment, exactly what Mediterranean diet researchers mean when they talk about simple preparation methods.
Finland’s National Campaign and Berry Consumption
In the early 1970s, Finland had some of the highest rates of coronary heart disease in the world, particularly among men.
The North Karelia Project was launched to address this crisis, focusing on reducing smoking, lowering serum cholesterol, and decreasing blood pressure through dietary changes—specifically, reducing butter and salt intake and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption.
The campaign rapidly expanded nationwide, leading to dramatic decreases in cardiovascular mortality and significant improvements in public health.
Finland’s North Karelia Project is a landmark example of a successful national public health campaign, initially focusing on reducing saturated fat and salt, and later promoting berry consumption for its antioxidant and cardiovascular benefits.
Why Mediterranean Food Is So Popular Today?
The popularity isn’t just about health benefits, though those are impressive enough.
Mediterranean food offers something that modern diets often lack: sustainability and enjoyment. You’re not eliminating entire food groups or counting every calorie. You’re eating real food that tastes good and makes you feel satisfied.
Recent studies show adherence rates for Mediterranean diets are significantly higher than restrictive dieting approaches. People can stick with it long-term because it doesn’t feel like deprivation.
The flexibility helps, too. Whether you’re in Athens, New York, or Tokyo, you can apply Mediterranean principles focusing on whole foods, quality fats, and simple preparation that translates across cultures.
And here’s something interesting: as more research emerges on the gut microbiome, Mediterranean dietary patterns keep showing benefits.
The combination of fiber-rich vegetables, fermented dairy products, and diverse plant foods supports healthy gut bacteria in ways that highly processed diets simply can’t match.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Greek and Mediterranean cuisine the same thing?
Not exactly. Greek cuisine is one example of Mediterranean eating patterns, but the Mediterranean diet encompasses eating habits from at least 16 countries around the Mediterranean Sea. However, traditional Greek cuisine (especially from islands like Crete) does exemplify many core Mediterranean diet principles.
What is the Mediterranean diet, and why is it so popular?
The Mediterranean diet is based on eating patterns from Mediterranean countries around 1950, emphasizing whole foods, olive oil, fish, vegetables, and moderate wine consumption.
It’s popular because it is the most researched diet model regarding longevity, cardiovascular diseases (heart health), brain health, and human microbiome.
It’s a diet model based on the eating habits of people living in Mediterranean countries around 1950. What’s included: Non-processed food, fruits, vegetables, pulses, olive oil, fish, and moderate meat consumption.
Mediterranean diet is not only linked to what we eat, but it’s also linked to how we cook our food, the fact that we eat all together around a table, and if we are physically active.
Why is Mediterranean food so healthy?
The health benefits come from the combination of anti-inflammatory foods (like olive oil and fish), antioxidant-rich vegetables, wild greens and herbs, minimal processing, and the overall dietary pattern rather than any single “superfood.” Traditional Mediterranean populations also combined good food with active lifestyles and social eating habits.
Can I follow a Mediterranean diet without living near the Mediterranean?
Absolutely. The principles translate anywhere: focus on whole foods, use olive oil as your primary fat, eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, include fish regularly, limit processed foods, moderate meat consumption, and enjoy meals with others when possible. The digital Cretan recipe guide created by Taste the Local Crete, packed with 50+ authentic recipes of the local cuisine of Crete, makes it easy to apply these principles in your kitchen, no matter where you live.
Cook the Cretan Way
The digital Cretan cookbook by Taste the Local Crete brings you over 50 authentic recipes that showcase exactly what we’ve been talking about. These aren’t complicated restaurant dishes or Instagram-worthy creations.
They’re the real, daily recipes of the local cuisine of Crete.
You can access this digital recipe guide on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop, making it easy to cook the Cretan way no matter where you are.
Each recipe captures the essence of Cretan cooking: a few simple ingredients and minimal cooking preparations that let quality ingredients shine through.
Start with the free digital recipe guide and begin bringing the real taste of Crete to your table. After all, the best way to understand why Cretan food became the gold standard for Mediterranean eating is to experience it yourself.
