Food is the Best Medicine: The Value of the Mediterranean Diet

May 29

I have had a number of patients coming in recently on various regimens that include large lists of supplements. Often many of them are compounds I am not familiar with. It’s clear how much effort and investment people are putting into their wellness, often navigating a complex world of loosely regulated compounds that come with a high price tag. It makes me realize that we in the medical community haven't always been as effective as the supplement industry at sharing a simpler, more powerful truth: the most life-changing 'medicine' isn't in a capsule—it’s on your plate.

According to a review in the New England Journal of Medicine in 20241, the Mediterranean diet is the most extensively studied diet and has substantial evidence supporting its health benefits. And these are not minor health benefits, we are talking about reductions in death from any cause, cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction (heart attack), cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and diabetes. This review included various studies done over the course of many years and altogether included 12.8 million patients.

According to a meta-analysis2 of 126 studies (>8 million participants) in the journal Nutrition in 2026, higher Mediterranean diet adherence was associated with modestly reduced risk of multiple cancers, including head and neck, colorectal, breast, liver, gastric, and bladder cancer, as well as lower cancer-related mortality.

The best thing is that the Mediterranean diet has so much variety. The diet is characterized by predominance of plant foods (fruits, vegetables, minimally processed cereals, legumes, nuts, and seeds), moderate amounts of fermented dairy products (cheese and yogurt), low-to-moderate amounts of fish and poultry, low amounts of red meat, and olive oil as the primary fat source.

Interestingly the evidence consistently shows that supplements do not replicate the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, and major guidelines explicitly recommend against using supplements as a substitute for healthy dietary patterns.3 A growing body of evidence supports the idea that the food matrix is a key reason why whole foods confer health benefits that isolated nutrients or supplements cannot replicate.

The one area where supplements remain appropriate is in documented nutrient deficiency states or restricted diets (e.g., vegans, certain older adults, pregnant women).

Often in medicine less is more. Our bodies were designed to get all of the nutrients we need from food and not capsules so shift your spending to high quality, all natural food and try some Mediterranean recipes. Your body will thank you for it!

Check out the Americas Test Kitchen and The Mediterranean Dish for some great recipes to try!

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