Research

Mixed

Adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet pattern is associated with a significant reduction in total mortality, coronary heart disease mortality, and cancer mortality.

To maximize longevity, adopt a Mediterranean dietary pattern. This means eating plenty of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, and whole grains, using olive oil as your primary fat source, consuming fish regularly, and limiting meat, dairy, and sweets. Moderate wine consumption with meals is also part of this pattern. This approach is more effective for reducing mortality than focusing on single 'superfoods'.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Greater adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet is associated with a significant reduction in total mortality.
Antonia Trichopoulou et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2003

Why this rating

Large prospective cohort study (n=22,043) with validated dietary assessment and adjustment for major confounders, though observational design limits causal inference.

Source

Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet and Survival in a Greek Population

Antonia Trichopoulou et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2003

DOI 10.1056/nejmoa025039

cohort · n=22043Cited 4,359×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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