Research

Mixed

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) significantly reduces the overall risk of cancer incidence and mortality by approximately 10% through the modulation of chronic low-grade systemic inflammation (inflammaging).

Adopt a Mediterranean-style eating pattern as your default lifestyle. Prioritize daily consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and olive oil. Include fish regularly and limit red meat and saturated fats. If you drink alcohol, do so moderately with meals. This approach has been shown to reduce overall cancer risk by 10% by lowering chronic inflammation, whereas taking antioxidant supplements is not recommended and may be harmful.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
A recent metanalysis of all the observational studies regarding the adherence to MD in relation to cancer risk [86] showed that MD is associated with a significant reduction of overall risk of cancer incidence and mortality by 10%.
Rita Ostan et al. · Nutrients · 2015

Why this rating

Based on meta-analyses of observational studies and large cohorts (PREDIMED, EPIC), though biological mechanisms are complex and not fully elucidated.

Source

Inflammaging and Cancer: A Challenge for the Mediterranean Diet

Rita Ostan et al. · Nutrients · 2015

DOI 10.3390/nu7042589

narrative_reviewCited 194×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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