A Guide to the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid

If you’ve heard about the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet and fancy giving it a go but feel unsure about where to start, I’ve got just the thing for you: the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid.

This handy visual guide is designed for healthy adults and lays out the different food groups that make up a Mediterranean diet, along with the number of servings to aim for each day or week. First published in the 1990s, the pyramid has been updated several times, most recently with sustainability in mind.

Let’s take a closer look at how it works.

The Foundation: Foods for Every Meal

At the base of the pyramid, we find the foods to include at every meal – the cornerstone of a Mediterranean diet. Here’s what to aim for:

• Vegetables: 2 portions, with a variety of colours, both raw and cooked.
• Wholegrains: 1–2 portions of bread, pasta, rice, or other grains (ideally wholegrain).
• Olive oil: A staple ingredient for cooking or dressing your meals.
• Fruit: At least 1 portion with each meal.

Following this foundation makes it simple to hit your five-a-day target and get enough fibre, an important nutrient which 91% of UK adults aren't eating enough of.

Daily Staples

Next on the pyramid are foods to include every day:

• Dairy: 2 servings, such as yoghurt or cheese.
• Nuts and seeds: Including a handful a day (about 30 grams) is a great goal
• Beans, peas, and lentils: Fantastic plant-based protein sources that are the base of many traditional Mediterranean dishes.

Weekly Proteins

Moving up the pyramid, we see animal proteins, which feature within dishes rather than being the main ingredient of a meal. Fish, seafood, eggs and poultry are included a few times a week:

• White meat: 2 portions per week.
• Fish and seafood: 2–3 portions per week.
• Eggs: 2–4 per week.
• Red meat: Included in small amounts, just 1–2 portions per week.

The Tip of the Pyramid

At the very top are foods high in sugar, which make up the smallest part of the diet.

A Flexible, Plant-Forward Diet

You don’t have to follow the pyramid perfectly – or even at every meal. Instead you can use it as a flexible guide to help you plan your meals and make the shift to a way of eating that has many health benefits.

References

Bach-Faig, A., Berry, E. M., Lairon, D., Reguant, J., Trichopoulou, A., Dernini, S., Medina, F. X., Battino, M., Belahsen, R., Miranda, G., Serra-Majem, L., Aranceta, J., Atinmo, T., Barros, J. M., Benjelloun, S., Bertomeu-Galindo, I., Burlingame, B., Caballero-Bartolí, M., Clapés-Badrinas, C., … Padulosi, S. (2011). Mediterranean diet pyramid today. Science and cultural updates. Public Health Nutrition, 14(12A), 2274–2284. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980011002515

Serra-Majem, L., Tomaino, L., Dernini, S., Berry, E. M., Lairon, D., de la Cruz, J. N., Bach-Faig, A., Donini, L. M., Medina, F. X., Belahsen, R., Piscopo, S., Capone, R., Aranceta-Bartrina, J., Vecchia, C. La, & Trichopoulou, A. (2020). Updating the mediterranean diet pyramid towards sustainability: Focus on environmental concerns. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(23), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238758

Willett, W. (2021). Mediterranean dietary pyramid. In International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (Vol. 18, Issue 9). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094568