GQ: The Mediterranean Diet Has Ranked #1 For Seven Years In a Row—What Makes It So Effective?

By Abbey Stone
January 23, 2024

Time to move beyond your understanding of cucumber, feta, olives, tomato, and red onion—and onto what makes this eating pattern so powerful.

In its annual Best Diets ranking, U.S. News and World Report has awarded the top spot to the Mediterranean diet for the seventh year in a row. According to the publication, this style of eating—inspired by the eating habits of people living in the Mediterranean region—has such serious staying power because it’s easy to follow long-term and has been shown to support heart health, bone, and joint health, and help prevent certain diseases, such as diabetes.

But “diet” is really a misnomer, says Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN, author of Eating From Our Roots and a member of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Diets expert panel. “It’s less of a diet, more of a lifestyle, an eating pattern,” she says. “[It] can be customized based on the individual’s likes, dislikes, personal preference, religious needs, and access.”

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