High in Fat, High in Cholesterol and High in Health: the “Mediterranean Diet”

Mediterranean cuisine is synonymous with fresh, natural and wholesome foods. Red meat is eaten rarely, but other sources of fat are consumed regularly through dairy, fish, poultry, eggs and olive oil.

Rather than focusing on any single nutrient, a Mediterranean-style diet is characterised by vegetables, legumes, wholegrains, olive oil, nuts and fish, with modest amounts of dairy and red meat. It’s this whole-of-diet pattern, not any one food group, that researchers link to better health outcomes.

One of the most well-evidenced benefits is the connection between diet and mental wellbeing. The SMILES trial, the first randomised controlled trial of dietary intervention for depression, found that participants who followed a modified Mediterranean diet experienced significantly greater reductions in depression symptoms than a control group (Jacka et al., SMILES trial, BMC Medicine, 2017, Food & Mood Centre, Deakin University).

This finding has since been corroborated internationally. A 2024 meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials confirmed that Mediterranean diet interventions can help alleviate depressive symptoms in adults, and longitudinal cohort studies show a lower relative risk of depression among those with the highest adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (Bizzozero-Peroni et al., Nutrition Reviews, 2024; Lassale et al., Molecular Psychiatry).

Despite this, most Australians fall well short of a Mediterranean-style eating pattern: 9 in 10 Australian adults don’t eat enough vegetables to meet dietary guidelines, and two-thirds of Australian adults are overweight or obese (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024).

A diet based on the principles of Mediterranean cuisine — rich in vegetables, wholegrains, healthy fats and fish — is a practical, evidence-informed way for workplaces to support both physical and mental wellbeing, rather than a claim about any single nutrient curing or preventing disease.

HSG can tailor nutrition seminars to suit your workplace requirements. We can also run healthy cooking classes that will teach your employees how to cook great tasting meals that are also healthy.

Last updated July 2026.

• healthy eating
• workplace wellbeing