Healthy Eating Over 65: A Senior Nutrition Guide

How to Follow the Diet?

The Mediterranean diet is based on:

• Plant-based meals, with just small amounts of lean meat and chicken
• More servings of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and legumes
• Foods that naturally contain high amounts of fiber
• Plenty of fish and other seafood
• Olive oil as the main source of fat for preparing food. Olive oil is a healthy, monounsaturated fat
• Food that is prepared and seasoned simply, without sauces and gravies

What Is Foods Not in the Diet?

Foods that are eaten in small amounts or not at all in the Mediterranean diet include:

• Red meats
• Sweets and other desserts
• Eggs
• Butter

What Are Possible Health Concerns?

There may be health concerns with this eating style for some people, including:

• You may gain weight from eating fats in olive oil and nuts.
• You may have lower levels of iron. If you choose to follow the Mediterranean diet, be sure to eat some foods rich in iron or in vitamin C, which helps your body absorb iron.
• You may have calcium loss from eating fewer dairy products. Ask your health care provider if you should take a calcium supplement.
• Wine is a common part of a Mediterranean eating style but some people should not drink alcohol. Avoid wine if you are prone to alcohol overuse, pregnant, at risk for breast cancer, or have other conditions that alcohol could make worse.

Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, Buroker AB, et al. 2019 ACC/AHA guideline on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines.

. 2019;140(11):e596-e646. PMID: 30879355

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30879355/

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Bakris GL, Sorrentino MJ. Systemic hypertension: mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Tomaselli GF, Bhatt DL, Solomon SD, eds.

. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 26.

Prescott E. Lifestyle interventions. In: de Lemos JA, Omland T, eds.

. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 18.

Read More

• Angina

• Angioplasty and stent placement – carotid artery

• Cardiac ablation procedures

• Carotid artery surgery – open

• Coronary heart disease

• Heart bypass surgery

• Heart bypass surgery – minimally invasive

• Heart failure

• Heart pacemaker

• High blood cholesterol levels

• High blood pressure in adults – hypertension

• Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator

• Peripheral artery disease – legs

What Are Patient Instructions?

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Frequently Asked Questions

Key Takeaways

The Mediterranean diet is based on:
Foods that are eaten in small amounts or not at all in the Mediterranean diet include:
There may be health concerns with this eating style for some people, including:
Updated by: Stefania Manetti, RD/N, CDCES, RYT200, My Vita Sana LLC – Nourish and heal through food, San Jose, CA. To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. The Mediterranean-style diet has fewer meats and carbohydrates than a typical American diet.

How to Follow the Diet?

The Mediterranean diet is based on:

Plant-based meals, with just small amounts of lean meat and chicken

More servings of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and legumes

Foods that naturally contain high amounts of fiber

Plenty of fish and other seafood

Olive oil as the main source of fat for preparing food. Olive oil is a healthy, monounsaturated fat

Food that is prepared and seasoned simply, without sauces and gravies

What Is Foods Not in the Diet?

Foods that are eaten in small amounts or not at all in the Mediterranean diet include:

Red meats

Sweets and other desserts

Eggs

Butter

What Are Possible Health Concerns?

There may be health concerns with this eating style for some people, including:

You may gain weight from eating fats in olive oil and nuts. You may have lower levels of iron. If you choose to follow the Mediterranean diet, be sure to eat some foods rich in iron or in vitamin C, which helps your body absorb iron.

Read More

Angina

Angioplasty and stent placement – carotid artery

Cardiac ablation procedures

Carotid artery surgery – open

Coronary heart disease

Heart bypass surgery

Heart bypass surgery – minimally invasive

Heart failure

Heart pacemaker

High blood cholesterol levels

High blood pressure in adults – hypertension

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator

Peripheral artery disease – legs

• Angina – discharge

• Angioplasty and stent – heart – discharge

• Aspirin and heart disease

• Being active when you have heart disease

• Butter, margarine, and cooking oils

• Cardiac catheterization – discharge

• Cholesterol and lifestyle

• Cholesterol – drug treatment

• Controlling your high blood pressure

• Dietary fats explained

• Fast food tips

• Heart attack – discharge

• Heart bypass surgery – discharge

• Heart bypass surgery – minimally invasive – discharge

• Heart disease – risk factors

• Heart failure – discharge

• How to read food labels

• Low-salt diet

• Managing your blood sugar

• Stroke – discharge

Updated by: Stefania Manetti, RD/N, CDCES, RYT200, My Vita Sana LLC – Nourish and heal through food, San Jose, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

• Diets

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