--- title: Study: Mediterranean Diet Might Reverse Metabolic Syndrome description: The Mediterranean diet along with supplemental extra-virgin olive oil and nuts could help reverse metabolic syndrome. canonical: https://time.com/3506481/mediterranean-diet-metabolic-syndrome/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-14T15:52:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:46:35.999Z article:section: Health og:title: Study Says Mediterranean Diet Could Help Reverse Metabolic Syndrome og:description: Plus supplementary extra-virgin olive oil or nuts og:url: https://time.com/3506481/mediterranean-diet-metabolic-syndrome/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt110c0fa824ef3fc7/698760b73c16395edd44f0b8/169160591.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Mediterranean diet og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Study Says Mediterranean Diet Could Help Reverse Metabolic Syndrome twitter:description: Plus supplementary extra-virgin olive oil or nuts twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt110c0fa824ef3fc7/698760b73c16395edd44f0b8/169160591.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Mediterranean Diet Could Help Reverse Metabolic Syndrome by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Oct 14, 2014 3:52 PM UTC  Mediterranean Food. (Photo by: Media for Medical/UIG via Getty Images) Mediterranean Food. (Photo by: Media for Medical/UIG via Getty Images)Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Oct 14, 2014 3:52 PM UTC The Mediterranean diet along with supplemental extra-virgin olive oil and nuts could help reverse metabolic syndrome, Spanish researchers say in a [study that was published Tuesday.](http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.140764) Some 25% of adults suffer from metabolic syndrome, which increases their risk of stroke, heart disease and diabetes. The disease itself is the result of a combination of at least three of the following symptoms: high blood pressure, blood sugar, triglycerides, low HDL-cholesterol and obesity. But according to the results of a clinical trial published in the _Canadian Medical Association Journal_, the [Mediterranean diet](http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801) — consisting of fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains, and limited bad fats — can reverse the diagnosis. Researchers put 5,801 men and women ages 55-80 on a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, supplemented with nuts, or a low fat diet as a control group. While 64% of the participants had metabolic syndrome at the beginning of the study, 28.2% of people on the diet with the syndrome no longer met the criteria after just under 5 years. “Because there were no between-group differences in weight loss or energy expenditure, the change is likely attributable to the difference in dietary patterns,” said Dr. Jordi Salas-Salvadó, a co-author of the study. However, according to the study, “we found no beneficial effect of a Mediterranean diet on incidence of new-onset metabolic syndrome” — meaning the diet doesn’t help prevent the syndrome from occurring, a finding different from that of previous similar studies. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3506481/mediterranean-diet-metabolic-syndrome/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3506481/mediterranean-diet-metabolic-syndrome/"},"headline":"The Mediterranean Diet Could Help Reverse Metabolic Syndrome","datePublished":"2014-10-14T15:52:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:46:35.999Z","description":"Plus supplementary extra-virgin olive oil or nuts","url":"https://time.com/3506481/mediterranean-diet-metabolic-syndrome/","keywords":["diet","health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt110c0fa824ef3fc7/698760b73c16395edd44f0b8/169160591.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt110c0fa824ef3fc7/698760b73c16395edd44f0b8/169160591.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mediterranean diet","caption":"Mediterranean diet","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/diet/","name":"diet"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3506481/mediterranean-diet-metabolic-syndrome/","name":"The Mediterranean Diet Could Help Reverse Metabolic Syndrome"}}]}] ```