The Mediterranean diet is often discussed as a lifestyle choice. Clinically, it is something more precise: a dietary intervention tested in one of the largest randomized controlled nutrition trials ever conducted for cardiovascular prevention.
The PREDIMED trial provides high-level evidence that dietary pattern alone—without calorie restriction or mandated weight loss, can significantly reduce the incidence of major cardiovascular events in high-risk individuals.
The PREDIMED Trial: A Landmark Nutrition Study
PREDIMED (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea) was a multicenter, randomized controlled trial conducted in Spain. It enrolled 7,447 adults between the ages of 55 and 80 years who were at high cardiovascular risk, but without established cardiovascular disease at baseline.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups:
