Living on a private Greek island may be out of the cards for most of us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t eat like we’re on a Mediterranean vacation (without leaving home). Research suggests the Mediterranean diet — consisting primarily of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices, and olive oil and supplemented with occasional dairy, poultry, and fish — doesn’t just promote a healthy body, but can actually make us happier, too.
The diet has been touted by organizations like the American Heart Association, the Mayo Clinic, and the Cleveland Clinic as a heart-healthy, cancer-fighting, diabetes-preventing eating plan. But can it also boost our mood?