The Mayo Clinic has it right when they refer to the "Mediterranean diet" as a way of eating. I'd go further and call it a way of life. Calling this healthy way of eating a "diet" relegates it to the level of the fad diets being lauded (worryingly - non-medics advocating what almost amounts to medical advice...) in this thread. For at least a decade, the eating in our house fits the Mayo definition very nicely, but we got to it via our visits to Italy and enjoying and adopting the "Italian way" of eating. No prescriptive diet books making a fortune for charlatans, no dipping in and out, no failing and starting again. The cooking is simple, you don't need mountains of ingredients or a huge array of herbs and spices, and many of the dishes can be rustled up in a very short time. What's not to like? Incidentally, on the matter of so-called "healthy fats," the only unhealthy fats are the artificially hydrogenated ones. Butter is a major part of cooking in much of Italy (think risottos) and Parmesan cheese is also prevalent. Whether butter and olive oil are healthy or not depends solely on the amounts you eat. All things in moderation, only the freshest and best-quality ingredients, plenty of vegetables. That is not a diet. You can still get fat on it, by the way.