Eating style
Nordic diet
Rye, oats, barley, berries, root vegetables, fish and rapeseed oil: a northern European take on mostly-plant eating. What it includes and what the studies found.
What it is
The Nordic diet, also called the New Nordic or Baltic Sea diet, is built from foods traditionally eaten in the Nordic countries. It centres on wholegrain rye, oats and barley, berries, apples and pears, root vegetables and cabbages, beans and peas, fish and shellfish, nuts, low-fat dairy, and rapeseed oil as the main fat.
In shape it resembles the Mediterranean diet with local ingredients: rapeseed oil instead of olive oil, rye bread instead of white, berries as the everyday fruit. The 2023 Nordic Nutrition Recommendations point the same way: mostly plants, ample fish and nuts, moderate low-fat dairy, limited red meat and as little processed meat as possible.
What the research shows
A 2022 systematic review pooled 15 cohort studies and six randomised trials. People who ate closest to a Nordic pattern had a 7% lower rate of cardiovascular disease than those furthest from it. In the trials, LDL cholesterol fell by about 0.26 mmol/l, with small improvements in body weight and systolic blood pressure.
The authors rated the certainty of both main findings as low, because results varied widely between studies. The six trials included only 717 people in total and measured risk factors such as cholesterol, not heart attacks or strokes. The evidence is promising but thinner than for the Mediterranean diet.
Eating this way
The Nordic guidelines give useful numbers for adults: at least 90 g of whole grains a day, 500–800 g of vegetables, fruit and berries, 20–30 g of nuts, 300–450 g of fish a week with at least 200 g of it oily, and no more than 350 g of cooked red meat a week. Oats, rye bread, frozen berries and tinned fish make it practical anywhere.
Worth knowing
- Certainty is low for the main outcomes. Treat it as one reasonable version of mostly-plant eating, not as a proven way to protect your heart.
- If you have a medical condition or take medication, including for cholesterol or blood pressure, speak to your clinician before changing your diet.
Common questions
Is the Nordic diet better than the Mediterranean diet?
They are similar in structure, and the Mediterranean diet has been tested in much larger trials. Choose the one whose foods you enjoy and can buy easily.
Can I use olive oil instead of rapeseed oil?
Yes, as a practical swap. Both are mostly unsaturated fat. Rapeseed oil is simply the local choice in the Nordic studies.
Sources
- Massara et al., Diabetologia (2022): Nordic dietary patterns and cardiometabolic outcomes, a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Nordic Council of Ministers: Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023, food-based recommendations
- WHO Regional Office for Europe (2019): Health Evidence Network report 58 on Mediterranean and Nordic diets
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Speak to a doctor or registered dietitian about your own situation.