Toward an Optimal Diet for Health in Asia: The Asian–Mediterranean Dietary Pattern

Abstract

With rapid population aging and lifestyle transitions, Asian countries are facing a growing burden of diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Optimal nutrition is central to preventing NCDs and promoting healthy aging. Traditional Asian diets have many strengths, including abundant vegetables, plant-based proteins, functional foods, and nutrient-preserving cooking methods such as steaming and stewing. However, they also have limitations, including widespread use of refined carbohydrates and high sodium intake. In recent decades, the nutrition transition toward energy-dense, highly processed diets has further exacerbated these existing challenges and contributed to declining dietary quality. Despite efforts across Asia to establish healthy dietary frameworks, the region’s diverse food cultures and limited research make it challenging to conceptualize a unified, culturally appropriate, and evidence-based dietary pattern. The Mediterranean diet has gained global recognition for its health benefits. However, its direct application in Asia is limited by cultural, culinary, and food system differences. In this Perspective article, the Asian–Mediterranean diet (AMED) is proposed as a culturally adapted framework that preserves the evidence-based principles of the Mediterranean diet while integrating healthy Asian foods and culinary practices. It emphasizes plant-based proteins such as soy products, healthy plant oils like canola and sesame oils, whole grains including brown rice and millet, abundant seasonal fruits and vegetables, seafood and poultry, and traditional functional foods such as fermented foods and teas. Nutrient-preserving cooking methods, together with moderate use of condiments, are encouraged. A 20-wk randomized controlled trial in Singapore is underway to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, adherence, and health effects of AMED. As evidence accumulates, AMED has the potential to provide a scalable strategy that bridges Mediterranean evidence with Asian food cultures, promoting healthier and longer lives across Asian populations.