{"id":420455,"date":"2026-05-01T17:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T17:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/420455\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T17:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T17:20:10","slug":"what-is-the-nordic-diet-and-should-you-try-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/420455\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Nordic Diet and Should You Try It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Given recent revelations about ultra-processed foods<\/a>, there\u2019s never been a better time to simplify what you eat. Enter: the Nordic diet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve really reached a tipping point with regards to the industrialized food industry,\u201d says Dr. Colin Robertson, nutritionist, exercise physiologist, and chief product officer at Swedish health tech company Zinzino<\/a>. \u201cA lot of what had been discussed and debated in the past has really come to the forefront, and we now know, quantifiably, that this food is associated with health problems and we need to do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise, then, that the Nordic diet, which eschews ultra-processed foods and added sugars<\/a> in favor of heart-healthy fish and grains, fiber-packed<\/a> root vegetables, and gut-boosting prebiotics<\/a>, is trending. \u201cIt’s got a real earthiness to it, and the core components are backed by science,\u201d Dr. Robertson says. \u201cIt’s practical, it’s pragmatic, and it actually fits with what I would call the modern take on how we should be doing agriculture in the 21st century, which is to go back to local provision and sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the Nordic diet isn\u2019t just about winding back the clock on how you source and prepare your food. According to nutritionists who spoke with GQ, it also offers one of the most powerful and accessible ways to combat inflammation<\/a>. Here\u2019s everything you need to know, as well as how to get started.<\/p>\n

What is the Nordic diet?<\/p>\n

Even if you have absolutely no idea what the Nordic diet is, you\u2019ve probably heard of the Mediterranean diet<\/a>, long the poster boy for healthy eating. The former is actually quite similar, with just a handful of key differences. \u201cThe Nordic diet is largely a plant-based derivative that focuses on certain types of fats<\/a>,\u201d says Dr. Robertson. \u201cYou can’t really discuss the Nordic diet without discussing the Mediterranean diet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whereas the Mediterranean diet relies heavily on olive oil<\/a>, the Nordic diet emphasises rapeseed oil. \u201cThere you find the fundamental difference, which sets the comparison up perfectly,\u201d says Dr. Robertson. While the Mediterranean diet goes all in on omega-3s<\/a>, the Nordic diet dials up the omega-6s. According to the British Heart Foundation, rapeseed oil has the best balance of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fats of all plant oils. It also has the lowest saturated fat content\u2014roughly half of what you\u2019d get from olive oil. Meanwhile, the American Heart Association supports the inclusion<\/a> of omega-6 fatty acids as part of a healthy diet.<\/p>\n

Both diets prioritize seafood as the primary protein source<\/a>, flanked by an assortment of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, but the Nordic diet is a bit more specific here. While the Mediterranean diet allows for poultry and red meat a couple of times a week, the Nordic diet recommends mostly avoiding these. And in contrast to the Mediterranean diet\u2019s rainbow-colored salads rich in phytonutrients, the Nordic diet calls for healthy servings of root vegetables and berries.<\/p>\n

And because these diets prioritize different fats, the types of fish they recommend vary slightly, too. \u201cWhen you look at the types of fish in the Mediterranean diet, they’re more what we call meaty fish,\u201d\u2014varieties like cod, halibut, and sea bass\u2014while \u201cthe Nordic diet has a preference for fatty fish, like salmon, mackerel, and herring,\u201d says Dr. Robertson.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, both diets share a strong emphasis on whole foods and locally sourced, seasonal produce, with a few differences stemming mainly from their respective regions of origin. \u201cThe Nordic diet is often compared to the Mediterranean diet as its \u2018cold water\u2019 relative,\u201d says Ashley Koff, RD<\/a>, nutrition course director for UC Irvine\u2019s Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute\u2019s Integrative and Functional Medicine Fellowship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Given recent revelations about ultra-processed foods, there\u2019s never been a better time to simplify what you eat. Enter:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[589,453,163,85,46,56752,543,6611],"class_list":["post-420455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-fitness","tag-food","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-life-advice","tag-nutrition","tag-working-out"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}