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The Nordic Diet

The Mediterranean’s northern cousin: fish, whole grains, berries, and root vegetables.

By Camille McLaughlin, RDN, LD, registered dietitian nutritionist

If the Mediterranean diet has never quite matched your climate or your grocery store, this one may suit you better. The Nordic diet is built on the traditional foods of Scandinavia, and it’s been studied for heart health, blood pressure, and weight much like the Mediterranean diet. The plate looks similar too: plenty of vegetables (especially hardy root vegetables and cabbage), whole grains like rye, oats, and barley, berries, legumes, and fatty fish, with rapeseed (canola) oil in place of olive oil. It’s a whole-food, plant-leaning pattern with a distinctly northern accent.

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How it works

You build meals around vegetables and whole grains, eat fish a few times a week, reach for berries as your go-to fruit, and cook with rapeseed or another neutral healthy oil. Red meat and sweets are occasional rather than everyday, and processed food stays to a minimum.

✓ What you'll eat

Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring
Whole grains: rye, oats, barley
Root vegetables, cabbage, and other hardy vegetables
Berries, especially in place of sweets
Legumes, nuts, and seeds
Rapeseed (canola) oil

✕ What you'll limit

Red and processed meat
Added sugar and sweets
Refined grains and ultra-processed food

Who it's a good fit for

Anyone drawn to Mediterranean-style eating who wants a cooler-climate version. It's great for heart health, blood pressure, and steady weight, using ingredients that may feel more familiar if you cook northern-European style.

A dietitian's note

Like the Mediterranean pattern, this is a way of eating rather than a treatment. Our Nordic plans draw on the same fish-forward, whole-food, vegetable-rich recipes as our Mediterranean and heart-healthy plans.

Common questions

How is the Nordic diet different from the Mediterranean diet?

They’re close cousins. Both are whole-food, plant-leaning, fish-forward patterns. The main swaps are rapeseed oil for olive oil, rye and oats for wheat and rice, and berries and root vegetables in the starring roles.

Is it good for heart health?

Studies link it with lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol, similar to the Mediterranean diet, which is exactly why we map it to our heart-healthy recipes.

Is canola oil really the healthy choice here? I've heard the opposite.

The case against canola online comes from old rapeseed, which was high in a fatty acid called erucic acid. The canola bred in the 1970s and sold ever since is low in it, and what you get instead is an oil low in saturated fat, high in monounsaturated fat, and one of the few plant sources of the omega-3 ALA, which is why the American Heart Association lists it among the heart-healthy cooking oils. It also handles higher heat than extra-virgin olive oil, which is useful for roasting root vegetables. If you would rather cook with olive oil, that is a fine swap.

Do I need Nordic ingredients like herring, lingonberries, and rye?

No. What has been studied is the pattern, not the passport: fish a few times a week, whole grains, a lot of vegetables, berries standing in for sweets, and an unsaturated oil doing the cooking. Salmon, mackerel, or sardines cover for herring, blueberries or a bag of frozen mixed berries for lingonberries, and oats or barley for rye if your store does not carry it. Cabbage, carrots, beets, and potatoes are Nordic staples that are already in every American grocery store, which is a good part of why this way of eating travels so well.

Ready for a Nordic Diet plan built for you?

Answer a few quick questions and we'll build four weeks of Nordic Diet meals, with recipes customized to you and a smart grocery list.

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Answer the same questions and take the personalized guide on its own for $19. It's written to your answers, it waits in your portal, and it's yours to keep. Start a plan later and the $19 comes off your first four weeks.

Not sure yet? Compare all the diets we support →