The Mediterranean Diet is one of the most extensively studied dietary patterns and has consistently been associated with lower risks of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
Many traditional Asian diets also contain nutritious foods such as vegetables, fish and legumes. However, modern eating habits across the region have shifted towards higher consumption of refined grains, processed foods, sodium and saturated fats. These changes have contributed to the rising burden of chronic diseases.
Researchers from Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) in collaboration with Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and SATS have developed Singapore’s first Asian-adapted Mediterranean Diet (AMED). AFBR has the opportunity to interview its lead researcher, Associate Professor Verena Tan, Programme Leader of Dietetics and Nutrition at SIT to dive deeper into their research and gain exclusive insights on what represents a healthy diet. According to Professor Tan, “Our research was not intended to suggest that people should replace Asian cuisine with Mediterranean food. Instead, we explored whether the core nutritional principles of the Mediterranean Diet could be applied to familiar Asian dishes. The goal was to develop meals that retain the flavours and eating habits people enjoy while improving their nutritional quality, making healthier eating more practical and sustainable.”
She added, “This is also borne out in our data: participants in our study had an average Mediterranean Diet Score of just 4.4 out of possible 14 at baseline, reflecting how unfamiliar this eating pattern currently is in Singapore. That gap is precisely why adaptation, rather than direct adoption, was our starting point.”
The following are key takeaways from the interview with Professor Tan.
Are there ways to adapt this diet into ASEAN cuisine/food and beverage products?
Yes. That was the central objective of our research.
Instead of introducing unfamiliar Mediterranean dishes, we adapted local favourites using Mediterranean dietary principles. This included increasing vegetables, legumes and whole grains, incorporating healthier sources of fat, selecting leaner protein options and reducing refined ingredients where possible.
The key is not to replicate Mediterranean cuisine, but to preserve its nutritional characteristics while retaining the flavours, textures and cooking styles that Asian consumers already enjoy. This approach makes healthier eating more practical and sustainable over the long term.
Examples from our menu include a grilled salmon and asparagus grain salad, claypot tofu, sambal tomato pasta and thunder tea rice. Typical substitutions included using regionally available unsaturated oils such as canola or rice bran oil in place of olive oil, increasing soy-based proteins, fish and legumes in place of red meat, and replacing wine, traditionally part of the Mediterranean Diet, with non-alcoholic polyphenol-rich ingredients such as tomatoes and green tea.
Affordability was a deliberate design constraint, not an afterthought. Classic Mediterranean staples such as olive oil, feta cheese and salmon tend to be imported and comparatively expensive in Singapore, which make them potentially unsustainable for everyday eating. So once we had defined the nutritional targets the diet needed to meet, we mapped these targets onto ingredients that are already affordable and widely available locally, then build over 100 recipes around them. That affordability lens is, in some ways, as important to long-term adoption as the flavour matching.
Are there scientific evidences that Mediterranean (Med) diet is healthier?
There is a substantial and long-established body of international evidence linking the Mediterranean Diet to lower rates of metabolic syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease and MASLD. For example, the FLIPAN trial found that greater adherence to the Mediterranean Diet improve liver fat and metabolic markers in people with fatty liver disease, and current international clinical guidelines for MASLD recommend a Mediterranean-style eating pattern as part of first-line management.
Our own study did not test clinical outcomes directly. Its purpose was to develop and taste-test the Asian-adapted recipes and confirm they retained the diet’s nutritional profile, including its polyphenol content. What it does is lay the groundwork. Now that we have a culturally adapted, well-accepted version of the diet, the next step is to test it in a clinical trial and see whether it delivers the same metabolic and liver benefits seen with the traditional Mediterranean Diet.
How can healthier eating like incorporating Med diet be used in future innovations of food and beverage products in ASEAN?
Our findings point to some opportunities in ASEAN. Manufacturers and foodservice providers could reformulate familiar, popular dishes and ready meals to include more vegetables, legumes, wholegrains and healthier fats, and less sodium and refined carbohydrate, without changing the fundamental flavour consumers expect.
One finding which is especially relevant for product development is that texture, more than appearance or aroma, was the strongest driver of whether a dish was accepted by consumers. That suggests R&D investment in healthier formulations should prioritise getting the mouthfeel right, since that appears to matter more to consumers than simply improving the nutrition label.
Describe some successful case studies that have applied Med diet concept into their product concepts?
Within Singapore, our AMED project is itself one of the first documented examples. Developed with SGH and SATS, it translated Mediterranean Diet principles into a 4-week menu of familiar Asian dishes and tested it directly with patients. A related Singapore study, the TANGO trial, also explored an Asian-adapted Mediterranean diet, though its primary focus was a specific fatty acid supplement rather than a full culturally adapted menu.
In general, how do you describe a healthy diet for an average middle-aged Asian consumer?
A healthy diet should be balanced, varied and practical enough to maintain over time.
For many middle-aged Asians, this means increasing vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains, choosing healthier sources of protein such as fish and beans, incorporating healthier fats, and moderating intake of highly processed foods, added sugars and sodium.
Healthy eating does not require abandoning traditional cuisines. Small adjustments to familiar dishes can improve nutritional quality while allowing people to continue enjoying foods that are culturally meaningful and fit naturally into their daily lives.
For more information on the research, click HERE
