Why the Cretan Diet is the World’s Healthiest Way of Eating
Want to live long and healthy? Move to Crete. Back in the 1950s, researchers came to this largest of the Greek islands to study why its inhabitants enjoy the world’s lowest percentage of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Later studies conducted by the World Health Organization found that Cretans also boasted the lowest mortality rate.
A Brief History: From Minoan Times to Modern Crete
Mind you, the Cretan diet is no new-fangled fad. It dates back 4,000 years to the mighty Minoan civilization. Archaeological findings at the great Palace of Knossos in Heraklion indicate that Minoans consumed almost the same foods as Cretans eat today. Large clay vessels held olive oil, grains, legumes, and honey.
Going back even further, Zeus, the mythical Greek god of the gods, was born in a cave on Crete and nursed on milk from a goat named Amaltheia. Crete has been a part of human history for 8,000 years. Paleolithic man arrived around 6000 BC, and over millennia, cultures including Minoans, Romans, Arabs, and Turks came to conquer and control the fertile island.
The beautiful mural on the island of Crete. Photo: Anita Draycott©
The Ancient Roots of the Mediterranean Diet
Roughly 50 years ago, Crete became the birthplace of something new: the Mediterranean diet — a heart-healthy eating pattern that has become, for many, the de facto diet of those living in countries bordering the northern Mediterranean Sea.
Olive Oil: Crete’s Liquid Gold
Even during hard times under Turkish, Venetian, and Arab occupation, rural Cretans lived off what their fertile soil produced organically. Most families had — and still have — a goat and enough olive trees to last the year. They don’t scrimp on that liquid gold — the key ingredient to their longevity.
Cretan olive oil is liquid gold. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Essential Ingredients of the Cretan Diet
Their diet includes plenty of fruit, vegetables, greens, legumes, goat cheese, and whole-grain bread. Wild herbs are used for flavouring, teas, and healing remedies. Aromatic honey and raisins are natural sweeteners. Fish and poultry are eaten in moderation; red meat is reserved for Sundays and celebrations. (Tomatoes, from the New World, only arrived in Crete in the 1900s.)
Moderation, Wine, and Raki: Drinking Like a Cretan
Cretans have practiced viniculture for 4,000 years. According to Greek mythology, the god Dionysus gifted wine to his friends, including the King of Crete’s daughter, Ariadne. These days, most Cretans drink wine in moderation with dinner. No meal is complete without a shot of Raki — a grape-based spirit infused with anise. Raki with honey is often served as an aperitif or used as a sore throat remedy.
Experiencing Traditional Cretan Cuisine at Salvia Villas – Cretan Cooking 101
On my last trip to Crete, we stayed at Salvia Villas near Rethymnon. The three-bedroom villa included en-suite bathrooms, laundry, a private pool, and a fully equipped kitchen.
The owner, Stylianos Kalligiannis, arranged for a local chef to give us a cooking demonstration. We started with dakos, a traditional Cretan appetizer made by rubbing olive oil on dry barley rusks, then topping with diced tomatoes, mizithra cheese, and oregano from the villa’s herb garden.
We also helped the chef prepare a salad of spiky wild artichokes and broad beans, a dish of spinach, fennel and local greens, and a rich moussaka casserole layered with potatoes, ground meat, zucchini, eggplant, and béchamel sauce. Kalligiannis contributed a gallon of his homemade wine to accompany the feast.
The staff at Salvia Villas can also assist with car rentals, island tours, and various other activities.
A local chef at Salvia Villas near Rethymnon. Ancient amphoras for storing wine and olive oil. Photo: Anita Draycott©
The beautiful island of Crete, Photo: Anita Draycott©
Dictamnus: Crete’s Legendary Miracle Herb
Cretan soil produces a wealth of herbs and medicinal plants. Aristotle once recorded that a goat wounded by a hunter’s arrow ate a plant called origanum dictamnus, and the arrow miraculously fell out of its healed wound. Today, dictamnus, from the oregano family, is considered a panacea for everything from headaches to digestive problems — and even believed by some to be an aphrodisiac.
Just outside the town of Spili, I spotted an elderly man with a donkey foraging in a wild meadow. Though we had no common language, it was clear he was delighted with his herbal finds. I was looking for dictamnus and struck gold at the Maravel Shop in Spili, where shelves brimmed with olive-oil soaps, salves, balms, and potions made from local herbs.
Harvesting Dictamnus, Crete’s legendary miracle herb. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Crete’s miracle herb, origanum dictamnus. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Where to Eat Authentic Foods of Crete in Rethymnon
If you want to sample authentic Cretan recipes, head to Avli in the Old Town of Rethymnon. Several of their dishes come from grandmothers in rural villages. Alongside the freshest local ingredients, they offer expertly paired wines from Crete’s best vintages.
Try the slow-cooked free-range goat with tomatoes, green beans, and young goat cheese — a dish fit for the gods.
For dessert, visit Yiorgos Hatziparashos, an ancient bakery where a nonagenarian phyllo pastry master and his family have been perfecting honey-soaked baklava since 1960.
I left Crete with a suitcase full of olive oil, dried herbs, and honey. What the heck? If you are what you eat… I might as well eat like a Cretan.
Yiorgos Hatziparashos with a sheet of Filo in the bakery in Rethymnon, Crete. Photo: Anita Draycott©
Honey-soaked traditional baklava served in Crete. Photo: Anita Draycott©
How to Eat Like a Cretan: Simple Steps for a Healthier, Longer Life
Easy tips – Adopt the legendary Cretan diet in your kitchen
- Use extra virgin olive oil generously. Swap butter and vegetable oils for Crete’s “liquid gold” in cooking, baking, and salad dressings.
- Eat more vegetables, legumes, and greens. Fill your plate with seasonal produce, wild greens, lentils, chickpeas, and broad beans.
- Make whole grains your base. Choose barley rusks and whole grain bread.
- Ditch processed cheese for fresh, tangy options made from goat’s milk. Enjoy goat cheese and yogurt in moderation.
- Limit red meat. Save it for special occasions. Opt for fish, chicken, or plant-based proteins most days.
- Flavour with herbs, not salt. Use oregano, fennel, mint, thyme, and dictamnus to naturally enhance dishes.
- Savour your meals — don’t rush. Eat slowly, with family or friends, ideally with a small glass of wine.
- Try a shot of Raki (or not). A Cretan tradition, Raki is often served after meals and even used as a home remedy with honey.
- Choose honey over sugar. Sweeten with antioxidant-rich local honey instead of refined sugars.
- Stay active and connected. The Cretan lifestyle includes walking, gardening, and a strong sense of community.
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