At its core, the Swedish diet prioritises traditional food and cooking methods and is heavily influenced by the changing seasons. Photo / Bobbi Lin, The New York Times
Chef Niklas Ekstedt on the traditional methods and seasonal ingredients that have helped catapult his country high in global health rankings.
“The Swedish diet has been shaped by necessity and survival,” says chef Niklas Ekstedt, 47, who grew up in Järpen, a village in northern Sweden with 900 residents.
Pickling, fermenting and preserving food were vital to make it through the country’s harsh, snowy winters before refrigeration. The summer brought little respite – northern parts of Sweden are bathed in 24-hour sunlight, meaning vegetables and berries mature quickly and must be hastily preserved at their ripest.
Ekstedt, one of Sweden’s most acclaimed chefs, recalls a childhood spent “gathering berries from the mountains with the indigenous Sámi community, learning how to catch fish and butchering reindeer with dad”. He picked beetroot, lingonberries and cucumbers with his mother.
There were no ultra-processed foods in his household. He grew up eating a locally sourced, seasonal, whole-food diet, rich in root vegetables; freshwater oily fish like trout and salmon; and wholegrains such as rye bread.
“At the heart of everything we do is lagom,” Ekstedt says. “It means ‘just right’ – not too much, not too little – and that is a philosophy we apply to how we eat, live and work as a community.”
Millions across the country continue to embrace tradition by eating seasonally and “gathering, hunting, foraging, pickling, fermenting and jamming” local foods.
All of which has helped catapult Sweden high in global health rankings. It is among the top countries for life expectancy (83 years), has one of the best healthy life expectancies in the European Union (71 years), and has enviably low rates of obesity at 17%.
So, what exactly makes the Swedish diet so healthy – and what can we learn from it?
What exactly is the Swedish diet?
At its core, the Swedish diet prioritises traditional food and cooking methods and is heavily influenced by the changing seasons. Slow cooking and baking are popular.
“Growing up, fermenting and pickling food was something our community did on a weekly basis – everyone helped with picking the berries, drying them out and preserving them,” Ekstedt says. “Ironically, I absolutely hated doing it as a child because it was boring and there were mosquitoes everywhere, but now it’s one of my best skills and something I’m really happy that my parents ensured I learnt from them.”
In the spring and summer, fresh produce and foraged foods, like new potatoes, nettles, asparagus, rhubarb and wild blueberries, are staple foods, while in the autumn and winter months beetroot, kale, cabbage and lingonberries are in season.
Game meat such as venison and reindeer is also popular in the winter, while oily fish (salmon, mackerel and pickled herring), rye crispbread, kefir, berries and preserved vegetables are enjoyed all year.
Swedes usually start the day with a quick breakfast like a rye crispbread with cheese, or porridge with blueberries. Lunch may consist of meatballs or oily fish served with potato pancakes and a salad; dinner is eaten earlier in the evening and may include a traditional soup or diced potatoes with onion and meat.
There are also food-focused cultural practices in Sweden that set the country apart from its Nordic neighbours.
One is “Taco Friday”, a Scandi twist on the Mexican favourite, which involves families gathering to eat tacos and unwind at the end of the week. It is so deeply ingrained in Swedish culture that the word “fredagsmys” (Cosy Friday) was added to the dictionary in 2007.
Here’s why the Swedish diet is so healthy:
1. Good for the heart
The Swedish diet contains a diverse range of high-fibre foods, including root vegetables and berries, says Sofia Antonsson, a Swedish dietitian. But it’s the way they are prepped that is particularly healthy. “We try to cook our vegetables only for a short period of time, so they keep their crunch, their nutrients and their dietary fibre,” she explains. The fibre in these foods can help to lower blood cholesterol levels by binding to LDL, or “bad”, cholesterol in the digestive tract and removing it from the body.
The prevalence of healthy fats in oily fish and rapeseed oil, with their omega-3 fatty acids, can help to lower non-HDL cholesterol levels, supporting overall cardiovascular health, Antonsson says. Studies have also found that eating more salmon, herring and mackerel, always popular on a Swedish serving platter, is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality.
2. Great for the gut
With its wide range of high-fibre wholegrains (including rye crispbread and oats), root vegetables and berries, the Swedish diet is also fantastic for the gut. Dietary fibre feeds the good bacteria in the gut, aiding digestion, reducing inflammation and promoting a healthy microbiome.
Of course, it also contains a wide variety of pickled and fermented foods such as herring, kefir, cured salmon and fermented vegetables. All of these foods support a healthy gut by introducing probiotics – beneficial bacteria that improve digestion and nutrient absorption, Antonsson explains.
3. Keeps you full and less likely to overeat
Rich in fibre and filling foods, the Swedish diet may help you to lose weight. The high fibre content in fruits, vegetables and wholegrains like rye and oats boosts satiety and slows digestion, which can make you eat less.
The same is true with high-protein, low-fat foods such as fish, kefir, game meat and legumes, Antonsson adds. Game meats like reindeer and venison are naturally lean, with lower levels of fat and fewer calories than common farmed meats. Venison typically contains 23 grams of protein and just 0.4g fat per 100g, while the same serving of roast beef may contain a similar amount of protein but with 5g fat.
4. May protect the brain
Both berries, which Swedish people have “almost unlimited access” to, says Antonsson, and oily fish are rich sources of anti-inflammatory compounds. While oily fish contains anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, berries are packed with antioxidants called anthocyanins that also help fight inflammation.
Some studies suggest that the Swedish diet may protect brain health because of these anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, Antonsson notes. One 2023 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating a handful of blueberries each day might improve cognition, memory and reaction time. The researchers believed that the anthocyanins were behind these effects.
Additionally, emerging research suggests that fermented foods in the Swedish diet may boost brain health via the gut-brain axis, helping to regulate mood and enhance cognitive function.
5. Helps you sleep
With its focus on nutrient-dense whole foods, the Swedish diet may help to improve sleep quality. One 2022 study found that high adherence to the (similar) Nordic diet was associated with better sleep quality and a reduced likelihood of being a poor sleeper.
Additionally, research shows that regular consumption of root vegetables, wholegrains and berries, staples of the Swedish diet, is linked to less severe insomnia symptoms and better overall sleep quality.
This is probably because the diet is “rich in sleep-promoting nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, wholegrains that provide sustainable energy rather than sugar crashes, and light, healthy dinners that may help reduce overnight digestive issues”, Antonsson notes.
How to incorporate some Swedish flair into your diet
To eat more “Swedish”, Antonsson recommends “working on variety – and by that, I mean eating more vegetables, at least 25 per week, to increase your fibre intake". Eat seasonal veg (like asparagus, broccoli, carrots and cucumbers) in the summer, or cauliflower, kale, parsnips and swede in the colder months, and buy them fresh or stock up on frozen varieties from your local supermarket.
Ekstedt says to start simple and experiment with Swedish recipes that are already familiar to you. “Lots of English people will have had Ikea meatballs, for example – they are a traditional Swedish food, but, obviously, they are mass-produced, so making them from scratch will be even better and more nutritious.”
Additionally, you could try curing your own salmon or making your own jam, rather than buying supermarket versions that are likely to include added sugars or extra ingredients. “Once you master these practices, these things literally take five minutes to make – they are far less complex than they seem,” Ekstedt says. The lagom way.