The Mediterranean diet and its so called versions and adaptations are ubiquitously available now. But the concept of the Mediterranean diet started with the famous Dr. Ancel Keys in the 1950’s with his landmark epidemiological Seven Country study, where him and his team looked at the relationship between diet and cardiovascular disease among seven countries. They looked at a total of sixteen cities within Finland, Italy, Yugoslavia, The Netherlands, Greece, United States and Japan.
After looking at almost 13,000 men, it was clear that the Greeks and Japanese consumed the least amount of meat and the most amounts of legumes. This was expected since the Japanese consume a lot of tofu and other soy based products and soy is classified as a legume. The Greeks also consumed more fruits than any other country; even more than double the amount the Americans and Italians consumed. Also noticeably different was that the Japanese consumed the least cheese and milk of all countries. The Greeks also consumed the most fat in the form of olive oil and the Japanese consumed the least amount of sugar. But if looking at the three different cities studied in Italy, the coastal cities had more similarities with the Greek food intake than the cities close to Rome and Bologna.
Dr. Keys concluded that saturated fat can be harmful for ones’ health, but unsaturated fat can have positive health benefits. This was surprisingly obvious as the men living in Crete consumed 40% of the calories from fats, but had the lowest incidence of heart disease and highest life expectancy of all with Japan.
It is also important to understand, especially in today’s point of view, that the health benefits are not solely associated with the diet but also the lifestyle. People eat fresh food provided by the costal Mediterranean water and land. They have to work to get their food on the table and food is shared with others in a relaxed atmosphere. It’s all about “la joie de vivre”, which means the joy of living. There is also the joy of cooking which is somewhat a major part of living the Mediterranean lifestyle, since the whole day is centered on enjoying life and food in company of others. Maybe one thing that makes it all an integrated part is that people live outside of their home. Their houses and apartments are relatively small compared to North American standards. They consequently spend a lot of time outside, hence the numerous cafés and restaurants.
The Mediterranean diet is mainly a vegetarian diet, where fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes are the main staple. Fat intake comes from olive oil and nuts. Animal protein is consumed in small amounts, but will come from fish and other seafood whereas meat, poultry, eggs and cheese are consumed occasionally. Sweets are also consumed but in a sparingly manner. It goes without saying that in order to be a true Mediterranean diet, the diet should not include processed foods, but should include moderate amounts of red wine, plenty of water and some sort of physical activity should be performed on a daily basis.
The health benefits of adhering to the Mediterranean diet are incredible. A few examples include: reduced breast cancer, reduced depression, improved diabetes control, reduced overall mortality rate, mortality from cardiovascular diseases, from cancer and incidence of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, reduced asthma and allergies and reduced the risk of developing COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
These are the main health benefits without considering the benefits to the environment and local economy. To quote the words of Dr.Keys nine years before he died at the age of 100 in 2004: “Today, the healthy Mediterranean diet is changing and coronary heart disease is no longer confined to medical textbooks. Our challenge is to persuade children to tell their parents to eat as Mediterranean’s’ do”.
This is exactly what I intend to do and share my culinary, cultural and social experiences with you. I hope I can convey it an interesting matter to keep you posted.
Peace and Love
Josée
