Abstract
The Mediterranean diet is a food pattern incorporated into a set of lifestyle practices typical of Greece and Southern Italy in the early 1960s, where adult life expectancy was notably high, while rates of diet-related chronic diseases were low. The Mediterranean diet was described initially by the work of LG Allbaugh, commissioned by the Rockefeller foundation and the Greek government post-WW2 on the Greek island of Crete in 1948. The Mediterranean diet was accepted as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2013. The primary advantages of the Mediterranean diet include health benefits pertinent to cardiovascular, metabolic syndrome, and cognition.
Highlights
We provide an account on the historical timeline and main points of the Mediterranean diet, key studies that delineated its health benefits, and a contrast with main popular and widespread alternative dietary schemes
In the Greek European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a cohort with over 25,000 participants, a 12% reduction in cancer incidence was observed in those who adhered to a traditional Mediterranean diet to a greater degree [24]
The results demonstrated that higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) was associated with a significant reduction in risk for Alzheimer’s disease
Summary
Descriptions from Homer and many depictions on pottery and frescos show clearly that people in the Mediterranean from ancient Greek times were knowledgeable over a variety of food preservation practices, including storage, salting, and/or seasoning for fish and seafood, olives and olive oil, wine, and various meats (such as pork, goat, sheep, and beef) [6]. The Mediterranean diet can be approached as a way of life incorporating but not limited to nutrition, developed and adopted by people in a geographical region populated since the early days of civilization on Earth, around a closed sea surrounded by land of characteristic climate and soil conditions. The. Mediterranean diet involves a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols, and traditions concerning crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking, and the sharing and consumption of food.
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