Mediterranean Diet - What it Is and What it Isn't

The Mediterranean Diet was actually a phrase that was coined by a doctor called Ancel Keys way back in 1945. What was of interest to Dr. Ancel Keys was that where he was stationed (Salerno, Italy), he observed that people were eating a diet that was high in fats, moderate alcohol intake and were actually very fit and living lives that were longer than average. This seemingly impossible paradox was was pushed him to start the analysis of the diet.

For all purposes, what we describe today as the Mediterranean Diet is actually a modern nutritional recommendation of the description of the normal eating patterns of what Dr. Ancel Keys documented back when he was still stationed in Salerno. It describes the basic eating pattern of the people that were located in the Mediterranean Basin in the south of Europe.

The predominant food patterns of these people are a diet that emphasizes this diet are a lot of fresh plant food that are often eaten either half cook or even raw in the form of salads. Legumes and beans also feature quite substantially in this slimming diet along with the consumption of many complex carbohydrates like unrefined cereal etc. They also emphasize on consumption of fresh fruit both as garnishing for their main meals and also as desserts. Their primary source of fat is olive oil which is used in cooking the majority of their dishes, more olive oil is used than normal at about 25-35% of total daily calories. The diet calls for a moderate amount of dairy products in the form of cheese and yogurt. It allows for no more than 4 eggs a week and restricts red meats to low and moderate amounts only. The strange thing is that it also calls for a consumption of red wine in low to moderate amounts, anything up to 2 glasses a day.

Although the diet is called the Mediterranean Diet, it is only typical of the south Mediterranean style and is by no means an indication that these are the eating habits of all the people in the Mediterranean area. For instance, in northern Italy, a much higher amount of lard and shortenings are used in their normal meal cooking while olive oil is reserved for their dressings and only some seafood dishes. Another example will be Northern Africa in places like Moroco which is still Mediterranean but will avoid wine because of their Muslim faith and will also use a higher amount of sheep or mutton fat in replacement of olive oil in their cooking.

The Science

There was a study initiated in the 1960s called the Seven Countries Study which was basically a look into the different diets of hugely different diet types amongst the people in the world. The study found that people in Cretan (South Mediterranean) had strangely low death rates attributed to heart disease even though they had a diet that was high in fat. This surprise find prompted scientists to commission another study which basically sampled victims that survived their first heart attack who followed the Cretan diet and those that maintained their original diet. To the marvel of the scientists, those that followed the Cretan diet had a mortality rate that was a whopping 70% less than those that maintained their previous diet.

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