The traditional Mediterranean diet meets many of the criteria of an optimal diet: It has health-promoting properties; it is palatable; and it is compatible with a sustainable environment.
Although the Mediterranean diet was shaped by history, climatic conditions, poverty, and hardship, rather than by intellectual insight or wisdom, it seems as if some superior force led the Mediterranean populations to exploit fully the bounty of nature and thus develop a prudent diet.
The health-promoting properties of the Mediterranean diet have been documented in many populations, including populations outside the Mediterranean region, but much of the convincing original work, from the days of Ancel Keys on, has been done on the Greek population, giving credence to the notion that the traditional Greek diet represents a distinguished prototype of the traditional Mediterranean diet. The traditional Greek diet has been found to reduce mortality from coronary heart disease and several forms of cancer and to increase longevity.
Indeed, in the late 1960s, when the fast-food epidemic had not yet invaded Greece, mortality among adults in this country was among the lowest in the world.
Although the Mediterranean diet was shaped by history, climatic conditions, poverty, and hardship, rather than by intellectual insight or wisdom, it seems as if some superior force led the Mediterranean populations to exploit fully the bounty of nature and thus develop a prudent diet.
The health-promoting properties of the Mediterranean diet have been documented in many populations, including populations outside the Mediterranean region, but much of the convincing original work, from the days of Ancel Keys on, has been done on the Greek population, giving credence to the notion that the traditional Greek diet represents a distinguished prototype of the traditional Mediterranean diet. The traditional Greek diet has been found to reduce mortality from coronary heart disease and several forms of cancer and to increase longevity.
Indeed, in the late 1960s, when the fast-food epidemic had not yet invaded Greece, mortality among adults in this country was among the lowest in the world.
GREEK PRODUCTS AND HEALTH
In simplified terms, the traditional Greek diet relies on high consumption of olive oil, which in Greece, more than in any other country, is extra-virgin; high consumption of plant foods, including vegetables, legumes, fruits, and unrefined cereals (many of which form the backbone of the country's agricultural economy); preference of fish over meat; and emphasis on feta cheese and yogurt rather than other dairy products. Moderate consumption of wine, mostly during meals, is also considered beneficial, provided that the dogma of not mixing drinking with driving is respected.
Recent studies have documented that the combination of food intakes is of paramount importance, but it is obvious that the high quality of the component foods is also critical.
Greece is justifiably proud of the high quality and palatability of many of its food products, including olive oil and feta cheese, as well as a wide range of traditional foods that have long made the traditional Greek diet distinct. Olive oil, for example, has always been considered sacred and invaluable. In Greek mythology it was considered a gift of the gods. Today, medical research has identified myriad beneficial health properties in olive oil.
The unusually low incidence of coronary heart disease in France (the “French paradox”) has occasionally been attributed to the high consumption of cheese by the French, but Greeks consume per capita as much cheese as the French in the form of the country's traditional feta.
Prepared foods and even some confections have an impressive array of healthful properties. Most notable among them are the savory greens seasonal fruits, sun-dried tomatoes, legumes and pulses such as fava (yellow split peas), and more.
The surprising nutritional properties of many of these foods are only now being recognized. For instance, some of the greens pies, pasteli (a sesame-and-honey brittle), spoon sweets made with contain very high quantities of important antioxidants, in fact much higher than those found in other foods widely reputed as antioxidant-rich. The traditional Greek diet, as a prototype of the traditional Mediterranean diet, finally has been recognized for its health-promoting attributes. Now it's time to get to know the food products that form the most important components of this renowned diet.
by Antonia Trichopoulou
In simplified terms, the traditional Greek diet relies on high consumption of olive oil, which in Greece, more than in any other country, is extra-virgin; high consumption of plant foods, including vegetables, legumes, fruits, and unrefined cereals (many of which form the backbone of the country's agricultural economy); preference of fish over meat; and emphasis on feta cheese and yogurt rather than other dairy products. Moderate consumption of wine, mostly during meals, is also considered beneficial, provided that the dogma of not mixing drinking with driving is respected.
Recent studies have documented that the combination of food intakes is of paramount importance, but it is obvious that the high quality of the component foods is also critical.
Greece is justifiably proud of the high quality and palatability of many of its food products, including olive oil and feta cheese, as well as a wide range of traditional foods that have long made the traditional Greek diet distinct. Olive oil, for example, has always been considered sacred and invaluable. In Greek mythology it was considered a gift of the gods. Today, medical research has identified myriad beneficial health properties in olive oil.
The unusually low incidence of coronary heart disease in France (the “French paradox”) has occasionally been attributed to the high consumption of cheese by the French, but Greeks consume per capita as much cheese as the French in the form of the country's traditional feta.
Prepared foods and even some confections have an impressive array of healthful properties. Most notable among them are the savory greens seasonal fruits, sun-dried tomatoes, legumes and pulses such as fava (yellow split peas), and more.
The surprising nutritional properties of many of these foods are only now being recognized. For instance, some of the greens pies, pasteli (a sesame-and-honey brittle), spoon sweets made with contain very high quantities of important antioxidants, in fact much higher than those found in other foods widely reputed as antioxidant-rich. The traditional Greek diet, as a prototype of the traditional Mediterranean diet, finally has been recognized for its health-promoting attributes. Now it's time to get to know the food products that form the most important components of this renowned diet.
by Antonia Trichopoulou
source: KERASMA
Antonia Trichopoulou, MD, PhD, is Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Nutrition at the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Greece.
She is Professor Emeritus at the Hellenic National School of Public Health and the University of Athens Medical School. She has served as President of the Federation of the European Nutrition Societies and has received numerous honors and awards, including the Corato award (2001) and the IV Grande Covian Award (2002) for her studies concerning the health effects of the Mediterranean diet. In 2003 she was decorated by the President of the Greek Republic with the Golden Cross of Honor.
Antonia Trichopoulou, MD, PhD, is Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Nutrition at the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Greece.
She is Professor Emeritus at the Hellenic National School of Public Health and the University of Athens Medical School. She has served as President of the Federation of the European Nutrition Societies and has received numerous honors and awards, including the Corato award (2001) and the IV Grande Covian Award (2002) for her studies concerning the health effects of the Mediterranean diet. In 2003 she was decorated by the President of the Greek Republic with the Golden Cross of Honor.
