Mediterranean diet. Diets.

Dieta mediterranea. Diets.

What is the Mediterranean diet?

The Mediterranean diet is the way of food which, for several centuries, the peoples of the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

Although the Professor Ancel Keys was the first to define clearly, already in earlier texts it refers about customs, culinary and living, similar in all countries of the Mediterranean coast.

Which countries benefit from it? They are not only European countries such as Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Albania, San Marino, and Monaco; but also Morocco, Tunisia, Malta, Libya, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. Although Portugal is not a Mediterranean country, it also benefits from the advantages of the Mediterranean diet through the influence of the rest of the Iberian Peninsula.

What features do you have?

The Mediterranean diet is has forged over the years, and is the result of the influence they have left us all peoples who have passed through these countries: Iberians, Celts, Greeks, Romans, barbarians, and Arabs. Greeks and Romans laid the foundations of what is now known as Mediterranean diet with the "Mediterranean triad"; bread, oil and wine, present always in our culture.

For Homer be bread Eater was a synonym for man. These elements continue to Christianity, to which bread and wine were essential. Later the relationship with the Germanic peoples includes the meat to food; and finally the Arabs introduced new foods such as eggplants or the artichokes, and others as important for the Mediterranean diet as the rice or pasta.

To all this cultural background it must be added the discovery of America, thanks to which we are aware of such important food in the elaboration of a large part of our dishes such as the potato, pepper or tomato.

The Mediterranean diet is not only because they are several countries that enjoy, and therefore each brings its peculiarities; but there are a number of features that are common to all of them:

Olive oil as main source of fat.
Frugality: the quantities of food were casualties in relation to physical activity that was high, since the majority of the population was developing agricultural activities. Currently the activity that we develop age and, therefore, the quantities of food should be lower.
High consumption of foods high in fiber like fruits, vegetables, legumes and vegetables; salads are present in every meal, and they end up with fruit as a dessert, most of the time. Take at least two pulses times week and at least three or four pieces of fruit a day.
Clean and simple culinary preparations: boiled, roasted.
Firm textures; Fried, bread, fruits, vegetables, dried fruit and raw vegetables. The consumption of fresh bread, rice, and pasta is still high; and increases that of fresh pasta.
Pasta and rice dishes take three to four times a week.
Low consumption of protein foods, especially more than fish and red meat and poultry.
Use of products such as garlic or onion, and some species and aromatic herbs.
Taste by acids; the salads are generously aliñan with vinegar and the use of lemon and citrus fruits in general is very important. The Orange is one of the fruits preferred by the population.
Came in the main foods in moderate amounts (about 150 cc in each food).
Use of large amount of fresh produce.

Perhaps, instead of talking about diet only, we should speak of life Mediterranean, because this is not only a way to feed themselves, but also a way of life, with customs as healthy as the siesta and work of great physical activity, with a high energy expenditure, such as agriculture.

What benefits gives us?

Although the Mediterranean diet has been practicing since for a long time, the benefits arising from it are known for relatively few years.

In the 1960s, funded by the Foundation Queen Wilhelmine of the Netherlands and directed by Professor Ancel Keys, carried out the so-called "study of seven countries" (USA, Japan, Finland, Holland, Greece, Italy and the former Yugoslavia). The study was conducted to attempt to relate the food with the onset of cardiovascular disease. The duration of the study was for ten years and its results were presented at the beginning of the 1980s. It was evident the gap that existed between the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease in countries such as USA or Finland, and others such as Greece (the island of Crete was that left most benefit). This difference was attributed to lifestyle and food carrying the shores of the Mediterranean countries. Subsequent studies have linked this way of feeding with the emergence of some types of cancers (for example, breast cancer is related to the excessive consumption of fats).