BDC #22 - The Mediterranean Diet: A Legacy from Ancient Wisdom

As I realized the number of the readers increase by double when I talked about body and diet instead of history, I try to take one of my junior's advice to write a mixture of diet and history. I hope I could write it well. 

Some of you might understand the Mediterranean diet a lot better than me. Thus, pardon my poor knowledge in this diet and feel free to discuss it.

The current Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional recommendation inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of southern Italy, Crete of Greece, and Spain. This diet is basically consist of high portion of olive oil, legumes, unrefined cereals, fruits, and vegetables; along with moderate to high consumption of fish, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly in form of cheese and yogurt), moderate wine consumption, and low consumption of meat and meat products. The pyramid below could explain it better.

Though the name is Mediterranean Diet, this eating habit was firstly named by an exile from Modena, Italy, named Giacomo Castelvetro. He was saved by the British Ambassador from the inquisition in Venice and brought to England. After living in his saviour country for 3 years, he was horrified by the British eating habit; a high amount of red  meat and sweets (yeah..no wonder my friend in UK once said that Adele's size is considerably medium size...sorry fellow Britain people..no hard feelings). He tried to persuade the England people to eat more fruit and vegetables as he always enjoyed in his home country. This effort led to the release of his book in 1614, the first `bible` of Mediterranean Diet: "A Brief Account of Fruit, Herbs, and Vegetables of Italy". This book doesn't only contain delightful recipes, but also lots of gardening tips; all organized by the seasons. If you want to try it, there is a newer translation by Gillian Riley in 1989. 

Hundreds of years later, the Mediterranean still faces the struggle to be adapted in England diet. In fact, the England diet history is filled with lots of transformers. Health professionals are still facing resistance from patients unwilling to change their diet, mostly due to cultural and psychological needs. 

This struggle also happens in USA, the country with high historical legacy from England. As the so called junk foods destroying the national health, the nutritionists desperately trying to change the view of food of the Americans. They even dare to  conduct a long-term study of the 400,000 men and women participating in the U.S. National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study. It was found that participants with eating patterns most closely matched to the Mediterranean diet were about 20% less likely to have died of heart disease, cancer, or any cause over a five-year follow-up period.This result was highly convincing to the nutritionists to force the Americans to change their junky eating habit with a better one. But, to be honest... I don't think the efforts can be said 100% successful, though the numbers of health-conscious people are definitely increasing.

The most wonderful thing of this way of life (as so you know; diet comes from Greece diaeta, means way of life) is that..... It's been acknowledge by UNESCO as one of World's Intangible Cultural Heritage on November 19th, 2010. As the UNESCO announced: "The Mediterranean diet (encompasses more than just food. It promotes social interaction, since communal meals are the cornerstone of social customs and festive events. It has given rise to a considerable body of knowledge, songs, maxims, tales and legends."

So, will you follow the legacy?