It is a diet developed from the eating habits of people who live near the Mediterranean Sea.
It originated in the 1960s from the cuisines of Greece, Turkey, Italy, and Spain. In the decades since then, other Mediterranean cuisines, such as those in the Levant and North Africa have been incorporated into the Mediterranean diet.
Mediterranean diet is characterized by understanding and preserving crops, harvesting, fishing, farming, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking, and, above all, sharing and consuming food.
Studies on the Mediterranean diet in 2020 indicate that it can be helpful to health. Different countries and populations of the Mediterranean basin have variations in the "Mediterranean diets" due to ethnic, cultural, economic, and religious differences. By decreasing the consumption of dairy products, ruminant meat, and processed foods, a Mediterranean diet or plant-based diet may promote environmental and agricultural sustainability.
Ancel Keys and Margaret Keys, a husband and wife team, developed the Mediterranean diet concept in the early 1960s to reflect the "typical food patterns” of Crete and Greek and Italian cuisines. The Seven Countries Study, first published in 1970, and an 80-page book-length report confirmed the results of epidemiological studies in Calabria, Naples, and Madrid that showed the Mediterranean diet is healthy.
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes the values of hospitality, neighborliness, and intercultural dialogue. It promotes social exchange and communication as well as a sense of affirmation and renewal of family, group, or community identity.
Eating together is a part of the cultural identity of communities throughout the Mediterranean basin. It is a way of life guided by respect for diversity. It helps bring people of all ages, conditions, and social classes together through cultural spaces, festivals, and celebrations. These include the traditional receptacles for transporting, preserving, and consuming food, such as ceramic plates and glasses.
The women of the Mediterranean diet have an important role to play in the knowledge of the diet: they safeguard its techniques, respect seasonal rhythms and celebrate festivals with food and traditions, and share the knowledge of the elements with new generations. Markets also play a critical role in cultivating and transmitting the diet through daily practices of exchanges, agreement, and respect.
Some authors identified the Mediterranean diet in 2011 as a fad diet promoted to help lose weight. However, due to the homogenization of food choices and products in the global economy, the value of the traditional Mediterranean diet is being questioned. Currently, for various disease conditions, such as metabolic syndrome, favorable outcomes are reported in clinical research.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/mediterranean-diet-00884) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_diet) |Subject=Food |Country=Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Portugal |SDG=(03) Good Health and Well-being, (08) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (09) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production }}