I love Mediterranean

20 Apr

In Italy it is the diet that is good for your health

Ancona, 20 April 2024 – As the summer season approaches, the waistline nightmare returns. The measurements for a dream body have always been 90-60-90 for women, while for men an athletic physique is enough. Single belief lose weight and quickly, to prepare for the swimsuit test with summer just around the corner.

But the canons of beauty are not those of the culture of the past and there is no universally recognized criterion of beauty. Aesthetics dictates that the body, to be beautiful, must be harmonious, proportionate, even if curvy.

But the person does not express himself only with the body but with other real qualities that are the basis of human relationships. Sympathy, intelligence, empathy are emotional components that surpass the ideal image of beauty of a body which, in the absence of these, would be like a empty box.

Nowadays, proposals for slimming diets passed off as crazy are going crazy miraculous, from the most varied to the most disparate which are advertised to millions of Italians through television, newspapers and social media.

To name just a few: the Dash, the Mind, the Chronodiet, the Mima Fasting, the Paleolithic, the Dissociated, the Zone. Between short, long, intermittent fasts, niche, singular and dangerous diets, between failures and successes, there are those that are acceptable as long as we return to talking seriously about nutrition.

A correct diet, as experts on the subject suggest, protects and preserves us from the damage of aging, like other lifestyle factors.

For the seventh consecutive year, according to the American magazine US News & World Report, known for its annual ranking of the best universities and hospital facilities, it is the Mediterranean diet that boasts the absolute title of better diet. The podium was won thanks to the contribution of a commission of 43 nutritional experts specialized in diabetes, heart health and weight loss, according to scientific evidence that took into account the risks and benefits for long-term health also in terms of effectiveness and sustainability of the diet. In essence they compared the strengths and weaknesses of different diets.

The Mediterranean diet stands out from others for its plant-based basis, where fruit and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and seeds and extra virgin olive oil stand out. It was found to be the best diet for the family, considered the healthiest and most useful in counteracting the effects of diabetes, it manages to maintain the right cholesterol levels, it brings benefits not only to the heart but also to the bones and joints. After years of studies and comparisons, it seems to have an important role in the prevention of breast cancer and benefits on resistence to some diseases or disorders such as dementia, memory loss and depression.

The Mediterranean diet for human well-being was already known since the 1940s, made up of fresh and delicious foods such as tomatoes, focaccias, olive oil, with the addition of a good glass of red wine.

This has been the recipe for longevity for more than fifty years and the results seem to confirm it, to the point that the Mediterranean diet is included in the intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO.

Translated into Italian 42 years after publication

At the origin of these benefits is the theory of the American physiologist Ancel Keys and his wife Margaret Haney, chemist and nutritionist. The couple was the first, in the 1940s, to argue that saturated fats, present mainly in products of animal origin, such as meat and dairy products, were harmful to health and main causes of heart disease. While unsaturated fats, contained in common vegetables and fish, were on the contrary, a healthier alternative.

Starting from this hypothesis, Ancel and Margaret traveled the world to collect data and evidence on the diets of other countries, and they had confirmation, from the results of their study, the Seven countries study, begun in 1956, that not only the consumption of unsaturated fats , serves to prevent cardiovascular risk but they noticed that in one of the areas they had monitored, southern Italy, a high number of centenarians lived and they became convinced that the local diet, rich in unsaturated fats, was the key to longevity, so It’s that they began their work of spreading this diet and they chose to move to that territory to exploit its benefits and quality of life.

The precise list of components of the Mediterranean diet is still a matter of debate today. Nutritionists are unable to agree on the exact form and precisely because of the continuous adjustments and modifications to the standard definition that Doctor Martínez Gonzálezan expert in nutrition and nutrition, considered one of the leading experts on the Mediterranean diet, who has conducted multiple studies on its effects on health, is of the opinion that there is no official consensus on the exact profile of the diet.

Richard Hoffmanprofessor of nutritional biochemistry at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, says that «Today dairy products are considered irrelevant while the recommended amount of alcohol has decreased» but scientists agree in confirming that the Mediterranean diet is the best diet to prevent a heart attack or stroke.

The Cordioprev study conducted in 2022, which examines patients with histories of cardiovascular problems (in this case heart attacks) recommends following the Mediterranean diet rather than a generic low-fat diet, as it reduces statistically and considerably, the recurrence of a cardiovascular event and also for Martínez González, however it is worth trying.

Experts argue that other factors not related to diet are important for a person’s health, such as eating as a family or cooking at home.

Eco museum of the Mediterranean diet, Palazzo Vinciprova in Pioppi

Hoffman states that «the Mediterranean diet is much more effective if it includes extra virgin olive oil». This would confirm the Keys couple’s hypotheses when they decided to move to southern Italy, with its agricultural vocation, with the massive presence of centuries-old olive groves, where the diet involves the habitual use of olive oil. The professor explains to us that it is obtained by pressing the fruits, using a cold method, without the use of chemicals or high temperatures as for others obtained from seeds. Therefore the extra virgin olive oil is darker in color and the type of cold extraction does not alter its properties.

Pioppi is the town in the municipality of Pollica, in Cilento, where the Keys moved permanently for 40 years. The American couple of scholars were the first to discover the virtues of this diet and the benefits of living in those areas of the Mediterranean, of which they were direct witnesses. They hung out with friends, including doctors and researchers, such as Martti Karvonen, Flaminius And Alberto Fidanza, Jeremiah Stamler.

It was together with them that they came to the conclusion that the nutrition of the local population brought health benefits. From their stay in that area of ​​Italy, often forgotten, it is possible to retrace the moments of their lives and their studies. In Pioppi, a seaside village, in the province of Salerno, you can visit Palazzo Vinciprova, a building of historical interest, under the monumental protection of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities which houses the headquarters of the Eco museum of the Mediterranean diet.

5 exhibition rooms with descriptive panels and videos, including the one dedicated to the senses, with installations for taste, touch and smell. Furthermore, you pass from the room for homemade pasta, with video tutorials from Cilento housewives, to the personal library of Ancel Keys, donated by the family to the Municipality of Pollica. Educational workshops are added, including Cilentan cooking courses and guided tours of paths, vegetable gardens and mills in the area are planned. Thus the Keys’ legacy is passed down to future generations, with the aim of promoting good practices and a lifestyle based on healthy eating, respectful of the environment and local culture.

Acciaroli, not far from Pioppi, like Villagrande Strisaili in Sardinia, are towns that preserve the secret of longevity, for the highest concentration of over centenarians and for the low incidence of heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. A mystery that has mostly already been revealed, because among many, their Mediterranean diet continues to hold the record as the best diet that benefits health and lifespan.