The Mediterranean diet is inspired by the eating habits of Greece, Southern Italy and Spain in the 1940s and 1950s. It's not based on what people in the Mediterranean eat today. It is not based on all of Italy's regional diets, which are very varied, but only on that of southern Italy. It is important to take these details into account because the country, Italy, as a whole, is undoubtedly one of the healthiest in the world today, despite not eating as they did in the 1940s and 1950s, nor do they eat the same foods in every region of the country. Italians and those who follow the Mediterranean diet tend to have significantly lower body weight and far fewer heart problems, such as heart attacks.
Numerous studies by the American Heart Association have determined that the risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and better overall health are directly related to those who consume the traditional Mediterranean diet. Most Italians do not follow the so-called Mediterranean diet: they barely eat fruits and vegetables and prefer to be filled with white bread, white pasta and pizza. Do you realize how healthy the Italian Mediterranean diet is? Italian cuisine is typically Mediterranean, which involves eating lots of vegetables, fruits, cereals, fish and, in particular, white meat. I asked him about the Mediterranean diet, which began in the early 1960s in southern Italy, southern Spain and Crete.
Italian legislators recently passed a law to reduce food waste, which included money to change the brand and remove the stigma of restaurants. Hollywood stars know this very well: a new version of the Mediterranean diet, called the “flexitarian diet”, has been popular for some years. Looking at this list of foods, it seems to me that it is quite similar to what many regions of Italy eat, but there are some definite gray areas. I'm still not sure what constitutes and doesn't constitute a true Mediterranean diet, but they say that about 60% of calories come from carbohydrates (preferably spaghetti and pasta, along with fruits and vegetables), nuts, legumes, red wine, and low amounts of dairy products and meat. The best news for diet-weary Americans or Westerners is that anyone can realize the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet without having to ban any food.
In fact, many who promote the Mediterranean diet believe that olive oil may be the main health-promoting ingredient in the Mediterranean diet. For special occasions, Italians eat at restaurants, but these are usually 2 or 3-hour events where food is served on plates, slowly. But after examining the main differences between the Mediterranean diet and the American diet, it is to be expected that some of those misconceptions have been dispelled. In a recent episode of the podcast I'm Moving To Italy, I shared some of the worst habits I quit, such as mayonnaise and Taco Bell, as I adapted to life in Italy and ate more healthy whole plant foods, fresh fish from the Mediterranean Sea, and healthy fats like olive oil.
This recent immersion in the mythical Mediterranean diet in southern Italy made us wonder about the changes in the country's eating habits and their impacts on public health. As Italy is the only Mediterranean country in which I have lived, it is the only country I can speak of with first-hand knowledge. We now know that the Mediterranean diet is inspired by the eating habits of Greece, Southern Italy and Spain in the 1940s and 1950s. Over the years, several international studies have shown that eating as people from the Mediterranean traditionally did will allow you to live better and longer, since you eat in a balanced and complete way.
