THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET AS FOOD MODEL

A food model implying tradition, socialization, balance: the term “ diet” is used to define food-habits and the organization of more kinds of food within a certain time. If a diet is correctly followed, one can have the most advantages for health and fitness. Some diets raging far from the adviced standard given by the official science, can cause serious damages to our health. These damages can be perceived even months or years later and they are hardly connected to our wrong diet( osteoporosis, anaemia, digestion, galls, hormonal problems,…). In some cases weight can be lost , but soon after it can be assumed again, even much more than before. A diet is basically a lifestyle, a food model to be led all life long, thus avoiding troubles with the organization of meals and health problems. A people’s food-culture is strictly bound to a certain geographic area and to the climate, to the tradition and personal and economic conditions. Today’s Italian food-style has kept just a few aspects of the Mediterranean diet, characterized by natural food without any chemical additives. Except for some food necessary to be stored for the winter season ( pork, jams or fruit kept in well aired cellars), all the other food was once consumed fresh or stored only for some days. The recipe that best matches this model is certainly “ pasta e fagioli”( a soup with beans and pasta), one of the most typical peasants’ dishes. In fact pulses have always been defined as” the meat for poor people”. If pasta is hand-made with eggs this dish can provide proteins, glycols, precious minerals, vitamins and fibres. So the Mediterranean diet is not only composed by pasta and bread. First of all wholemeal bread is used together with pasta( made not only with durum wheat) but also with cereals. A particular space is dedicated to pulses. Just a little meat is adviced, particularly the so-called white meat and the Mediterranean fish. Just a few fats with particular regard to extra virgin olive oil. A lot of fresh vegetables and fruit, with some wine. A further characteristic is the great variety of products with the possibility to match a neverending variety of tastes and flavours, for every single need. The list of the recipes is practically infinite, uncountable if related to local habits and traditions. But the Mediterranean diet implies also physical exercise. The last-century peasants and workers made hand-works all day long and they walked or used non-motorized means of transport. That’s why they needed a sufficient and constant energetic support, over all made of glycols. The so-called ‘only-dish’, made of first and second courses matched together, were one of the main characteristics of this diet. Beyond “ pasta and fagioli” ( and all the soups made with pulses), other examples are constituted by pasta and tomato-sauce with meat, with some cheese and extra virgin olive oil. Furthermore vegetable soup with pulses, Neapolitan pizza with sardines, mozzarella(a type of fresh cheese) and tomato, etc. The meal was enriched by a good glass of wine and some fresh vegetable and fruit. All the Mediterranean countries have different kinds of food-styles, matching some similarities. About 50 years ago prof. Ancel keys’ staff led a detailed study comparing the food-style of USA, Japan, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Holland and Finland. 12000 people aged between 40 and 59 years were taken into consideration and divided into 14 sample-groups. The study revealed that the death-rate for cardio-diseases was sharp inferior among Mediterranean people. The higher death-rate of other populations was meant to be due to the use of saturated fats as butter red meat etc… Further studies have all confirmed these data, so far.