NUTRITION AND CARATHERISTCS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

by Sara Antermite - Maria Buonomo - Gerardo Di Gironimo - Carmelo Di Mango - Vittorio Di Rubbo - Federica Paolantonio - Paola Valvo

The term diet, from the Greek diiaita = diet, style, standard of living, has the same meaning of proper diet, healthy and balanced to meet the physiological and relational aspects trough respect for the tradition of the territory and the rhythms of daily life.

Dietology or dietetics studies the nutritional needs of the organism and the best ways to provide man, through nutrition, a suitable and adequate nutrition.

A balanced diet provides a prevalent content of complex carbohydrates, foods of vegetable origin rich in fiber, olive oil, an adequate intake of antioxidants and polyphenols and a limited intake of simple sugars and fats of animal origin.

The characteristics of the Mediterranean diet are: abundant foods of vegetable origin (fruits, vegetables, vegetables, bread and cereals, especially whole grains, potatoes, beans and other legumes, nuts, seeds), fresh, natural, seasonal, of local origin.

This diet has a low saturated fat content (less than 7-8%), and a total fat content of less than 25% to less than 35% depending on the area. It was originally associated with regular physical activity, for example in the fields or at home.

The Pyramid of Mediterranean Diet

The pyramid represents the frequency and quantity distribution of all foods during the day at the base, those that can be used daily and at the top those that are best to limit.

This graphic is informative and serves to direct people towards a more balanced and healthy diet.

The food pyramid is divided into levels, generally five.

The first layer of the food pyramid advises you to exercise, drink plenty of water (at least two liters a day) and control your weight through proper nutrition.

The second layer recommends foods to be consumed at every meal such as vegetable fats and whole grains.

The third layer indicates the foods to be consumed two to three times a day, namely fruit and vegetables.

The fourth layer indicates both foods to be consumed one to two times a day such as yoghurt milk and cheeses, and foods to be consumed one to three times a day such as legumes and nuts, but also foods to be consumed from zero to two servings a day, such as meat, poultry, fish and eggs.

Finally, the last layer indicates the foods to be consumed in moderation, such as sweets, sugary drinks, very salty foods and alcoholic beverages.

Examples of Mediterranean Diet

Tuesday

Breakfast: 200 grams of partially skimmed milk, 30 grams of wholemeal biscuits, 30 grams of light jam

Snack: 150 grams of fresh fruit

Lunch: vegetables to taste, 60 grams of rice or spelt, 15 grams of olive oil, 100 grams of shelled shrimp

Snack: 100 grams of fresh fruit

Dinner: 120 steamed salmon, vegetables to taste, 10 grams of olive oil, 15 grams of rice cakes

Saturday

Breakfast: 200 grams of partially skimmed milk, 30 grams of wholemeal biscuits, 30 grams of light jam

Snack: 150 grams of fresh fruit

Lunch: 150 grams of oven-baked chicken breast, vegetables to taste, 15 grams of gallette, 10 grams of extra virgin olive oil

Snack: 100 grams of fruit

Dinner: pizza margherita, vegetables to taste

Sunday is the day free from constraints and diets, as long as you keep proper portions and do not exceed with sugars and carbohydrates.

THE ORIGIN

OF THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

The Mediterranean diet, recognized by UNESCO as an oral and immaterial heritage of humanity, is a nutritional model based on the type of eating widespread in Mediterranean countries.

The Mediterranean diet has its origins in the history of our country, which has come down to us by tradition in the form and customs from Greek eating habits , these habits have remained rooted and maintained through the centuries before misery, which characterized the whole middle ages when the people were forced to integrate with land products and harvested vegetables, the meagre diet at his disposal and subsequently from the southern peasant tradition that has accumulated the poor food resources with a wise distribution of its components.

The first cereals and the first animal breeding lands in the Italian regions of the deep south. So legumes and cereals, sheep, goats and cattle land. The man of the time was transformed from a predator into a producer because, living in those places permanently he had the opportunity to devote himself to cultivation. Bread, pasta, legumes, olive oil, vegetables, wine ... these are the basic foods of what is now called the "Mediterranean diet": a formula that is much more than a fad, because it sums up what for centuries are our food traditions. The Mediterranean diet is for many one of the best antidotes to "wellness diseases".

A diet that is not only made at the table, but which provides, by referring to the Greek origin of the word, a real "lifestyle". From the texts found in Mycenae it was possible to reconstruct what the Greeks ate as early as the second millennium BC. Focaccia was made with barley and wheat, with bread instead of spelled and rye. Cereals were eaten mixed with legumes, cheese, oil and vegetables. The gods were offered honey and milk but above all oil and wine, the food products that were considered most valuable. 

Regarding the Romans, in the archaic times the Roman national dish was the croquettes of millet polenta cooked in milk, then the real polenta and finally a spelled polenta cooked in water and salt, with the most varied side dishes.

The Romans normally divided their diet into three daily meals, of which the most important was dinner. In these large receptions what mattered was not only the abundance and quality of the food offered but also their scenographic presentation necessary to amaze the guests.

The wine, mixed with resins and pitch, was stored in amphorae closed with cork or clay stoppers with a plate indicating the vintage and denomination [37]. Few were those who were able to drink pure wine and were considered to be unruly drunkards while normally the wine was served filtered with a colander and mixed with water in a large bowl, the crater, from which each was then served.

Ancel Keys, an American nutritionist (1904-2004), was struck by the eating habits of the people of Cilento and had the opportunity to deepen his studies on the effects that this diet has on modern diseases. In this way he realized that the populations of the Mediterranean basin were less susceptible to some pathologies than the Americans. From here the hypothesis that the Mediterranean diet was able to increase the longevity of those who followed it. For twenty years he then monitored the diet and health conditions of 12,000 people aged between 40 and 60, residing in different countries and reported the results in the famous book "Seven Countries Study.” 

The initial hypothesis of Keys was at that point confirmed and the Mediterranean diet was proposed to the whole world as the ideal diet regime to reduce the incidence of the so called “diseases of well being”.

The path for the inclusion of the Mediterranean Diet in the List of cultural heritages began in 2006 and reached its climax on November 16, 2010 when, after a long result lasting 4 years, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee included the Mediterranean Diet in the “List of intangible cultural heritage of Humanity. The reasons stated by UNESCO are mainly anthropological and don’t give a precise definition of the Mediterranean diet in the food or health sense.

In fact, it analyses fundamental behaviour, "eating together", which emphasizes the importance of the family, the group and the community. 

RECIPE OF ARTOLAGANO (ANCIENT GREEK)

In ancient Greek they called it artolagano, it seems to us a sort of white pizza, perfect to accompany many dishes. Literally the term means "puff of bread". It started with the dough for classic bread, with water, flour and yeast. After a first leavening, oil and wine, pepper and milk were added. The ingredients are: flour, warm water, brewer's yeast, lard olive, oil, salt, pepper, white wine, milk.

This is the procedure: dissolve the yeast in the warm water together with the lard. Arrange the flour, add the salt, pepper and water with the yeast. 

Work the ingredients until a smooth and elastic dough is obtained. Form a ball and put it to rise in a floured bowl, covered with a damp cloth, in a warm place. When the dough has doubled in volume, pick up the dough, deflate it slightly and add the milk, oil and wine. Work very well and return your dough to rise. When your dough has doubled its volume again, gently deflate it and spread it on a pan greased with oil (or lined with parchment paper) for the last leavening. When your pizza has grown, bake it in a preheated oven at 180 °C and cook for about twenty minutes Remove from the oven and serve the artolagano cut into squares.

the effects of Mediterranean diet

by Chiara Bove - Ludovica Cancro - Marianna Chiappa - Alessandra Nigro - Raffaella Puca - Benedetta Ragazzi - Dora Stridacchio - Francesca Zaccaro

In recent years have been published extensive and significant research that give important signs of the existence of a causal relationship between the Mediterranean Diet and the reduction of cardiovascular diseases, tumors and other serious diseases. Choosing to follow a Mediterranean type diet allows you to maintain the right ratio between the amount of calories contained in foods and the individual energy need, keeping in balance the metabolism and, consequently, the body weight.

The foods recommended by the Mediterranean diet are rich of vitamins and have an antioxidant effect that affects the prevention of serious diseases such as cancer.

The intake of good fats such as fish, omega 3 and 6, also helps to decrease the cholesterol content with advantages on the cardiovascular system. In this way, moreover, you can reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

The benefits of the Mediterranean diet can also be found in relation to longevity, the protection of tissues and their deterioration, which thanks to this type of diet are preserved over time. In particular, some studies show that telomeres, that is those elements that help to protect chromosomes and their structure, are strengthened with benefits for all DNA.

The nutrients contained in olive oil in particular have antioxidant effects that help to prevent diseases of the nervous system such as Alzheimer’s.                      

Eating foods containing most plant-based proteins helps to lighten the liver and the kidneys, with an improvement of the process of elimination of toxins and substances harmful to the organism.