The Mediterranean Diet-which has taken the U.S. by storm-is enjoying great popularity because it has come to be seen not as a mere diet, but as a way of life. The enthusiasm for vegetarian cooking, the growing interest in knowing where our food comes from, eating fresh local produce in season, cooking with olive oil instead of butter and margarine, and including a variety of fruits and vegetables in our daily meals has brought the Mediterranean diet to our shores.
It was through the observations of Dr. Ancel Keys, an American scientist and a brilliant nutritionist who studied the effects of diet and health at a time when even medical doctors were ill-prepared to understand those relationships, that the Mediterranean way of life and eating was analyzed. While stationed in southern Italy, Dr. Keys observed that the local population lived to ripe old age, had normal cholesterol levels, low rates of heart disease, fewer cases of diabetes, and low incidence of cancers. The foods commonly eaten in the region were studied by Dr. Keys, who found that although the diet was rich in fat, the lipid of choice was olive oil rather than animal fat. While the diet was made up of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes, there were practically no meats and very moderate amounts of cheeses, fish, poultry, and eggs. One or two glasses of red wine a day were consumed with meals, adding flavonoids with powerful antioxidants to the diet.
