Sustainable diets and biodiversity

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Mediterranean diet. It was based on the dietary tra-

ditions of Crete, Greece and southern Italy in the

1960 s at a time when the rates of chronic disease

among populations there were among the lowest in

the world. From the first “Seven Countries Study”

to the current days, many other studies have

analysed the characteristics and the relationships

between dietary habits adopted and the onset of

chronic disease. Starting in the 1990s, there has

also developed a line of study into the relationship

between diet and longevity. In general, what

emerges is that the adoption of a Mediterranean, or

similar, diet, provides a protective factor against the

most widespread chronic diseases. In other words,

high consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits and

nuts, olive oil and grains (which in the past were

prevalently wholemeal); moderate consumption of

fish and dairy products (especially cheese and yo-

ghurt) and wine; low consumption of red meat,

white meat and saturated fatty acids. The interest

of the scientific and medical community in the

Mediterranean diet is still extremely active, and, in

fact, the current specialist literature often publishes

information about the relationship between

Mediterranean-style dietary habits and the impact

on human health. The beneficial aspects of the

Mediterranean diet are backed by increasing evi-

dence in terms of both prevention and clinical im-

provement regarding specific pathology areas.

These publications present the results of clinical or

epidemiological research in which adherence to the

Mediterranean diet translates into measurable ben-

efits in numerous areas of human health, which in-

clude, for example, cardiovascular disease,

metabolic conditions, neurological or psychiatric

pathologies (e.g. Alzheimer’s), respiratory disease

or allergies, female and male sexual disorders (e.g.

erectile dysfunction) and certain oncological

FOOD PYRAMID

Sweets

Beef

Cheese

Eggs

Poultry

Fish

Cookies

Milk

Yogurt

Olive oil

Bread, Pasta

Potatoes

Legumes

Fruit

Vegetables

LOW

HIGH