The Mediterranean Diet

The discovery of the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, in fact an ancient practice among Mediterranean populations, is attributed to the American scientist Ancel Keys, who pointed out the correlation between cardiovascular disease and diet for the first time.

The Seven Countries Study

The poor population in the south of Italy was, against all predictions, much healthier than the wealthy citizens of New York, even some of their own relatives who emigrated to the United States in earlier decades.

In 1957 Keys began the largest epidemiological study in history, known as the ‘Seven Countries Study’. The impressive study followed 12 thousand people over a period of 35 years and involved comparing the lifestyles and diets of the following countries: Italy, the United States of America, Finland, Yugoslavia, Japan, the Netherlands and Greece. Today this study is recognised as being invaluable for having discovered the beneficial qualities of the Mediterranean Diet. Keys proved that diet and lifestyle have a direct effect on our health, including cardiovascular health, and that the Mediterranean Diet is particularly useful in prolonging life. This was mainly due to the plentiful use of olive oil, bread, pasta, vegetables, herbs, garlic, red onions, and other foods of vegetable origin compared to a rather moderate use of meat.