The Mediterranean diet from its first outline to nowadays. An example of healthy dietetic pattern still valid several years after its discovery

Valentina Cecconi

Abstract

The Mediterranean Diet (MD) is meant as one of the healthiest eating pattern. The concept of MD was first coined by Ancel keys, an American physician. Ancel Keys and co-workers in the 1950s were the first to establish the link between MD and health by showing an inverse correlation between adherence to the MD and the incidence of coronary heart disease. The MD was observed in southern Europe after World War II (1). MD key nutritional features (quality and quantity of food) should necessarily be considered together with the role of food in history and culture of the Mediterranean regions where conviviality, traditions and lifestyle are integral part of the relationship with food. MD was included in 2013 in the list of intangible Cultural Heritage of the World by UNESCO that gives a broader definition of the MD as: ? a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking, and particularly the