How did the
Mediterranean Diet originate?
The traditional eating habits of
Mediterranean peoples are based on the livestock,
fishing and agriculture of their region, which has a
long growing season and rather mild climate. It's that
simple. The traditional diets of Greeks, Sicilians and
Tunisians reflect distinct cuisines and culinary
practices but naturally have a great deal in common.
Some authors have suggested that the
Mediterranean diet
was rooted in some way in regional "poverty." In fact,
ancient Rome and medieval Sicily were Europe's most
prosperous regions. Certain foods, such as bovine meat
and butter, were never very popular in the Mediterranean
region because the climate has not always favored the
expansive grazing lands required to raise large
quantities of buffalo and cows, though both have been
raised in these countries for centuries. It so happens
that most cheeses made from sheep's milk are lower in
cholesterol than those made from cow's milk, while olive
oil, with its monounsaturated fat, is healthier than
colesterol-laden butter. Mediterranean peoples
historically consumed fish, poultry, game, lamb and kid
rather than beef. The meat of sheep, goats and even
chickens contains some fat, of course, but
Mediterranean's usually consumed less meat than their
northern European neighbors. Wine, which has certain
cholesterol reducing effects, is a staple of the
Mediterranean diet, and regions like Italy and southern
France have historically produced more wine than England
and northern Germany.
Do most
Sicilians follow a Mediterranean diet today?
No. The idea that such a diet
is still the norm in Mediterranean countries is
a myth. It's fair to say that Sicilians follow a
greatly modified Mediterranean diet. Just as
Brits and Americans now consume more
Mediterranean foods, today's
Italians eat more northern European and American
foods than they did fifty years ago. A visit to
a supermarket in any Sicilian city would be more
than sufficient proof that Sicilian dietary
practices are now quite similar to those of
North America and northern Europe, with an
increased consumption of beef, butter and
various cooking oils. Whole wheat bread and
pasta, for example, are not widely consumed in
Italy, though they're becoming more popular.
Nevertheless, Sicilians' proportionally greater
consumption of vegetables, olive oil and wine,
but less meat than most Americans, is certainly
indicative of the influence of the traditional
Sicilian diet. However, obesity and heart
attacks are not unknown in Sicily, and most
Italian adults smoke.
Why did it
take so long for the Mediterranean Diet to be
recognized?
On a scientific level, the
answer is a complicated one. The health risks of
high dietary cholesterol have been known --and
debated-- for a long time, and examined in the
confusing context of research indicating that
most cholesterol is produced by the body's own
mechanisms. Based on autopsies, the American
medical community (which leads the world in
medical/health research) knew that alcoholics
typically had very low levels of
arteriosclerosis, but since the United States
had a statistically serious alcohol problem,
even among teenagers, it was considered
ill-advised to recommend that most people
consume a glass of wine daily as this could
indirectly encourage excessive alcohol
consumption. Yet, alcoholism is virtually
unknown in southern Italy, where moderate wine
consumption is normal even among teenagers.
(Unlike most northern countries in the European
Community, Italy has no minimum age for alcohol
purchase.) While certain Mediterranean and
Eastern Asian diets are low in cholesterol, and
considered healthy, they were sometimes
criticized based on inconclusive research that
associated, for example, high sodium levels
(from salt, prevalent in the Japanese diet) and
other conditions with widespread health
problems, such as hypertension (high blood
pressure).
In the United States, there
was also a political aspect to the debate. The
American dairy and meat industries had a vested
interest in promoting the nutritional benefits
of their products. Even the makers of breakfast
cereals (especially those prepared with milk)
fought hard to discourage legislation which
might diminish milk's importance in the
government's dietary suggestions. Milk certainly
has its place in a healthy diet, especially for
young children, but Italian adults hardly ever
consume milk except in the form of cheese.
Sadly, a social bias was
present almost from the beginning of the public
debate. To many people, "meat and potatoes" were
considered somehow more "American" than
spaghetti and meatballs. By the 1950s it was
unpopular to officially advocate conflicting
nutritional practices from other nations,
especially places like Italy and Japan (whose
opposition to the United States in the Second
World War was still fresh in the minds of most
Americans). Today, California produces almost as
much wine as Italy or France; that wasn't the
case in 1960, when the American demand for fine
wine was rather small, with few Americans
regularly consuming wine. The American wine
industry as it exists today was founded by
Italian and Spanish families. (Genetic studies
confirm that the California grape known as
Zinfandel is actually the Sicilian Primitivo.)
Part of the global awareness of "foreign" diets
may be attributed to their gradual introduction
in countries like the United States and
Australia by immigrants from Italy, Greece,
Japan, India and elsewhere. On a cultural level,
"ethnic" foods as diverse as olive oil, pasta,
sushi and tofu all suffered in popularity based
on the same social bias. Fortunately, this has
changed. Southern Italian foods, such as pizza
and pasta, are popular everywhere.
Southern
Italian? Are northern and southern Italian diets
different from one another?
Historically, they were
somewhat different. Italy's Alpine and
sub-alpine regions produce more livestock
(cows), and fewer olives. That means more butter
and lard and less olive oil. In the past, corn
(maize) and rice (such as arborio) were more
popular in these regions than pasta. In the
inland cities (Milan, Turin, Bologna), fish was
more expensive than it was in coastal cities
(Genoa, Venice), and therefore consumed in
lesser quantities. Even today, fish and fresh
fruit cost much less in Naples and Palermo than
they do in Turin and Milan. Similar geographical
and culinary distinctions exist between northern
and southern France. Regional tastes, and even
conditions such as lactose intolerance (though
rare, still more prevalent in Mediterranean
regions than northern European ones), may be
associated with simple geographic realities.
Is pizza
healthy?
There are all kinds of pizza.
When it's made with the right ingredients, it's
one of the healthiest foods you can eat,
essentially a meal in itself --with plenty of
protein, vitamins and carbohydrates and only
moderate quantities of sodium and cholesterol--
and poses no health risk for most people. The
pizza served in southern Italy's better
pizzerias is much better for you than what
you'll typically find in the United States and
Canada, where popularization of pizza and pasta
(and the sale of these foods via large
restaurant chains) has compromised the cuisine.
The "health experts" who unequivocally condemn
pizza obviously haven't spent much time in
southern Italy, where it was created. We suggest
that they visit Naples,
