"Diet" in this sense refers to the usual food and drink of a person or people, rather than a specific eating pattern with a goal of weight loss. The traditional Mediterranean diet of the early 1960s consisted of small amounts of red meat, less than four eggs per week, low to moderate amounts of poultry and fish, daily fresh fruit, seasonal locally grown foods with minimal processing, concentrated sugars only a few times per week, wine in low to moderate amounts and usually taken at mealtimes, milk products (mainly cheese and yogurt) in low to moderate amounts, olive oil as the predominant fat, and an abundance of food from plants: vegetables, fruits, beans, potatoes, nuts, seeds, breads and other whole grain products. This diet maximized natural, whole foods and minimized highly processed ones. The Seven Countries Study was one of the first to associate the Mediterranean diet with improved health. Starting in 1957 and lasting for decades, this study examined relationships between diet and health in Italy, Greece, the United States, Japan, Finland, the Netherlands, and Yugoslavia. Twelve-thousand healthy middle-aged men were enrolled at the outset. The main investigator, Ancel Keys, found that cardiovascular disease rates (of populations) were strongly associated with average serum cholesterol levels and per capita consumption of saturated fats. The Mediterranean countries in the Seven Countries Study had lower rates of cardiovascular disease, apparently related to lower cholesterol levels and saturated fatty acid intake.
All matters regarding your health require supervision by a personal physician or other appropriate health professional familiar with your current health status. Always consult your personal physician before making any dietary or exercise changes.
