The Mediterranean diet is a nutritional model inspired to the dietary patterns widespread in some countries of the Mediterranean basin, inspired to the eating habits of Spain, Italy and Greece in the 60s. The diet was recognized by UNESCO as a protected good and included in the list of oral and intangible heritage of humanity in 2010.The diet is based on foods whose consumption is usual in the countries of the Mediterranean basin, in a proportion which privileges cereals, fruits, vegetables, seeds, olive oil, compared to a more rare use of red meat and animal fats (saturated fats), while it presents a moderate consumption of fish, white meat (poultry), legumes, eggs, dairy products, red wine, sweets. Some medical dieticians - such as the French Paul Carton or the Swiss Maximilian Bircher-Benner - had already advanced some hypothesis about the effects of a diet with limited consumption of foods of animal origin such as dairy products, meat, eggs. The concept of Mediterranean diet was initially introduced and studied by the American physiologist Ancel Keys. The Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality in observational studies. The Mediterranean diet can help with weight loss in obese people.

Characteristics:

Characteristics of the Mediterranean diet are: Abundant plant-based foods (fruits, vegetables, breads and cereals, especially whole grains, potatoes, beans and other legumes, nuts, seeds), fresh, natural, seasonal, locally sourced; fresh fruit as a daily dessert, sweets containing refined sugars or honey a few times a week; olive oil as main source of fat; dairy products (mainly cheese and yogurt) consumed daily in modest-moderate quantities; fish and poultry consumed in fairly low quantities; zero to four eggs per week; red meat in minimal quantities and wine consumed in modest-moderate quantities, generally during meals . This diet has a low content in saturated fat (less than 7-8%), and a total fat content from less than 25% to less than 35% depending on the area. In addition, it was originally associated with regular physical activity at work, such as in the fields or at home. The caloric content of the Mediterranean diet in population surveys did not exceed 2500 Kcal for men and 2000 Kcal for women, however the caloric intake did not go beyond the metabolic consumption with physical activity. Basically it was the diet of a rural population, poor and frugal. As a Mediterranean diet of reference in the Seven Countries Study was considered that of Nicotera; the various components of it, expressed as percentages of the total caloric intake (in surveys of the duration of seven days in different seasons of 1960) are: cereals 50-59%, extra virgin olive oil 13-17%, vegetables 2.2-3.6%, potatoes 2.3-3.6%, legumes 3-6%, fruits 2.6-3.6%, fish 1.6-2%, red wine 1-6%, meat 2.6-5%, dairy products 2-4%, eggs and animal fats very scarce.