ABSTRACT
The traditional Mediterranean diet refers to dietary patterns found in olive-growing areas of the Mediterranean region since the 1960s. Although different regions in the Mediterranean basin have their own diets, these may be considered as variants of a single entity, the Mediterranean diet. Indeed, the dietary patterns that prevail in the Mediterranean have many common characteristics, most of which stem from the fact that olive oil occupies a central position in all of them. Olive oil is important not only because it has several benecial properties but also because it emphasizes the consumption of large quantities of vegetables in the form of salads and large quantities of legumes in the form of cooked foods. Other essential components of the Mediterranean diet are wheat, olives, and grapes, and their various derivative products. Total lipid intake may be high, around or in excess of 40% of total energy intake as in Greece, or moderate, around 30% of total energy intake, as in Italy. In all instances, however, the ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fats is much higher than in other places of the world (Trichopoulou and Lagiou, 1997).
