A few weeks ago, a colleague and I attended the book launch of The Mediterranean Diet: Recipes from Mediterranean Kitchens, in a booked-out event organised by the Italian Museum in Melbourne.
Bringing together more than 100 authentic recipes sourced straight from families of Mediterranean background, the book serves as a companion of the editor, Dr Anthony Mariani’s recent publication The Mediterranean Diet: Food, Science and Health.
Considering ourselves Mediterranean diet aficionados by birth – thanks to the families we happened to grow up in – I must admit, it was surprising to realise during the event’s presentation there were things we were unaware of about this cookery culture, which, since being formally recognised, has changed the world’s attitude towards food.
Paradoxically, the term ‘Mediterranean diet’ was coined by Americans during the 1950s, when Dr Ancel Keys and his colleagues were investigating why the Mediterranean region was not yet influenced by the rising trend of fast food, starting from a simple observation that Cretans were in especially good health, largely due to dietary habits.
The renowned ‘Seven Countries study’ found that this traditional food model adopted in places surrounding the Mediterranean basin significantly reduced the risk of heart disease.
“Since then, multiple studies followed bringing forward strong evidence of disease risk reduction on cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s […] Type 2 diabetes, among others, and even fatty liver disease which is now becoming the most common cause of cirrhosis,” Dr Mariani tells Neos Kosmos, explaining that this proven link of the Mediterranean diet to preventive medicine and his years-long interest in the topic was what prompted him to collate all this evidence into one resource.
“The important thing is to make a point that it has been shown to reduce the risk of disease in study after study, it’s not some airy-fairy thing.
“That’s why I wrote the first book, so that people can understand the connection to health benefits.”
A consultant physician in general medicine and gastroenterologist, Dr Mariani sees firsthand the adverse implications of fast food and a sedentary lifestyle on peoples’ health, encouraging his patients to follow Hippocrates’ advice ‘Let food be thy medicine’.
Adopting a truly Mediterranean approach to eating, he explains, involves a “mainly plant-based dietary pattern” using extra virgin olive oil as the main added fat due to its anti-inflammatory properties, consuming fresh vegetables and fruit in large quantities, whole grains, nuts and fish, as well as moderate amounts of meat.
As far as alcohol is concerned, “it’s not a mandatory prescription of the Mediterranean diet”, he says with a laugh.
“It depends on how you drink alcohol; if it’s in moderate amounts and you have it with meals, then it’s metabolised nicely, whereas it has been shown in studies, for people drinking outside meals and especially for those doing it frequently, it can produce chemicals linked to all different types of cancers.”
Meanwhile, he points out that there are a lot of misconceptions regarding the principles of the Mediterranean diet, which deter people from making a truly healthy switch.
Compiling the recently launched recipe book was a way for Dr Mariani to help people gradually incorporate the elements of the diet into their daily eating habits by introducing them to basic cooking.
And this is why he chose for it to a be a collaborative effort of representatives from migrant communities, writing recipes handed down to them through generations, among them, a dietitian and a restaurateur.
“It doesn’t mean they have to change everything about their diet; the recipes are often simple and people shouldn’t be afraid of that,” Dr Mariani says.
“I’m getting some interesting reports from people who had never tried those recipes. For example an Aussie colleague who had pasta with broccoli for the first time! Such a simple thing and they loved it, and they’ve never had it in their lives even though they’re in their 50s.”
He further reminds us that the concept of diet, as derived from the Greek word diaita, essentially means lifestyle, referring to both the importance of physical activity, but also the sociocultural aspect of food.
“We know that people nowadays are constantly in a rush and usually don’t have meals at home with family and friends.
“One of the principles of the Mediterranean diet was the family connection, the community element, which has an effect that I don’t think has been measured in a clinical sense, but is certainly a positive one.”
Dr Mariani was also raised in an environment where food was above all, a way of life, having spent his early childhood in Tocco da Casauria, a small town in central Italy, before migrating to Australia at the age of seven.
“I remember during my first years in Australia, when my parents would go to work from 6.00 am to 6.00 pm, my sister and I would prepare some of the meals even from the age of 10,” he recalls.
“Things changed, however, at a later stage, and especially when going to university and all of a sudden [I] started eating all these processed foods …”
In his first book, he attributes this shift away from traditional dietary patterns, as experienced by Italians, Greeks and other migrants after settling in their new home, to the Westernisation of their diet and what he calls the “migration paradox”.
“I often get asked why do people from overseas put on so much weight, whilst they are supposed to be following the Mediterranean diet […]. What happens is they come to Australia, the land of plenty, surrounded by calories and end up following the so-called Western diet.”
He explains that within this process of introducing to the diet lots of meat and animal fat, refined foods and products with added sugars, they experience a paradox. While benefiting from a Western country’s offerings, such as good education and increased opportunities, they see their health deteriorating.
This is why, according to Dr Mariani, young people, second- and third-generation migrants should learn from their parents and grandparents how they can reap the benefits of the authentic Mediterranean diet, not only through food choices, but even with things connected to that way of life, such as looking after their veggie garden to grow their own organic food.
“It started as the poor man’s diet. They didn’t know it back then, but they paved the way to this incredible diet with its anti-inflammatory effects, which reduces disease risk, is good for your health, and prolongs a happy life.”
Dr Mariani's books on the Mediterranean diet.
