THE MIRACLE OF THE CRETAN MEDITERRANEAN DIET

The instigator and creator was the famous American professor Ancel Keys, the Mr. Cholesterol in the way Americans called him as he was the first to connect “nutrition-heart” and started the research in the late 1940s and specifically in 1947.

In the research he included Greece after the initiative and the inducement of the Greek professor Mr Aravanis in 1954 when it was agreed to include Greece as it had some special nutritional characteristics.

In the research it was also included Italy, Holland, the Former Yugoslavia and now Serbia, Finland and Japan.

For Greece Crete and Corfu were chosen.

In Crete it was chosen a group of 620 residents in the rural area of Kastelli Pediados 50km away from Heraklion where their nutrition followed a typical diet of rural people with a big consumption of oil together with hard agricultural work that is body exercise on a daily basis and a year later a second group of other 620 residents in Corfu in a similar region 45km away from the Corfu city with almost the same diet habits.

These 1240 people had since then a continuous annual observation regarding the recording of whatever illnesses appeared.

From this extended research regarding the sample from Crete, it was proved that the way Cretan lived was a major factor of longevity as in the beginning of 2000 (46 years after the beginning of the research) 150 from the 620 under research were still alive and comparatively to all the other participating countries the population of Crete had the least morbidity and mortality from heart diseases.

The differences were so big that the scientific community talked about the phenomenon of the Cretan diet and way of life.

The 7 countries research offered to the scientific and non-scientific community a famous term, that of the MEDITERRANEAN DIET the most beloved term that has been used concerning nutrition.

The level of health and death rate from chronic diseases were better in the Cretan population even compared to the population of Corfu and the other Mediterranean populations like Italy and Dalmatia.

This was attributed to the way of life and diet of the Cretans and was since then an international model of nutrition and it was created the intense interest and now a way of life the well known Mediterranean diet.

According to the professor of Preventive Medicine and Nutrition at the Medical School of Crete Prof. Antonis Kafatos, it was a discovery of great importance as this study introduced the term of risk factor concerning heart attack of myocardium and other chronic diseases and it's really significant for the prevention of chronic diseases.

This knowledge was used from countries like Finland (which had 10 times more deaths compared to Greece) that founded a national policy for prevention and nutrition.

The result was the 70% death rate reduction the last 30 years.

The right nutrition is generally based on austerity and simplicity. Don't eat a lot, don't consume fatty products. Eat many fruits and vegetables.
The Greek tradition and diet which is highly praised is exactly based on austerity and balance.

One of the greatest Greek poets Odysseas Elytis having and intense sense of harmony had said.”The cuisine of a place has to be in a total harmony with the natural and spiritual environment” to be inspired from it and to serve it.

The scientists agree that the pure raw materials of the Mediterranean diet are connected with the calm natural and family environment, the mild weather conditions, and probably the habit of siesta.