Distinctions, distinctions…
The food triads served the useful purpose of allowing archeologists, historians and other scholars to distinguish two ancient civilizations based on two different food cultures. To that extent, both definition and distinction are certainly valid. Nutritionally, however, this is oversimplified and somewhat misleading. The distinction was not meant to define, and much less to enumerate the different kinds of foodstuffs used, let alone to describe the variation that existed from place to place.
So, other ancient peoples outside the Mediterranean Basin used wheat and wine, as for example the Persians. The large majority of Greeks and Romans ate also barley, and at certain periods of their past this grain was the principal staple. Even if we try to use olive oil as a diagnostic feature, as it is often done, occasionally it falls short by default.
Thus the ancient Thracians and some Macedonians used animal fat and butter instead of olive oil, because the olive tree did not grow well in their lands, and even though some of these are right beside the Mediterranean Sea. The obvious may require some elaboration.
Meddiet defined
Today, when we speak of the Mediterranean diet, we usually understand a dietary regimen consisting of,
· A variety of cereal products, mainly wheat breads and pasta
· Olive oil as the principal fat
· A large variety of fresh vegetables and fruits
· A selection of legumes or pulses
· Dairy products often as yogurt or cheese, mainly from goats and sheep
· Occasional meat, mostly sheep, goat or fowl
· Frequent fish, especially fat varieties
· Moderate wine as a frequent accompaniment of meals
There are several food pyramids and a plethora of articles on the subject illustrating various aspects of this diet, characterized by a high level of vegetable proteins, mostly unsaturated fats, vegetable fibers, and a modest quantity of alcohol usually in the form of wine.
A dietary koine
Of course, some of the items listed above have changed radically during the last two decades. Now the French and the Greeks are the biggest meat eaters of Europe, hardly a Meddiet qualification. And although the Greeks are still the biggest olive oil consumers in the world after Libyans, Greece is one country where olive oil consumption is falling, while at the same time rising in just about every other country.
This dietary koine (common regimen) of the peoples living around this great inland sea, has scientifically proven benefits for health. These have been determined by lower rates of chronic degenerative disease, average life expectancy at middle age, and clinical tests where this diet proved itself more effective in curbing the re-occurrence of myocardial infarction than the prudent diet of the American Health Association. It is conceivably one powerful countermeasure against the bleak statistical health forecast for the 21st century, recently published by the European Union. Namely that,
· More than half a billion people will develop diabetes in their lifetime
· One in three people will develop cancer
· 55% of EU citizens will die from diseases caused by clogged arteries
The plight of Meddiet
It is therefore alarming to report that the Meddiet is being assaulted by an enormous variety of modern foods, which are summarily described as processed foods, prepared foods, genetically modified foods, fast foods, junk foods, and other garbage foods that do not even invite the allocation of a label. A quick half-tour of the Mediterranean by a concerned nutritionist, reads like a recipe for acute depression. To wit:
In Tunisia polished rice consumption is increasing faster than soft or hard weats, while that of butter in the rural areas is rising faster than olive oil; and so is the consumption of dried as against green vegetables. In Egyptian rural areas bread is often made from mixed wheat and maize flour. The consumption of frozen and canned animal proteins is rising in the urban areas, while polished rice is now the staple food of the Nile Delta, in contrast to Upper Egypt. In the Lebanon, a review of food consumption trends shows that traditional diets are eroding, being replaced mainly by high-fat fast foods, especially among the members of the younger generation. Greece was already reviewed above, and the picture of the younger generation is no better than in Lebanon. For Italy, Ancel Keys, a famous nutritionist and a pioneer in work linking diet and heart disease, recently wrote: “Whereas Italian restaurants brag about the healthy Mediterranean diet, they serve a travesty of it.” True, but it may be unfair to single out Italian restaurants. Most other restaurants in the countries around the Mediterranean serve equally bogus healthy meals, very similar to the Italian travesties.
Pride and prejudice
Clearly the Meddiet is an endangered species as Marion Nestle wrote sometime ago. Sometimes, I feel confident that it will survive the junky onslaught. At other times, the frightening thought occurs to me that it may be preserved only among groups of well-meaning California food faddists. But then I am prejudiced. I happen to think that the Meddiet is not another food fad.