The Mediterranean Diet has been scientifically proven to improve health by increasing the protection against the most common chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cancer, reducing the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases and preventing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Now all the most important and influential scientific societies consider it as the ideal style of diet to preserve the status of health.

The traditional Mediterranean Diet, as the traditional Asian diets, have had a prominent place in the study that characterises the so called “Blue Zone” regions, where the lifestyle models, including traditional dietary approaches, have been associated with longevity and vitality.

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal noted that a sample of more than 4,000 middle-aged women, for example, showed a relationship between the Mediterranean Diet and a slowing of the aging process.

Beyond these specific quotes, you can observe how the scientific community is highly cohesive in observing the close correlation between the beneficial effects on health and the Mediterranean Diet. Generally following the Mediterranean Diet means having a significant reduction in tumour mortality and a lower incidence of several types of cancer: colorectal in particular, but also of cancer in the aero digestive tracts (pharyngeal or oesophageal cancer) and in the prostate.

In addition, specific food nutrients or micronutrients characteristic of the Mediterranean Diet may play a role in breast cancer prevention: the intake of foods containing phytosterols, vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and calcium may exert a protective action, including the reduction of cell proliferation. Substances such as ascorbic acid, carotenoids and other antioxidant vitamins are inversely related to gastric cancer and neoplasm of the upper digestive and respiratory tracts.

The PREDIMED study, an international survey that evaluated the effects of the Mediterranean Diet on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, has shown for the first time in a randomised clinical trial that the Mediterranean Diet protects against cardiovascular disease and confirmed the reduction of factors of classic and emerging cardiovascular risks.

One important lesson of the study is that it is never too late to change your eating habits in order to improve personal cardiovascular health, and that part of the study’s positive results could be attributed to extra virgin olive oil and nuts, foods rich in unsaturated fats and rich in antioxidants.

Other potentially beneficial effects of the Mediterranean Diet regard a greater defence against neurodegenerative diseases and preservation of cognitive function, reduced inflammation, improved insulin sensitivity and a possible role in the prevention of the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

In recent years, some authors have indicated that adhering to the Mediterranean Diet reduces the incidence of the onset of diabetes, and the major protective compounds are represented by fibres and vegetable fats such as olive oil; in particular, this protection is guaranteed by the oil consumption of extra virgin olive oil for cooking, seasoning, baking and frying foods. In fact It would appear that diets rich in monounsaturated fats, such as the Mediterranean Diet, improve insulin sensitivity.

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