Olive

Mediterranean diet

The most commonly-understood version of the Mediterranean diet was presented by Dr Walter Willett of Harvard University's School of Public Health in the mid-1990s. Based on "foodpatterns typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and southern Italy in the early 1960s", this diet, in addition to "regular physical activity," emphasizes "abundant plant foods, fresh fruit as the typical daily dessert, olive oil as the principal source of fat, dairy products (principally cheese and yogurt), and fish and poultry consumed in low to moderate amounts, zero to four eggs consumed weekly, red meat consumed in low amounts, and wine consumed in low to moderate amounts". Total fat in this diet is 25% to 35% of calories, with saturated fat at 8% or less of calories. The diet is often cited as beneficial for being low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fatand dietary fiber Although it was first publicized in 1945 by the American doctor Ancel Keys stationed in Salerno, Italy, the Mediterranean diet failed to gain widespread recognition until the 1990s. It is based on what from the point of view of mainstream nutrition is considered a paradox: that although the people living in Mediterranean countries tend to consume relatively high amounts of fat, they have far lower rates of cardiovascular disease than in countries like theUnited States, where similar levels of fat consumption are found. A parallel phenomenon is known as the French Paradox.
One of the main explanations is thought to be the large amount of olive oil used in the Mediterranean diet. Unlike the high amount of animal fats typical to the American diet, olive oil lowers cholesterol levels in the blood. It is also known to lower blood sugar levels and blood pressure. Research indicates olive oil prevents peptic ulcers and is effective in treatment of peptic ulcer disease, and may be a factor in preventing cancer. In addition, the consumption of red wine is considered a possible factor, as it contains flavonoids with powerful antioxidant properties
The principal aspects of this diet include high olive oil consumption, high consumption of legumes, high consumption of unrefined cereals, high consumption of fruits, high consumption of vegetables, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as cheese and yogurt), moderate to high consumption of fish, low consumption of meat and meat products, and moderate wine consumption.
Michael Pollan suggests the explanation is not any particular nutrient, but the combination of nutrients found in unprocessed food.
Dietary factors may be only part of the reason for the health benefits enjoyed by these cultures. Genetics, lifestyle (notably heavy physical labor), and environment may also be involved.
Although green vegetables, a good source of calcium and iron, as well as goat cheese, a good source of calcium, are common in the Mediterranean diet, concerns remain whether the diet provides adequate amounts of all nutrients, particularly calcium and iron.
This diet is not typical of all Mediterranean cuisine. In Northern Italy, for instance, lard and butter are commonly used in cooking, and olive oil is reserved for dressing salads and cooked vegetables. In North Africa wine is traditionally avoided by Muslims. In both North Africa and the Levant, along with olive oil, sheep's tail fat and rendered butter are traditional staple fats.
The putative benefits of the Mediterranean diet for cardiovascular health are primarily correlative in nature; while they reflect a very real disparity in the geographic incidence of heart disease, identifying the causal determinant of this disparity has proven difficult. The most popular dietary candidate, olive oil, has been undermined by a body of experimental evidence that diets enriched in monounsaturated fats such as olive oil are not atheroprotective when compared to diets enriched in either polyunsaturated or even saturated fats. A recently emerging alternative hypothesis to the Mediterranean diet is that differential exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation accounts for the disparity in cardiovascular health between residents of Mediterranean and more northerly countries. The proposed mechanism is solar UVB-induced synthesis of Vitamin D in the oils of the skin, which has been observed to reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease, and which rapidly diminishes with increasing latitude

Evolution of Olive Oil

Greece was the first civilization to be involved in the full-scale cultivation of olives. Production of olive oil in Greece has spanned more than 5 millennia. Scientific evidence suggests that olive trees grew wild on the island of Crete as early as 3500 BC and that systematic cultivation and exportation of the oil began as early as 2000 BC. Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle further developed the cultivation of the olive into a science.
Olive oil was largely responsible for establishing Greece’s early commercial success. With the expansion of the Greek colonies, their knowledge of olive tree cultivation and olive oil extraction techniques spread throughout the Mediterranean, from Italy to northern Africa. The olive had become increasingly important to both the Greek culture and its economy. Homer even referred to olive oil as “liquid gold” in The Odyssey. Greece continues to remain the world’s largest exporter of extra virgin olive oil. In fact, many Italian and Spanish olive oils add Greek extra virgin olive oil to their own products to enhance their color and flavor. Seventy percent (70%) of total Greek production is extra virgin olive oil of the highest quality.

Basia "An olive tree"