Let’s Make It the Real Mediterranean Diet Not the Supermarket Standard Feeding Plus a Leaf of Basil

The Mediterranean dietary pattern is the mirror of the history and the traditions of the people of Mediterranean basin, symbol of rural culture such as bread, a variety of whole grains, olive oil, wine, and peppers. Other features enriched the Mediterranean warm climate with discoveries from America such as tomatoes, corn, potatoes, chili, and varieties of beans and nuts that enriched the mix of healthy protein sources of fish, clams, and poultry and more rare bites of red meat and dairy products. In large population-based studies, this eating pattern turned out to be more effective than low-fat diets in inducing important long-term changes in cardiovascular risk factors and inflammatory markers. The richness of folate, vitamin B12, and methyl donors, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and the low level of homocysteine and C-reactive protein, affects placental and fetal programming. Globalization of the agro-industrial system and social changes due to economic development have influenced food consumption and are challenging traditional healthy food patterns in Mediterranean countries. Mediterranean societies are rapidly withdrawing from this eating pattern orienting their food choices toward products typical of the Western diet pattern, fast food eateries, and complete loss of physical activity. Therefore the today’s generations have to re-discover through science and medical counseling what has been a set of traditional practices, knowledge, and skills passed on from generation to generation: the Mediterranean diet, cited by the UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.