The Mediterranean Diet is a food regimen typical of the people of the Mediterranean basin, which is based mainly on the consumption of plant-based foods.

But what are the basic principles of the Mediterranean Diet?

  1. Eat abundant amounts of fruit, vegetables, vegetables, whole grains and cereals, potatoes, beans and legumes in general, nuts and seeds. All these ingredients must always be seasonal, fresh, natural and of local origin.
  2. Eat fresh fruit at the end of a meal and desserts containing refined sugars or honey a few times a week.
  3. Use extra virgin olive oil as the main source of fat.
  4. On a daily basis, eat dairy products, preferably yoghurt and cheeses, sh and poultry, red wine and red meat in moderate amounts.

The Mediterranean Diet is, therefore, a diet with a low saturated fat content and a total fat content of between 25% and 35%.
In 2010, Mediterranean Diet was included on the list of cultural heritage sites of the world, recognising it as belonging to Italy, Morocco, Greece and Spain. Subsequently (in 2013), this recognition was also extended to Cyprus, Croatia and Portugal. The motivation, mainly of an anthropological nature, for recognising the Medi- terranean Diet as UNESCO heritage is as follows:

“The Mediterranean diet involves a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking, and particularly the sharing and consumption of food”.

A unique example, therefore, matured by man over the millennia, and the result of a special know-how that has been able to exploit the unique biodiversity, territorial and climatic resources that characterise the Mediterranean.