If, like many people, you have a family history of heart attacks and strokes, you may want to think about preparing a meal plan for yourself and your family that closely mirrors the Mediterranean diet. These eating habits, which were historically typical in southern Italy and nearby regions, involve eating lots of legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables, olive oil, whole grains, some wine, and avoiding excessive consumption of animal fats.
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This kind of diet is slowly disappearing from the lives of people who live in the Mediterranean region for reasons related to globalization. However, it is recognized by the U.N. for its value as a cultural contribution. This recognition includes social customs related to the food and to the transmission of culinary knowledge from one generation to the next. This recognition is important for the preservation of customs in the face of a changing world.
A number of studies, including the extensive Seven Countries Study, have shown that the Mediterranean diet is protective against heart disease. The research team of Dr. Cecilia Samieri recently published a new study in the journal Neurology showing that people who consume lots of olive oil have a 41% lower chance of suffering from a stroke. The study was the result of the analysis of thousands of medical records of senior citizens in France over a several-year period. The researchers made sure to account for socioeconomic differences, but cautioned that olive oil could not be completely separated out from other variables such as fruit and vegetable consumption.







