A tasting experience at a molecular gastronomy meeting in Sicily led University of Pennsylvania biologist Gary Beauchamp to analyze freshly pressed extra-virgin olive oil, in which he found a chemical that acted like ibuprofen.
Mediteranean cooking for good health.
Numerous european specialists (Cardiologists, Nutritionists ) met at the Italian National Council in Rome on April 11, 1997 in order to establish an agreement based on mediteranean food against heart deseases, initiated by the European Commission. This particular kind of feeding would also prevent some deseases such as cancer. The mediteranean cooking like "Cretois" cook, was defined as follows.
"The traditional Mediteranean cooking (European kind) is based on great quantity of veget food such as bread, pasta, vegetables, salad, fruit, several kinds of nuts; its main fat item being olive oil; fish, poultry eggs and dairy are included in light quantities and meat is almost excluded. There are small quantities of wine: usually people drink wine during meals. This diet is poor in saturated fat but rich in fibers. Its high fat acids monoinsaturated rate is mainly provided by olive oil".
Most scientific studies concluded hat fat food habits (usually met in the US and Northern Europe) tend to increase "bad" cholesterol rate and then the number of heart deseases. On the contrary, mediteranean food style in which olive oil, rich in fat acids monoinsaturated , is the main source of fat, and which contains many fibers, fruit, vegetables and less meat, has a dicreasing effect on "bad" cholesterol and as a consequence, on the number of heart deseases.
Declaration of agreement (April 11,1997)
