MEDITERRANEAN DIET in CILENTO

greek salad healthy food mediterranean diet 2022 06 22 00 56 27 utc scaled

MEDITERRANEAN DIET CILENTO

The Mediterranean diet in Cilento

Few people know that the Mediterranean diet originates in Cilento, a Poplars. Discovered in 1945 by the American Ancel Keys, epidemiologist and physiologist, it is today a nutritional model recognized throughout the world. The doctor noticed that the local inhabitants were less subject to the most common cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attacks, ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, angina pectoris) and attributed this peculiarity to their diet. To study local customs, Keys settled in Pioppi, in the municipality of pollica, later renamed Minnelea by him (in homage to Minneapolis, his hometown). The studies, which continued even after his return home, supported the hypothesis that the regular consumption of cereals, fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil was able to keep the state of heart health under control and, consequently, increase longevity. The dietary model was therefore proposed as a valid alternative to the typical American diet rich in fats, proteins and sugars. The rest is history.

What is the Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet refers to a diet typical of the southern area of Italy, but also of Greece and Spain, which favors foods of plant origin, fresh in season, reducing the consumption of dairy products and red meat. Ancel Keys' nutritional model provides an adequate balance between carbohydrates, fats and proteins, in which the main source of lipids is given by extra virgin olive oil (one of the most valuable is the one produced with Cilento olives), which is healthier of fat animal and useful to the body.

The basic products of the Mediterranean diet are: pasta, bread, vegetables, salads, legumes, fresh and dried fruit (peanuts, cashews, toasted almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, pine nuts, Brazilian nuts, pecans). Furthermore, a moderate consumption of fish (preferably blue fish, because it is less fatty), eggs, dairy products and white meat (chicken, turkey, rabbit, veal, pork, lamb and kid) is expected. The red one, which includes cattle, adult sheep and horses, must be limited to no more than twice a week and in portions of 110 grams per person. Alcohol is not recommended, while only one glass of wine is allowed at the table which, thanks to its high content of polyphenols, increases good cholesterol (or HDL) protecting the body from possible cardiovascular diseases.

Mediterranean diet modeled on Ancel Keys: the typical products of Cilento as well as the pride of the territory

Before arriving in Cilento in the XNUMXs with his American contingent, Dr. Keys toured the world, stopping for some time in Greece, Finland, Japan, Spain and South Africa, but it was only in Campania, and precisely in Pioppi, that he discovered a diet model now known throughout the world for its undeniable benefits, being the first to understand that there was a close correlation between what is served on the table and physical well-being. To pay homage to the attentive doctor, the Living Museum of the Mediterranean Diet has been set up on the first floor of Palazzo Vinciprova, inside which there is the scholar's personal library and five rooms with exhibitions and installations for touch, taste and the sense of smell. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Ecomuseum of the Mediterranean Diet, cooking courses are periodically organized with nice video tutorials held by Cilento housewives and guided tours in the typical places of Cilento among the paths, mills and vegetable gardens of the surrounding area in order to better understand the fundamental characteristics of a healthy and balanced nutritional model.

Among the typical products of Pioppi on which the studies of Doctor Ancien Keys have focused are the bread of Rofrano, Sanza, Caselle in Pittari and the wholemeal art bread made with ancient grains stone-ground according to tradition and prepared with the carosella , a high quality flour; fresh pasta, such as cavatieddi or Felitto fusilli to pair with ragù; Menaica anchovies Pisciotta, the main ingredient of many recipes typical (for example the mbuttunate or arreganate anchovies); legumes including beans from Casalbuono or Controne and chickpeas from Cicero; the white artichoke from Pertosa, very light in colour; the caciocavallo podolico, the cacioricotta and the mozzarella cheese of Cilento buffalo; the DOP extra virgin olive oil made with local white olives and among the fruits it is impossible not to mention the white fig from Cilento, also with DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) certification.