Mediterranean Diet

The pioneering work of Ancel Keys and colleagues' famed Seven Countries Study established a strong ecological correlation between serum cholesterol level and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) in 16 cohorts of participants from 7 countries. Keys's concept that the blood cholesterol level and, consequently, risk of CHD were greatly influenced by what was served at mealtimes was such a radical idea at the time that it landed him on the cover of Time magazine on January 13, 1961. In his book How to Eat Well and Stay Well the Mediterranean Way, Keys first used the term good Mediterranean diet to describe the eating pattern of populations dwelling in southern Europe, especially the island of Crete, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. During this ...