Mediterranean diet and health in the elderly

Domenico Giuffrè; Angelo Maria Giuffrè; Domenico Giuffrè; Angelo Maria Giuffrè

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2023040

AIMS Public Health

2023, Volume 10, Issue 3: 568-576. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2023040

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Mediterranean diet and health in the elderly

Domenico Giuffrè ¹,
Angelo Maria Giuffrè ^{2
,
,}

1.
Biologist nutritionist - Via Vespia, 51. Reggio Calabria, 89135, Italy
2.
Department AGRARIA, University of Studies ‘Mediterranea’ of Reggio Calabria, 89124, Italy

Received: 16 May 2023 Revised: 15 June 2023 Accepted: 03 July 2023 Published: 11 July 2023

The Mediterranean diet has probably been the most studied diet since the early 1950s. American physiologist Ancel Keys coined the term since it was based on the dietary habits of those populations bordering the Mediterranean basin, particularly the island of Crete and southern Italy. The motivation for the early studies lay in understanding why these populations had greater longevity and lower occurrence of chronic-degenerative diseases and forms of cancer when compared with the peoples of Northern Europe and North America. Traditionally, this dietary regimen was based on the seasonality of foods and the consumption of unrefined grains, legumes, fish, vegetables, fruits, little meat and use of olive oil as a condiment. The purpose of this paper is to understand, based on current scientific knowledge, how the different nutrients present in such a diet can play a preventive role in the onset of today's most frequent diseases.
- Mediterranean diet,
- elderly,
- lifestyle,
- scientific evidence,
- cardiovascular disease,
- cancer,
- diabetes
Citation: Domenico Giuffrè, Angelo Maria Giuffrè. Mediterranean diet and health in the elderly[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2023, 10(3): 568-576. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2023040

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Abstract

The Mediterranean diet has probably been the most studied diet since the early 1950s. American physiologist Ancel Keys coined the term since it was based on the dietary habits of those populations bordering the Mediterranean basin, particularly the island of Crete and southern Italy. The motivation for the early studies lay in understanding why these populations had greater longevity and lower occurrence of chronic-degenerative diseases and forms of cancer when compared with the peoples of Northern Europe and North America. Traditionally, this dietary regimen was based on the seasonality of foods and the consumption of unrefined grains, legumes, fish, vegetables, fruits, little meat and use of olive oil as a condiment. The purpose of this paper is to understand, based on current scientific knowledge, how the different nutrients present in such a diet can play a preventive role in the onset of today's most frequent diseases.

Use of AI tools declaration

The authors declare they have not used Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the creation of this article.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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