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DOWNLOAD THE NEW MEDITERRANEAN DIET PYRAMID

The new model takes into account qualitative and quantitative elements for the selection of foods

The traditional Mediterranean Diet (MD) pyramid has been updated to adapt to today’s way of life. As an initiative of the Mediterranean Diet Foundation and with the collaboration of numerous international entities, a wide range of experts in nutrition, anthropology, sociology and agriculture have reached a consensus in a new richer design incorporating qualitative elements.

The new pyramid follows the previous pattern: at the base, foods that should sustain the diet, and at the upper levels, foods to be eaten in moderate amounts. Moreover, social and cultural elements characteristic of the Mediterranean way of life are incorporated in the graphic design. It is not just about prioritizing some food groups from others, but also paying attention to the way of selecting, cooking and eating. It also reflects the composition and number of servings of main meals.

The Mediterranean Diet is an excellent model for healthy living. Today there is general awareness of the relationship between the Mediterranean Diet and health. Diaita, the ancient Greek word from which derives diet, means balanced lifestyle and this is what the Mediterranean Diet is, the lifestyle of the people of the Mediterranean. It is a way of understanding life and eating that is based on local agricultural products, recipes and cooking methods of each place passed on from generation to generation, shared meals, celebrations and traditions. All this along with moderate daily physical activity complement this lifestyle that modern science invites us to adopt to benefit our health. For these reasons, on November 16th, 2010, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage agreed to include the Mediterranean Diet on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during its meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya.

The health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet and its protective effect against chronic diseases has been well established by the scientific community. This new pyramid includes all the food groups; it is in the proportions and the frequencies that relies a healthy or unhealthy diet. This food consumption pattern is addressed to a healthy adult population and should be adapted to the specific needs of children, pregnant women and other health conditions.

This pyramid is a result of international consensus and is based on the latest scientific evidence in the of health and nutrition published in hundreds of scientific articles in the last decades, thus contributing to the harmonization of educational tools used in the promotion of the Mediterranean Diet and responds to the need for a common framework among Mediterranean countries. The use and promotion of this pyramid is recommended without any restrictions and has been translated and is available in Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Euskera, French, Arabic, Italian, Portuguese and Greek. The 10 versions of the pyramid can be downloaded from the FDM website, www.fdmed.org.

The supporting entities of the new design of the Mediterranean Diet pyramid are:

• Fundación Dieta Mediterránea
• Forum on Mediterranean Food Cultures
• Hellenic Health Foundation
• Hebrew University
• International Commission on the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition
• Università Politecnica delle Marche
• Federation of European Nutrition Societies
• Federation of African Nutrition Societies
• Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea
• Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes
• International Union of Nutritional Sciences
• Centro Interuniversitario Internazionales di Studi sulle Culture Alimentari Mediterranee