For those interested in the history of the Mediterranean diet you may be interested to know that the original (traditional) Mediterranean Diet did not include whole grains. It was based on white pasta, white flour and white bread.
You can find this information from one of the founders of the modern Mediterranean diet Jeremiah Stamler
https://www.mediterraneandietvm.com/en/jeremiah-stamler-research-health-welfare-and-food/
Stamler developed the modern Mediterranean Diet with Ancel Keys. Stamler died aged 102.
In the above interview, Stamler notes at 9:28 that the original Mediterranean diet was not based on whole grains, it was based on white flour, white bread and white pasta. Traditionally those that lived in Crete and southern Italy consumed refined pasta, not whole grain.
This was changed by Ancel Keys who moved the Mediterranean diet in a whole grain direction. Stamler also says in the video that the original Mediterranean diet was high in vegetable oils, wine and salt. Keys and Stamler reduced the salt content because of the research on high blood pressure.
I have visited Crete many times and the traditional pasta dishes served there are not whole grain pasta, they are white pasta. If you look up Sioufichta which is a traditional Cretan pasta it is white, not whole grain.
The reason I mention this is because some modern proponents of the Mediterranean Diet say you can't eat refined grains on the Mediterranean Diet. As stated, historically the Mediterranean Diet was based on refined grains.
by PlaystationTenchu
7 Comments
I thought that thumbnail was a picture of Bishop Brennan from the Father Ted sub for a minute
Feels like the whole world just opened up
Finally!! Some truth comes forth.
Thank you for sharing.
Nothing wrong with white food in moderation but most of the MD countries didn’t traditionally eat much pasta. I love food history because words for things tend to stay the same but mean a different subset of the thing over time.
Industrial pasta production was invented in the US and brought to Italy after WW1. Pasta was popularized as a cheap source of calories and part of forming Italian culture as the country was so young. It was mostly a holiday thing prior to this because it was relatively expensive to make and required so much labor.
You also need to be careful with the changing definition of white flour. It wasn’t until the 60’s that humans got really good at milling and blending flours to produce the white flour we have today. If you want a workout mill your own flour some time and see how different the texture and flavor is. Those old bakers were little different to wizards in my mind as they got gluten to do things it had no business doing given the nutritional profile of the flour.
They did indeed pretty much have bread with every meal but like white rice in traditional Korean and Japanese diets it’s the amount and what you have it with that decides if it’s bad. Mostly people just have too much of it rather than it being outright bad.
The best thing I ever did for my body was severely limiting my refined grains and processed sugars in my diet.
You go to any Mediterranean country and they eat pasta, bread, pastries regularly. Of course they also eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. The reason they are more healthy is that they don’t overeat and don’t eat tons of meat and saturated fat.
I mean, the health benefits that whole grains offer compared to refined grains are well known by now, so if your goal is to improve your health then this “discovery” shouldn’t mean much to you.