It’s been a turbulent few years for the world of nutrition and diet. It looks like fat isn’t so bad after all (as long as it’s the right kind of fat), eating more vegetables is the way to go and strict diets just don’t work.
In comes the Mediterranean Diet, it’s been characterized as perhaps the healthiest diet in the world. Not an exaggeration, this diet that has appeared in certain areas of the Mediterranean, has literally hundreds of studies supporting it. Initially known for its heart healthy qualities, recent research has shown that its benefits go beyond the heart. It appears that this pattern of eating can protect from cancer, help you live longer, protect your brain and improve your mood. In addition, it is a sustainable diet, low on the food chain and affordable.
While numerous studies have made the diet more popular than ever, the various definitions of the diet make it a bit confusing not only for consumers but also health professionals. Is it the diet of all the Mediterranean or certain areas? How much fish are you supposed to eat? Can you eat a lot of pasta? What about olive oil, will it make you gain weight? And how do you choose good olive oil? Is the Mediterranean diet the same as Mediterranean cuisine? If you are looking for answers to these questions, you may find them all at one place.
Enter the Mediterranean Diet Immersion Course – Mediterranean Diet and Health.
Next month, leading international Mediterranean diet experts (many who developed that very first Mediterranean Diet pyramid) will share their knowledge to a limited group of participants during this immersion course of the Mediterranean Diet. Together the participants will meet in Greece, a country directly connected with the history of the Mediterranean diet, to participate in a week long conference filled with academic findings and discussions with eminent global Mediterranean Diet experts, while visiting olive oil groves, authentic organic feta cheese producers, Greek wineries, and attend other hands-on workshops.
Speakers include:
Walter Willet, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
Stefanos N. Kales, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Professor & Director of the Occupational Medicine Residency at the Harvard School of Public Health
Antonia Trichopoulou, President of the Hellenic Health Foundation, Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre of Nutrition, Medical School, University of Athens and Professor Emeritus, School of Medicine, University of Athens
Ramon Estruch, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Hospital Clinic Barcelona and Professor at the University of Barcelona, President of the Steering Committee of PREDIMED PLUS
Eric Rimm, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition and Director of the Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School
Ken Tong, Executive Director of University of Massachusetts Amherst Auxiliary Enterprises
The conference that will take place at Sani Resort on October 16th -20th, is produced by the award-winning PBS television show, The Cooking Odyssey and is a continuation of the Mediterranean Diet and Workplace Health organized at Harvard in 2014.
For more information and registration visit www.mediterraneanhealth.org
Elena Paravantes is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Food Writer and a Mediterranean Diet Expert.
For more information, inspiration, tips and recipes on the Mediterranean Diet and Greek Food visit: OliveTomato.com