Cretan Diet = Mediterranean Diet

The Cretan Diet has become synonymous with the Mediterranean Diet, which has gained so much attention as one of the world's most healthful. Crete was one of the original places observed in the now famous, and still ongoing, "Seven-Countries Study", begun by Dr. Ancel Keys in the late 1950s to document the rate of heart disease, among several different populations.

How it Began

In 1947, the Rockefeller Foundation arrived in Crete ready to offer humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged islanders. As part of the Foundation's mission, it documented the islanders' meager diet. Then, Cretans lived on a subsistence regimen of wild greens, fruits, legumes, bread and barley rusks, little protein and plenty of their native olive oil. While the Rockefeller Foundation was appalled at what seemed like the diet of utter despair, they were equally surprised to notice that the islanders were uncannily healthy. There was no malnutrition on Crete after those war-torn years.

At around the same time, across the Mediterranean in Naples, a young cardiologist named Ancel Keys was puzzled at how there wasn't one cardiac patient in the entire hospital he had served in during the War. Keys was one of the first to realize that disease and diet must somehow be related, and he initiated a study of cardiovascular disease and lifestyle, studying the rates of occurrence and the diet in seven very different countries: Italy, Holland, Yugoslavia, Finland, the U.S., Japan and Greece. What he discovered was that while the Cretans consumed an inordinate amount of fat (on a par with the meat-eating Fins), they still had no heart disease. Unlike the Fins, who got most of their fat (saturated) from meat and animal products, the Cretan peasants got most of theirs (unsaturated) from olive oil. The Cretan diet in the 1950s consisted of carbohydrates (mainly bread and barley rusks), wild greens (upwards of 80 different varieties), other vegetables and fruits, and olive oil. There was virtually no cheese in the diet as cheese was a commodity to be made and sold; and, there was almost no meat.

By the late 1950s, Keys had assessed that the diet of Crete was in fact one of the healthiest in the world. He presented his findings, recommending to the U.S. government that Americans reduce their consumption of red meat and dairy products. It took several decades before the western world realized that Keys was right. Only in the last decade or so has the Mediterranean Diet, with the Cretan Diet as its best model, garnered the attention it deserved, and only in the last decade or so has olive oil gotten its due, for the most important finding of the Seven Countries Study was that olive oil, rich in unsaturated fat, actually can help not only in the prevention of heart disease but also in the reversal of its affects once the disease occurs.

So, what really is the Cretan diet? It seems to be a diet based mainly on vegetables and olive oil, although so many other elements of the island's traditional diet have also come under scientific scrutiny and have been found to be beneficial to health. Among them: snails, the immense variety of wild greens, honey, specific cheeses made not from cow's milk but from sheep's and goat's milk, wine, and finally that most Cretan of spirits, raki, or eau de vie, which is thought to spur metabolism.

The Cretan diet ultimately is really the Cretan lifestyle, where meals are not only inherently healthful but also social occasions for family and friends to gather. There is little stress and much joy in eating the way a typical Cretan does. All these things combined make for what is now coined "the Cretan diet."

History of Cretan Diet

The Mediterranean diet is currently considered by Nutritionists as a modus vivende that endows people with longevity and sound health, with Crete at its epicentre, as supported by research conducted on an international scale1. It was established that the inhabitants of Crete manifest the lowest mortality indices with respect to cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Researchers then focused their attention on the particular aspects of nutrition responsible for such robust health.

The history of Cretan diet is very old; its roots lie deep in the Neolithic Age. Today science has no proof, only circumstantial evidence of the dietary habits of Cretans 5,000 years ago. However, a clear picture of those habits emerges from as far back as 4,000 years ago, when the Minoan civilization was at its peak. On the basis of archaeological findings, it seems that ancient Cretans, the Minoans, consumed pretty much the same products that are being consumed by modern Cretans today. Large clay jars (pithoi) were found in Minoan palaces that were used for the storage of olive oil, grain, legumes, and honey. In various pictorial representations2 we can also see the magnificent world of Cretan plants and herbs.

During the Byzantine period, the Cretans remained faithful to their dietary legacy and cooking habits. On the one hand, urban families were keen on preparing elaborate meals distinguished for their exceptional taste. On the other hand, the rural population subsisted strictly on products grown: greens, fruit, legumes, olives and olive oil. The Cretans, however, applied their accumulated knowledge and imagination to these lowly products producing delicious results. This practice sustained Cretans through adverse times, in periods of successive occupation by the Arabs (824-961), the Venetians (1204-1669) and the Turks (1669-1898). A turning point in the Cretan diet occurred with the introduction of new crops, particularly of the tomato, from the New World

The conquerors came and went from Crete, but the Cretan spirit, religion, language and cuisine remained unchanged over the centuries!

Products
For Cretans, the secret of longevity is very simple. They eat anything that their rich soil produces! They consume a lot of fruit, vegetables, greens, fresh produce, legumes, cheese and bread. Cretans use herbs to add flavour to their meals; they make sweets/cakes with natural sweeteners, honey and grape-juice syrup; while the excellent Cretan wine is an indispensable accompaniment to their meals. Cretans do not eat meat or, rather, they did not eat meat until a few decades ago. Meat has always had a ritual quality in Crete, and generally in Greece. In modern times, they consumed meat only a few times a year, i.e. during festivities or, if wealthy enough, every Sunday. The ingenuity of Cretans exploited fully the entire spectrum of ingredient combinations, which resulted in volumes of recipes for meals and deserts.

Teaching Health & Culture
Modern Cretans feel the urge to share their secrets of life with the world. Besides their history and culture, they are also willing to share with people their prized cultural heritage known as CRETAN DIET. Cretans would like to let the world know of a gigantic effort taking place on the island to preserve traditional values and nutritional customs, in spite of the influx of promotional activities favouring foreign nutritional habits, mainly that of fast food. Cretan producers and local processing, packaging, and marketing companies warrant that all Cretan products are pure, without chemical substances or other preservatives and additives. Cretan products, being part of a centuries old tradition, are treated with the same respect as that afforded to them by our ancestors.

Organic Farming
The natural environment of Crete favours the development "earth friendly" methods of growing crops, particularly with regard to basic agricultural products, i.e. those that have adjusted well to the climate of Crete. In the last few years a group of organic growers embarked on a very significant project: to make publicly available select organic products that would meet the exact requirements of modern consumers.

This task started from olive groves to expand to garden produce. Demand for such products was very impressive. Every year new farmers join the organised groups of organic farmers, while scientific research in the field of organic farming is flourishing.