ARTE.TV – ON Demand – Documentary

On the occasion of an international conference on the Mediterranean diet in Rome in May 2005, our colleague Jean Yves Nau wrote in The world dated May 24, 2005 : “Little by little, the veil is being lifted on the secrets and benefits of the “Mediterranean diet”, a formula that proposes a catalog of dietary restrictions, although it is primarily about educating people to enjoy food. »

Almost twenty years later, research and discoveries have made great strides, documentaries have reported on the progress made, albeit some, like the recent series 100 years of abundance: the secrets of the blue zones, The film by journalist Dan Buettner, offered by Netflix, unfortunately distorted the topic.

Many previously skeptical scientists have been convinced by the convincing results of the long-term and large-scale studies carried out since the beginning of the 1990s. What the Franco-Greek documentary tells (remember that the most famous regime in the region is Cretan) The Mediterranean diet. The ideal recipeby Alexandros Mercouris, provided by Arte.tv.

“Superfood”

It is worth remembering that the first discovery made by observing this diet, which is reduced to red meat, sugar and fats of animal origin (butter, cream), but rich in fruits (fresh and dried), vegetables and legumes has been a contribution in the fight against cardiovascular diseases.

These are the works of“Ancel Keys (1904-2004), an American scientist nicknamed “Mister Olive Oil” (and died at the age of 100!) who extolled the benefits of vegetable fats, including olive oil. Today’s medicine confirms this: “Olive oil is very effective in preventing heart attacks”, as one of the many scientists interviewed, Miguel Angel Martinez-Gonzalez, a Spanish professor of public health, put it. And to add: “I don’t like talking about it “Superfood,” but if there was one, it would be olive oil. »

Another section of the documentary focuses on the benefits of this diet in relation to certain types of cancer (breast cancer, colon cancer). A disease, recalls Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health, that was once associated with smoking, but otherwise “seemed like divine punishment striking at random.”

The most interesting part of Alexandros Mercouris’ film deals with connections that were not yet on the agenda of the Rome conference in 2005: that between a Mediterranean diet and the risks of senile dementia, which have been studied in particular in France. By increasing daily consumption of fruits, vegetables and fatty fish, Risks of Alzheimer’s disease would be reduced by 30% to 36%.

Other clinically observed benefits have been listed, but there is still much to be done in research and especially in nutritional education of the population. Because it is remembered at the beginning Mediterranean cuisine. The ideal recipe, Cretan youths now eat processed industrial products…