Mediterranean diet of Crete: foods and nutrient content

Objectives To describe the traditional diet of Crete and evaluate the nutri ent composition of 3 types of diet common in Crete by means of chemical ana lyses of composite food samples. To compare results with dietary analyses f rom a nutrient database developed at the University of Crete, Greece. Design Three composite diet samples were obtained based on 7-day weighed fo od records representing the traditional Cretan Mediterranean diet (diet A), typical diet of present-day Greek adolescents (diet B), and fasting diet o f the Eastern Orthodox church (diet C). Analyses were performed chemically and using a nutrient database. Results Chemical analyses provided a definitive measure, for the first time , of the nutrient composition of the complete Greek diet as it was in the e arly 1960s. In comparing chemical analyses with nutrient database analyses, differences greater than 15% of the analyzed value were found in all 3 die ts for cholesterol and some vitamins. The differences between analyzed and calculated values in total fat and saturated fat content were less than 15% in all diets. Applications/conclusions The present study provides 2 practical examples of the Mediterranean diet, which although widely publicized has rarely been a nalyzed chemically. Diet A has been shown to be related to the lowest rates for coronary heart disease and cancer mortality compared with the diets of the other populations of the Seven Countries study. As such, it could be r ecommended for health promotion and prevention of disease. Diet C contains even lower amounts of saturated fatty acids and would be excellent for pati ents with hypercholesterolemia. The high antioxidants in diet C probably ma intain very low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Dietary anal yses of the Greek diet could be based on an operational database such as ou rs if further chemical analyses are performed on specific foods. These woul d result in improved precision of the database and possible extension into national food composition tables and a national dietary database.