La Mediterranea wins the global diet challenge for 2024 and pushes the candidacy for Unesco heritage of Italian cuisine which is based precisely on the eating style studied for the first time by the American scientist Ancel Keys. This is what Coldiretti says on the basis of the new best diets ranking elaborated by the US media U.S. News & World's Report's, known globally for the drafting of rankings and advice for consumers.
"The Mediterranean diet - underlines Coldiretti - won the challenge among 30 different alternatives with a score of 85.1%, followed on the podium by the dash diet against hypertension, which ranks second, and the mind, which prevents and reduces cognitive decline. In fourth place is the Mayo diet, a 12-week program that focuses on protein and excludes starchy foods, and fifth place goes to the flexarian diet, a flexible way of eating."
Its success is also determined by the fact that it is among the easiest to follow, family-friendly, simple to organize with basic foods, encourages moderate consumption of healthy fats, such as olive oil, and discourages unhealthy fats, such as saturated fats, with less than about 30% of total calories coming from fat, and is suitable for those who follow halal or kosher religious prescriptions. "The Mediterranean diet is also heart-healthy and has been associated with reduced blood pressure, cholesterol and body weight, as well as better cardiovascular health outcomes and lower rates of heart disease and stroke. The abundance of nutrient-dense seafood, nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil, beans, leafy greens, and whole grains in the Mediterranean diet also boasts many benefits for the brain. Anthocyanins in berries, wine, and red cabbage are considered particularly beneficial to health."
It is therefore, the confederation specifies, "a response also to attempts to indict its basic components such as wine to promote a unique food diet based on ultra-processed foods or even obtained in laboratories".
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