CRETAN DIET

The use of olive oil in Cretan cuisine but also as a healing means in folk medical recipes has fascinated the western civilization, considering the studies that have been undertaken by researchers and organizations. In the 20th century, the “Rockfeller study” (1948) conducted by the infamous Rockfeller Instistution and Dr Anzel Keys among 13.000 men from 16 different countries, concluded that Cretans use far more olive oil in every dish, salads and pastries than any other place in Greece. Following that observation, the “study of the seven countries” (1950s, 1960s) placed in the limelight the dietary habits of seven countries such as Greece (Crete and Corfu), former Yugoslavia (Dalmatian coasts), Italy, Netherlands, Finland, U.S.A. and Japan. The research focused on the relation between nutrition and diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular failures. The results came in as a revelation. It seemed that the large consumption of olive oil in Crete resulted in showing far better health levels. Cancer cases were rare and the frequency of heart diseases was vastly lower than those in northern Europe and the other countries under study, labelling it the “Cretan paradox”. In 1988, French professor of cardiology, Serge Renault conducted the “Lyon heart” study, in an attempt to add more factors that would potentially dilute the relation between olive oil consumption and good health, such as climate and psychology. The research had a time span of 5 years, among 605 people divided into 2 groups. One group followed the dietary guidelines of the W.H.O. while the other consumed equal olive oil volumes and followed the nutritional habits of Cretans. Dr Renault shut down the study after the first year, following the indisputable results that showed that the group following the Cretan diet showed far better health indicators.

Today, we know that apart from the abundant use of olive oil, the health benefits of the Cretan diet lies in the fact that it is mostly plant-based and meat use is peripheral. It is a thrifty diet, not as rich as in the rest of Europe where animal fat is widely used. Legumes, herbs, salads and greenery along with potatoes, rice and pasta are cooked, fried, boiled and baked into hundreds of combinations. The animal meat that is most commonly used is lamb, goat and pork since most of the cow’s meat is imported.

Food in Crete is the glue that brings people, families and communities together, literally and metaphorically.

It is largely embedded in the religious ceremonies and holidays; it expresses joy, sadness and gratitude; it is always plenty, shared and offered; and very importantly, it favors environmental sustainability because it respects seasonality. The magnificence of Crete is irrevocably linked with the Cretan culinary experience, since as all things that matter…it speaks to the heart!