Crete, considered to be one of the cradles of the Mediterranean diet, has been overtaken by unhealthy Western eating habits and now has alarmingly high obesity rates, particularly among children.
Yet it was on this island, and in the rest of the Mediterranean basin, that American doctor Ancel Keys discovered after the war the ideal diet to protect against the cardiovascular disease that was ravaging his country.
Fruit, vegetables, fish, wholegrain cereals, pulses, olive oil, little meat and zero sugar... an ancestral and frugal diet, based on local produce and motivated by the extreme poverty that prevailed in southern Europe at the time.
Its benefits for the heart have been proven since the 2000s, thanks to the vast Spanish Predimed study. Other researchers have demonstrated its protective effect against cancer. It could also reduce the risk of dementia.