Mediterranean Diet and Longevity

The Mediterranean Diet (MD) is not a trendy diet to lose weight in a few days or weeks but a set of knowledge, social habits and cultural traditions historically handed down by the populations that overlook the Mediterranean basin, which since November 2010 UNESCO, for its historical roots and proven scientific bases, it has recognized as "the intangible heritage of humanity". This important recognition is based on the principle that: "this simple and frugal way of eating meals has favored intercultural contacts over time and conviviality, giving life to a formidable body of knowledge, social customs and traditional celebrations of many populations of the Mediterranean" . The Mediterranean Diet is a set of skills, knowledge, practices and traditions ranging from the landscape to the table . That is to say, an anthropological model that revolves around the complex culture of food that the Mediterranean countries have created and transmitted over the centuries. Traditions handed down from generation to generation and knowledge preserved and elaborated over time. An anthropological unicum that deserves to be known, imitated, innovated and delivered to future generations, based on elements of a food code that transforms the table into a metaphorical space constantly rebuilt and refounded, because if it is true that the Mediterranean diet has been brought into table for millennia, it is true that only in the last twenty years has been identified as a strategic asset to develop health and economy that makes food the signal of a general transformation of attitudes, feelings and collective responsibility towards not only the individual but also of nature and living species .