Reference no: EM133594441

Case: The historical Mediterranean cuisine has undergone changes since the introduction of New World foods in the 16th century. The cuisine remained fairly unknown in the US even after Elizabeth David's 1950 book entitled Book of Mediterranean Foods . Somewhere around 1975, the Mediterranean diet gained popularity in America. Countries around the Mediterranean Sea such as Greece, Southern Italy, and Spain followed traditional dietary patterns that emphasize plant foods, fresh fruit, olive oil as the principle source of fat, and moderate wine intake. Protein foods such as dairy products (mainly cheese and yogurt) and fish are consumed in moderate amounts with low red meat intake. Studies have linked the cuisine to a decrease in coronary artery disease and mortality rates, a phenomenon also seen in "The French Paradox." Mediterranean countries tend to have a high intake of fat but have lower rates of cardiovascular disease as compared to the United States and other countries that also have a high fat intake. Please answer each of the following questions in separate paragraphs:

Question 1. What is your perspective on why the Mediterranean diet has such low rate of cardiovascular disease, even though the diet consists of high fat?

Question 2. Should more Americans adopt the principles of the Mediterranean cuisine to decrease cardiovascular risk?

Question 3. Do you follow any of the principles of this diet, if not; do you think you will adopt some of the principles? Support your position with two recent research references on this topic