The Cretan diet is probably the most representative Mediterranean diet, which boosts health, a sense of well-being, and lifespan.
Many ask what the much-talked-about Cretan dietary prototype really is. The answer is simple. It is the diet of the island’s poorer farmers, of the people who lived mostly in the countryside until the late 1970s.
At that point, they began to be influenced by the modern way of life, consuming more and more meat and relying all the more on processed foods and using sugar in their cooking.
When many people think of Greek food, pastitso, moussaka, souvlaki and baklava come to mind, but these dishes are not emblematic of the Cretan diet.
Key features of the Cretan diet
A traditional Cretan diet is instead packed with greens, such as horta (wild greens), fasolakia (green string beans), bamies (okra), legumes including fakes (lentils), fasolada (beans) and revithia (chickpeas), vegetable dishes, fish and occasional small portions of meat.
The key features of the Cretan diet include:
- Lots of plant-based foods: Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (like beans and lentils), and nuts and seeds are all staples.
- Extra virgin olive oil: This is the main source of fat.
- Wild greens: Cretans love these and consider them a superfood. They are high in antioxidants and vitamins.
- Moderate amounts of fish and dairy: Fish is eaten more often than meat, and dairy portions are typically smaller than in a Western diet.
- Small amounts of meat: Meat plays a minor role in this diet.
- Focus on fresh, local ingredients: Cretans traditionally eat what’s in season and grown nearby.
- Herbs and spices: These are used to add flavor, but not in excess.
This way of eating is similar to the well-known Mediterranean diet, and it’s thought to be a reason why Cretans tend to have lower rates of heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
Cretan diet and the “Seven Countries Study”
The Cretan diet emerged from the “Seven Countries Study,” which was begun in the 1950s. This study was led by Ancel Keys, a physiologist from the University of Minnesota who was dedicated to learning about and combating the heart-related health issues that were beginning to plague Americans.
He discovered that the island of Crete was the healthiest of the countries in his study, with incidences of heart disease occurring at extraordinarily low percentages among the Cretan population.
The population of Crete tends to eat seasonally and locally, consuming between 9-12 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, as well as plenty of olive oil. This is the only oil they use. There’s no butter or lard, and it makes up to 37 percent of their daily caloric intake.
Cretans sometimes get upset if someone today speaks to them about the “Mediterranean” diet. Academics, researchers, and local community representatives believe the term is too generic and does not accurately express the important distinctive features of their island.
Only one term is acceptable there: the Cretan diet. They do, of course, acknowledge that every Mediterranean country has developed its own distinctive diet with several shared elements between them. The differences, however, are not negligible.
Related: Why the Greek Diet is the World’s Healthiest
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