THE IOC WILL COMMEMORATE THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET PYRAMID
In November 2024, the IOC will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the official publication of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid in the margins of World Olive Day. The IOC would like to recognize the people and organizations that pioneered this initiative, as well as the impact this work has had on the preservation and advancement of this Mediterranean cultural heritage for the benefit of the health of humanity.
Many of the leading scientists in health and the Mediterranean Diet, true eminences of science and knowledge, are still active and making a decisive contribution to promoting human and planetary health. In a world facing the challenge of feeding a growing global population in a healthy and sustainable way, the Mediterranean Diet – with olive oil as an essential ingredient – is more relevant than ever.
The IOC is celebrating World Olive Day on Thursday, November 21, to recognize the indispensable contributions of the olive tree and to promote the spreading of knowledge and understanding of the importance and benefits of the Mediterranean Diet.
The Mediterranean Diet, traditional to the olive growing areas of the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the healthiest eating habits in the world. Olive oil is an essential part that facilitates the increased incorporation of vegetables and other plant-sourced foods in dietary patterns, providing health benefits that are recognized by numerous scientific studies. These include reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, the ability to improve brain health, providing essential antioxidants that fight cellular aging, and the prevention of certain cancers.
Although this diet has a millennia-old tradition, it was not properly recognized until a group of leading nutrition scientists, public health experts, food and cultural scholars began to investigate the patterns of the traditional Mediterranean Diet circa 1960. These efforts, building on the earlier pioneering work of Professor Ancel Keys and his ‘Seven Countries Study’ and led by world-renowned institutions such as the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health—Department of Nutrition and the World Health Organization in collaboration with Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, culminated in a series of conferences and papers that established the “Healthy Traditional Mediterranean Diet Pyramid,” recognized worldwide.
This group of experts developed and presented the International Conference on Mediterranean Diets in 1993, a follow-up conference in 1994 and a series of scientific articles published in special issues of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1995 and 1997, which awakened international interest in this culturally rooted, plant-forward nutritional pattern, changing the course of global nutrition research and public health orientations.
We will provide you with more information in the coming months to present the final program for this day and the speakers invited by the IOC to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Mediterranean food pyramid, in which olive oil and table olives play such an important role.
Source: https://www.internationaloliveoil.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NEWSLETTER_191_EN_V03.pdf