We present a food pyramid that reflects Mediterranean dietary traditions, which historically
have been associated with good health. This Mediterranean diet pyramid is based on food
patterns typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and southern Italy in the early 1960s,
where adult life expectancy was among the highest in the world and rates of coronary heart
disease, certain cancers, and other diet-related chronic diseases were among the lowest.
Work in the field or kitchen resulted in a lifestyle that included regular physical activity and …