Preface

The Italian Reference Mediterranean Diet of Nicotera ensures the proper allocation of energy and various nutrients from the meals of the day and that is characterized by the prevalence of the following groups of food: cereals, legumes, vegetables, fresh and dried fruit, extra-virgin olive oil, fishery products and, as alcoholic beverages, wine.

The surveys carried out by the nutritionist Ancel Keys, and illustrated in the earlier paragraph, have shown that the right combination of these foods allows the body to acquire food components with antioxidant properties or with specific roles in the prevention of chronic-degenerative and metabolic diseases.

With regard to energy macronutrients, the food model expects that 12-15% of the total energy comes from protein, 25-30% from lipids and the remaining share from carbohydrates.