All fats are not created equal
Dietary guidelines have been widely perceived as indicating that total fat should be reduced. Total fat however, is not a very useful term, because fats and oils are distinct categories in the broad group of lipids. For Southern Europeans, fat means mainly olive oil. For Northern and Central Europeans the world ‘fat’ is associated with animal fat. As a result of recommending fat reduction, we may have inadvertently caused a reduction in olive oil consumption in southern Europe and a concomitant reduction of vegetable intake. In our part of the world, vegetables are consumed as salads as well as prepared as main dishes cooked in oil. So when we create dietary guidelines, it is well to remember that subtle linguistic choices may have serious unintended consequences.

During the last 20 years, there has been an accumulation of scientific evidence about the different role of different types of fats and carbohydrates on health and disease. The debate is still open, but cannot be ignored. There is no evidence that the adverse health effects of dietary animal fat also apply to olive oil and perhaps other types of plant oils. It appears that the consumption of olive oil in conjunction with vegetables can convey a substantial degree of protection against a wide range of chronic diseases. It has been shown that consumers of large quantities of olive oil have low saturated fat intake and high consumption of vegetables and legumes. In any case, special emphasis should be given to the specific properties of various types of fats and oils and on how these properties should affect the recommendations of quantities to be consumed.

The role of traditional foods and their possible extinction. The realization that the traditional Mediterranean diet may have advantages over and beyond those conveyed by other types of diets brings into focus some traditional foods consumed in our part of the world.

Preserving Greece’s culinary legacy
Traditional foods are considered a legacy passed on to us by our ancestors often from centuries back. Due to altered lifestyles, this national legacy is slowly vanishing so that future generations may be totally deprived of it.

The threat of extinction of traditional foods applies throughout Europe. Therefore, there is a standing need to study traditional foods in order to enrich and improve our diet and, at the same time, preserve important elements of our cultural inheritance. Since 1992, several research projects have been implemented in Greece with the objective to formulate a framework for the systematic investigation of traditional foods and recipes, aiming primarily at the elucidation of the role
of traditional Greek diet on health.

The study of traditional foods is multifaceted and includes:
•  Determination of the nutrient and non-nutrient value of primary and composite traditional foods.
•  Recording of the traditional production methods with audio-visual means.
•  Technological study on their potential industrial or semi-industrial production.
•  Formation of integrated records related to their traditional character, which may serve as identification files for potential use in proprietary claims.
•  Historical and folkloric review, which documents their traditional identity.

The European food information resource
This experience is being shared amongst twelve European countries in the context of the Network of Excellence (NoE) "European Food Information Resource-EuroFIR". A work package coordinated by our department has been developed with the following specific objectives:
•  To define the term "traditional" and record foods and recipes to be classified as traditional at the European level.
•  To establish a common methodology for the systematic study of traditional foods in Europe.
•  To provide data on nutritional composition of traditional foods for inclusion in national composition tables along with their raw ingredients and recipes.

One of the EuroFIR goals is to interact with the food sector, in a multi-faceted way, in order to ensure that traditional foods may be protected and promoted.

The results of this activity will contribute to the preservation and dissemination of traditional foods, emphasizing their beneficial effects on health. The analysis of several traditional Greek foods indicated that the majority of them are rich in antioxidants and meet current criteria for a prudent diet.