A diet is a cultural piece of heritage that needs to be protected...

News coming from the headquarters of the European Union is that the Spanish government has launched to an initiative to drum up support for the Mediterranean diet to be put on a special United Nations list of cultural treasures of the world. The Spanish health officials said that the traditional Mediterranean diet with an abundance of fish, olive oil, fruit and vegetables must be made the first diet on a new UNESCO register of festivals, traditions and crafts that have been handed down for generations. The idea of putting a diet on the register of protected cultural items is completely new and if it does make the list it will be the first diet to do so.

The biggest problem that they are likely to have is convincing UNESCO that a diet is a cultural piece of heritage that needs to be protected, but there is no reason why a diet should be disregarded as a piece of cultural heritage. It makes an interesting idea especially as the Mediterranean diet has come under so much pressure from other more modern diets that are full of processed and unhealthy food. In countries like Spain, Italy and Greece the fact that people are not eating a Mediterranean diet anymore is largely responsible for the growing numbers of overweight and obese people in their nations.

If somehow the Mediterranean diet could be promoted and protected and that people could realise the importance of the healthy aspects of the Mediterranean diet it could somehow promote healthy eating and an awareness that a traditional diet handed down intact for centuries could be very good for you. The Portuguese government has decided to back their neighbours Spain in getting the Mediterranean diet listed by UNESCO and it did likely that other Mediterranean region countries will follow suit.

Ukmedix News wishes them the best of luck with their idea.