The traditional Cretan cuisine is what has been named Mediterranean diet,foods based on virgin olive oil,olives,whole wheat bread,cheese products like cheese and yogurt,vegetables,fish and meat.
It provides a balanced intake of proteins,carbohydrates,fiber,along with fat that is rich in LDL very essential for the good condition and function of the human body,all these are significant nutritional benefits and boundless culinary delights of the healthful cuisine enjoyed for centuries on the island of Crete.
A home-cooked meal includes a variety of foods:Greek salad with olive oil, fish fried in olive oil,or cooked in the oven marinated with olive oil and lemon,stuffed vegetables with rice (tomato,eggplant,zuccini,green peppers)fesolαda (bean soup),lamp chops, loukαnika (spicy sausage), dolmαdes (stuffed grape or cabbage leaves) or keftιdes (meatballs),accompanied by varieties of distingtive full-bodied wine, fruits like grape ,water melon,and grape liquor called raki.
Is not only the unique in taste and quality Cretan products but also their combination, which gives an enormous nutritional value and can be found in every Cretan dish.
A comparative study among several developed countries, which began in 1960 on behalf of seven countries, has a controlled group of Cretan men from the countryside under medical observation, regularly checking the state of their health: so far this group has had the lowest percentage of deaths caused by heart attacks and different kinds of cancer.
Below you can find the results of this research:
| Disease |
Heart Cancer |
Other |
diseases |
| Finland |
972 |
613 |
2169 |
| USA |
773 |
384 |
1575 |
| Holland |
636 |
781 |
1825 |
| Italy |
462 |
622 |
1874 |
| Yugoslavia |
242 |
394 |
1712 |
| Japan |
136 |
623 |
1766 |
|
|
|
|
| Crete Greece |
38 |
317 |
855 |
|
(Angel Keys 1986) | |
Cretan Cuisine 
