Italian Ambassador to Qatar, Pasquale Salzano makes the opening remarks at the Seminar on Mediterranean Diet, Sport and Nutrition : The Italian Experience, organized by the Italian Embassy in Qatar. Pic: Qassim Rahmatullah / The Peninsula
A seminar organised by the Italian Embassy yesterday as part of the Italian Week put a spotlight on the exceptional health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.
The ‘Seminar on the Mediterranean Diet, Sport and Nutrition: The Italian Experience’ held at the Cultural Village Foundation – Katara gathered a panel of Italian experts speaking on the numerous advantages of following the Mediterranean diet.
“The Mediterranean diet, which is more than just a diet but a way of eating and living, is impacting both menu and flavour trends worldwide. The simplicity, freshness, vibrant colours and overall health benefits of the Mediterranean eating has the world wanting to know and eat more,” said Italian Ambassador Pasquale Salzano, stressing that Mediterranean-style diet has proven to improve health and nutrition.
Professor Giorgio Calabrese, one of the speakers who is an expert in food science and acclaimed science writer spoke on the correlation between Mediterranean diet and sport. He discussed in detail the difference between various kinds of sports and how the diet differs based on the kinds of sports.
Talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the seminar, Calabrese stressed the importance of following a good diet particularly the Mediterranean style towards excellence in sports saying that he had spoken with key professionals engaged in the field of sports on laying the foundation for athletes to have proper diet.
He underlined that the country where food is sourced from has an effect on the health of the population and that there had been numerous studies conducted pointing to that Mediterranean cuisine has undeniably benefited people’s health.
Valter Di Salvo, Director of Football Performance & Science at the Aspire Academy, shared the same view saying that many scientific research conducted around the world have evidence on the advantages of Mediterranean diet.
“The Seven Countries Study on Brazil, Japan, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands and Finland to check the relationship between diet and lifestyle and cardiovascular disease has shown that the country with the Mediterranean diet like Greece and Italy had a lower risk of coronary heart disease,” said Di Salvo, adding Italy is on the 10th position in a 2017 life expectancy ranking.
Ambassador Salzano also highlighted Mediterranean diet, which in 2010 was inscribed in the Unesco Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, had also been recognised as a sustainable diet because of its lower environmental impact.
“The Mediterranean diet represents a sustainable style of living based on eating genuine products in a convivial setting with your friends and family. This is a common feature of the Italian and Qatari culture. We share the same values of family-centred society whereby consuming special dishes together strengthen our community,” the Italian envoy said.
Qatari people are increasingly enjoying authentic Italian food, the Mediterranean diet which is tastier and healthier. Qatar is one of the few nations in the world hosting a National Sports Day. This is the sign of the care of the Qatari leadership for the promotion of a healthy society,” he said.
Anna Paolini, Director, UNESCO Regional Office in Doha UNESCO Representative in the Arab States of the Gulf and Yemen and Roberto Bertollini, Advisor to the Minister of Public Health of Qatar also spoke at the seminar.
