Research paper
Nestle M. Mediterranean diets: historical and research overview. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1995 Jun;61(6 Suppl):1313S-1320S. doi:10.1093/ajcn/61.6.1313S
Why we cite it
A 1995 historical overview connecting ancient Mediterranean dietary traditions, through Ancel Keys’ research of the 1950s, to modern dietary guidelines. In its words, ”The work of Ancel Keys in the 1950s established the largely plant-based Mediterranean diet as the original prototype for current dietary guidelines in the United States and elsewhere”, and ”Given worldwide trends toward dietary uniformity, classic Mediterranean diets may be becoming endangered species”.
About the author
Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, is Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, at New York University, where she chaired the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies from 1988 to 2003. She holds a PhD in molecular biology and an MPH in public health nutrition, both from UC Berkeley. Before NYU, she served as senior nutrition policy advisor in the US Department of Health and Human Services (1986–1988) and edited the 1988 Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health. She is the author of books including Food Politics (2002, James Beard Literary Award), and founded the food studies program at NYU in 1996.