Chudzińska Małgorzata, Nartowicz Małgorzata, Zukow Walery, Sinkiewicz Władysław. Why the Mediterranean diet? Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2018;8(10):326-337. eISNN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1489258 http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.phpohs/article/view/6302 https://pbn.nauka.gov.pl/sedno-webapp/works/887410 The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part b item 1223 (26/01/2017). 1223 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eissn 2391-8306 7 © The Authors 2018; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 05.10.2018. Revised: 25.10.2018. Accepted: 31.10.2018. Why the Mediterranean diet? Małgorzata Chudzińska1, Małgorzata Nartowicz2, Walery Zukow3, Władysław Sinkiewicz4 1 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Collegium Medicum UMK, Bydgoszcz, Poland 2 Department of Oncological Surgery Collegium Medicum UMK, Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Poland 3Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland 4 II Department of Cardiology, Collegium Medicum UMK, Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Poland Address for correspondence: Małgorzata Chudzińska Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz University of Nicolaus Copernicus in Toruń 85-626 Bydgoszcz, Dębowa 3 street Tel. 608 425 828 e-mail: malgorzata.chudzinska1@wp.pl Abstract "Mediterranean diet" is a concept that defines a certain range of nutritional behaviors that cannot be faithfully reproduced in current times. The prototype of this diet was created in Crete in the 1960s and spread mainly among poor populations of fishermen and shepherds, leading a lifestyle substantially differed from modern one. The Mediterranean diet is characterized by high consumption of vegetables and fruit, cereal products, legume seeds and olive oil, average consumption of fish, dairy products and alcohol, as well as small consumption of meat, sugar and confectionery products. The products recommended in it contain a number of pro-health properties, among others, thanks to the content of omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, fiber, and antioxidants. Therefore, the Mediterranean diet allows to develop good eating habits for life and prevents many civilization diseases. Key words: Mediterranean diet, omega-3 fatty acids, vegetables and fruit, olive oil, nuts, wine