An oil reaction

Which cuisine is the healthiest in the world? A question one would imagine should only be debated over dinner or in coffee houses, without any governmental sanction or approval. Eating habits should strictly be about personal choice.

In recent times, however, governments are wanting to offer their two bits on dietary choices. Take the Spanish government for instance. Spain has for long believed that its cuisine, along with that of other Mediterranean countries, is the best diet in the world. And now these countries, including Italy, Greece and Morocco, have asked UNESCO this week to put the Mediterranean diet on the world heritage list.

The Mediterranean diet is said to consist of lots of vegetables, fruits, olive oil, pulses, unrefined cereals and fish, and a moderate amount of dairy products, meat and red wine.

It first came to the world's notice sometime in the 1940s but gained widespread approval in the 1990s. Doctors believe that though the Med diet is high in fats, those consuming it have a lower incidence of heart disease.

There have been several studies to figure out what it is about the Med diet that works, and there have been many theories and hypotheses, but no one has so far been able to pinpoint what it is about the diet that works to lower the incidence of heart ailments.

Many have argued that it could be the properties of olive oil that is responsible for keeping those on a Med diet hale and hearty. One recent study, out this week, has further reiterated the benefits of drinking moderate amounts of red wine on a regular basis.

But there are an equal number of scholars who have postulated that the climate, hard labour and other conditions that prevail in these Mediterranean countries could work in conjunction with the food and drink that they consume to produce its positive effects.

So, there are some voices out there who believe that just transporting the diet to a foreign clime won't be good enough for its benefits to work.

While this debate rages on, as to whether it is just the combination of certain foods and drinks or just one item in that list of food and drink (in this case olive oil), or even the entire package of weather, food, and physical exercise that determines its health benefits, it would be worth taking another look at Indian cuisine with its balanced mix of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals and health drinks like lassi. Maybe the Indian government too could petition UNESCO for world heritage status for Indian cuisine in all its variety?