Implementing the Mediterranean Diet Implementing the Mediterranean Diet: Nutrition in Practice and Public Health situates this ‘gold standard’ of diets within the wider food environment by bridging the gap between the evidence-based health benefits of the Mediterranean diet and its implementation. The text explores the many approaches that can be used by health professionals to help consumers adopt this healthy eating pattern, as well as the barriers encountered with implementing this diet at home and in the wider environment. It also considers sustainable food and farming practices, and national food strategies. A one-stop resource for food and health professionals, this seminal text demonstrates the full range of benefits that the Mediterranean diet can bring to society. This ground-breaking book: Gives an in-depth review of the effectiveness of the Mediterranean diet in disease prevention and the management of chronic diseases Contextualises the diet within the food environment, showing why the whole dietary pattern and minimizing the consumption of highly processed foods are both so important Shows how to implement the Mediterranean diet, motivating and guiding consumers to make the transition Addresses the practical and behavioural barriers to food choice in terms of taste, cost, variety, convenience and animal welfare concerns Implementing the Mediterranean Diet is a must-have resource for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in the food sciences, and for healthcare professionals such as dietitians, nutritionists, GPs, and health workers, especially those working in non-Mediterranean, high-income countries.

Growing evidence shows that a dietary pattern inspired by Mediterranean diet principles is associated with numerous health benefits. A Mediterranean-type diet has been demonstrated to exert a preventive effect toward cardiovascular diseases, in both Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean populations. Part of these properties may depend on a positive action toward healthier metabolism, decreasing the risk of diabetes and metabolic-syndrome-related conditions. Some studies also suggested a potential role in preventing certain cancers. Finally, newer research has showed that a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline, depression, and other mental disorders. Overall, a better understanding of the key elements of this dietary pattern, the underlying mechanisms, and targets, are needed to corroborate current evidence and provide insights on new and potential outcomes.This Special Issue welcomes original research and reviews of literature concerning the Mediterranean diet and various health outcomes:Observational studies on established nutritional cohorts (preferred), case-control studies, or population sample on the association with non-communicable diseases;Level of evidence on the association with human health, including systematic reviews and metaanalyses; Evaluation of application of Mediterranean diet principles in non- Mediterranean countries;Description of mechanisms of action, pathways, and targets at the molecular level, including interaction with gut microbiota.

This text is an especially timely new text as the number of studies focusing on the impact of the Mediterranean diet on disease prevention increases every year. The fundamental question addressed in this text is how food components and behavior of the Mediterranean diet reduce the risk of chronic diseases. In-depth chapters provide an overview of preclinical and clinical studies on Mediterranean dietary patterns, food components and lifestyle and their impact on health and disease. Large-scale “omic” approaches are highlighted to educate the reader about the molecular mechanisms through which specific components of the Mediterranean diet improves health and the opportunities and challenges for translating into practice the food recommendations of the Mediterranean pyramid. The volume concludes with information about the nutritional adequacy of Mediterranean foods and provides selected recipes. Mediterranean Diet: Impact on Health and Disease will be of great interest to students, clinicians, and scientists engaged in promoting health through nutrition and physical activity.

The Mediterranean Diet: An Evidence-Based Approach, Second Edition provides authoritative material on the many facets surrounding the complex interrelationships between diet, nutrition, health and well-being. The book discusses historical, cultural and scientific foundations, with chapters delving into nutritional adequacy, agricultural practices, food culture, mortality, quality of life, children and adolescents, behavior, cardiovascular diseases, diet quality, nutritional knowledge, nuts, minerals, olive oil, hydroxytyrosol, water, antioxidant nutritional status, ketogenics, adiposity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular risk, nutrigenetics, epigenetics, the link between epigenetics and pregnancy, gene polymorphisms bone health, insulin signaling inflammatory gene expression, and more. - Provides supportive evidence to embrace a holistic approach in understanding the Mediterranean diet, from the cell to the well-being of geographical populations - Addresses concepts, overviews, components of the diet, and medical, health and nutritional aspects - Contains coverage of emerging fields of diet science and important discoveries relating to diet and nutrition

A groundbreaking history of how the Black Death unleashed revolutionary change across the medieval world and ushered in the modern age In 1346, a catastrophic plague beset Europe and its neighbours. The Black Death was a human tragedy that abruptly halved entire populations and caused untold suffering, but it also brought about a cultural and economic renewal on a scale never before witnessed. The World the Plague Made is a panoramic history of how the bubonic plague revolutionized labour, trade, and technology and set the stage for Europe’s global expansion. James Belich takes readers across centuries and continents to shed new light on one of history’s greatest paradoxes. Why did Europe’s dramatic rise begin in the wake of the Black Death? Belich shows how plague doubled the per capita endowment of everything even as it decimated the population. Many more people had disposable incomes. Demand grew for silks, sugar, spices, furs, gold, and slaves. Europe expanded to satisfy that demand—and plague provided the means. Labour scarcity drove more use of waterpower, wind power, and gunpowder. Technologies like water-powered blast furnaces, heavily gunned galleons, and musketry were fast-tracked by plague. A new “crew culture” of “disposable males” emerged to man the guns and galleons. Setting the rise of Western Europe in global context, Belich demonstrates how the mighty empires of the Middle East and Russia also flourished after the plague, and how European expansion was deeply entangled with the Chinese and other peoples throughout the world.

The book aims to face the challenge of post-COVID-19 dynamics toward green and digital transition, between metropolitan and return to villages’ perspectives. It presents a multi-disciplinary scientific debate on the new frontiers of strategic and spatial planning, economic programs and decision support tools, within the urban–rural areas networks and the metropolitan cities. The book focuses on six topics: inner and marginalized areas local development to re-balance territorial inequalities; knowledge and innovation ecosystem for urban regeneration and resilience; metropolitan cities and territorial dynamics; rules, governance, economy, society; green buildings, post-carbon city and ecosystem services; infrastructures and spatial information systems; cultural heritage: conservation, enhancement and management. In addition, the book hosts a Special Section: Rhegion United Nations 2020-2030. The book will benefit all researchers, practitioners and policymakers interested in the issues applied to metropolitan cities and marginal areas.

In 1996, the Italian Great White Shark Data Bank began collecting and recording encounters in the Mediterranean between great white sharks and boats, bathers, divers, fishermen and others, from the Middle Ages to the present. This meticulously researched work presents the study's findings for the first time, releasing a trove of information on the great white's size, distribution, habitat, behavior, reproduction, diet, fisheries and attacks on humans. With 596 records of great white sharks from the entire Mediterranean Sea, this volume represents the most complete and comprehensive study on the species in that region and constitutes a rich resource for historians, scientists, fishermen, and divers.

Recently, complex interpretations of socio-cultural change in the ancientMediterranean world have emerged that challenge earlier models. Influenced bytoday’s hyper-connected age, scholars no longer perceive the Mediterranean as astatic place where “Greco-Roman” culture was dominant, but rather see it as adynamic and connected sea where fragmentation and uncertainty, along with mobilityand networking, were the norm. Hence, a current theoretical approach to studyingancient culture has been that of globalization. Certain eras of Mediterranean history (e.g., the Roman empire) known for their increased connectivity have thus beenanalyzed from a globalized perspective that examines rhizomal networking, culturaldiversity, and multiple processes of social change. Archaeology has proven a usefuldiscipline for investigating ancient “globalization” because of its recent focus on howidentity is expressed through material culture negotiated between both local andglobal influences when levels of connectivity are altered. One form of identity that has been inadequately explored in relation to globalizationtheory is insularity. Insularity, or the socially recognized differences expressed bypeople living on islands, is a form of self-identification created within a particularspace and time. Insularity, as a unique social identity affected by “global” forces,should be viewed as an important research paradigm for archaeologies concerned with re-examining cultural change. The purpose of this volume is to explore how comparative archaeologies of insularitycan contribute to discourse on ancient Mediterranean “globalization.” The volume’s theme stems from a colloquium session that was chaired by the volume’s co-editors atthe Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in January 2017. Given the current state of the field for globalization studies in Mediterranean archaeology,this volume aims to bring together for the first time archaeologists working ondifferent islands and a range of material culture types to examine diachronically how Mediterranean insularities changed during eras when connectivity increased, such asthe Late Bronze Age, the era of Greek and Phoenician colonization, the Classicalperiod, and during the High and Late Roman imperial eras. Each chapter aims tosituate a specific island or island group within the context of the globalizing forces and networks that conditioned a particular period, and utilizes archaeological material toreveal how islanders shaped their insular identities, or notions of insularity, at thenexus of local and global influences.

This volume includes the papers presented during the 1st Euro-Mediterranean Conference for Environmental Integration (EMCEI) which was held in Sousse, Tunisia in November 2017. This conference was jointly organized by the editorial office of the Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration in Sfax, Tunisia and Springer (MENA Publishing Program) in Germany. It aimed to give a more concrete expression to the Euro-Mediterranean integration process by supplementing existing North-South programs and agreements with a new multilateral scientific forum that emphasizes in particular the vulnerability and proactive remediation of the Euro-Mediterranean region from an environmental point of view. This volume gives a general and brief overview on current research focusing on emerging environmental issues and challenges and its applications to a variety of problems in the Euro-Mediterranean zone and surrounding regions. It contains over five hundred and eighty carefully refereed short contributions to the conference. Topics covered include (1) innovative approaches and methods for environmental sustainability, (2) environmental risk assessment, bioremediation, ecotoxicology, and environmental safety, (3) water resources assessment, planning, protection, and management, (4) environmental engineering and management, (5) natural resources: characterization, assessment, management, and valorization, (6) intelligent techniques in renewable energy (biomass, wind, waste, solar), (7) sustainable management of marine environment and coastal areas, (8) remote sensing and GIS for geo-environmental investigations, (9) environmental impacts of geo/natural hazards (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic, and marine hazards), and (10) the environmental health science (natural and social impacts on Human health). Presenting a wide range of topics and new results, this edited volume will appeal to anyone working in the subject area, including researchers and students interested to learn more about new advances in environmental research initiatives in view of the ever growing environmental degradation in the Euro-Mediterranean region, which has turned environmental and resource protection into an increasingly important issue hampering sustainable development and social welfare.