Written by: Clare Hooper | Summer 2022
History and Culture of the Mediterranean Diet
During my time in Florence, I was exposed to food and a culture that I truly fell in love with. My dad’s side is from Sicily, and I was raised with some Italian traditions. Meals together with family were always special.
In my time at Butler, I have learned more about
myself than I would have ever imagined. In the past two years, my love for health and food has drastically increased. Two years ago, I discovered that I had to go gluten free for medical reasons. If I ate anything containing gluten, I would fall asleep almost instantly. For years, I have been trying to eliminate foods that would make my body worse. This trip gave me the ability to find foods that could fuel my body to make it stronger. I learned all about the Mediterranean Diet, and I believe it is a diet that many people could easily follow and stick with. When I thought about what a healthy dinner should consist of, I always pictured some form of meat as the main dish with a side of vegetables. Now after studying abroad, I learned that meat does not have to be the main source of nutrients.
In America, vegetarians and vegans have substitutes for protein, but what I liked about Italy was that there were no substitutes. They used other foods as a source of protein, instead of having a veggie burger or another form of substitute. Another fun fact that I learned is that balsamic vinegar has plenty of antioxidant properties. This means that balsamic vinegar is one of the many foods that can be used to protect people from inflammation, heart disease, and even cancer. It can be used to make a salad healthier instead of using another dressing.
I liked the lifestyle involving food in Florence. There were set times for meals, and employers were allowed to close their place of business for meals. If an employee wanted to go take a walk, they could. If the store had been slow all day and they wanted to close early, they could. I have always wanted to be in a position where I live to work not work to live. I understand that not everyone has that ability, but my goal for my future was always to be able to save enough money up so if I am sick, or want to take some time off, I could. In Italy, they also thought the same way.
I remember I went to a leather store, and it was owned by a friend of my professor. He and his friend were going to go to the beach the following day. They were going to close the shop during the middle of the week just to have a nice relaxing day at the beach. I am not sure if anyone in America could or would do something like that; I am not familiar with that situation in Indiana. However, I thought it was so interesting that people can just take off to go eat, go to the beach, or go wherever they wanted. Money was not everything to them, and I think that is one of the biggest differences between America and Italy.
The other difference I saw is the overall state of health of the citizens in both countries. I was very fortunate enough to learn about health and food from the Italians. I am still trying to find ways to incorporate balsamic vinegar and other antioxidant foods into my diet little by little each day.