Italian researchers have set out the guidelines for a vegetarian diet based on the world-famous Mediterranean diet in a study published by the Journal of the academy of nutrition and dietetics on Tuesday. The 'PiattoVeg' (VeggieDish) developed by Luciana Baroni, Maurizio Battino and Silvia Goggi is potentially free of all animal products or by products and is appropriate for adults including women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. It is based on the traditional mainstays of the Mediterranean diet: cereals, legumes, vegetables, fruit, dried fruit and seeds, olive oil and sunflower oil. Animal by-products such as milk, cheese and eggs are optional, and in any case should be consumed only in limited amounts. The PiattoVeg "demonstrates how it is totally possible to follow an entirely plant-based diet even during pregnancy and when breastfeeding, with precise indications concerning the amount of each type of food to be consumed," the authors say. A "low-fat diet not only meets the demands of an organism that has greater nutritional than caloric requirements, but it is also effective as a complement to traditional treatments for some diseases," says Baroni, a neurologist, geriatrician and president of the Scientific Society of Vegetarian Nutrition. "The low-fat vegan diet has shown itself to be strong in countering the most common cardiometabolic diseases," she adds.
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