Silvia Franceschi, Carlo La Vecchia, F. Xavier Medina, Miguel A. Martinez-Gonzalez, Sandro Dernini, Javier Aranceta, Emilio Ros, Davide Cassi, Lorenzo Donini, Marie Josephe AMIOT, Biel Obrador, Barbara Burlingame, Anna Bach-Faig, Denis Lairon, Lluis Serra-Majem, Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Nicolò Merendino, Gulden Pekcan, Mediterranean Diet Foundation, Partenaires INRAE, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Nutriments Lipidiques et Prévention des Maladies Métaboliques, Université de la Méditerranée - Aix-Marseille 2-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université de la Méditerranée - Aix-Marseille 2, Hellenic Health Foundation, Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza' = Sapienza University [Rome], Universitat Obierta de Cataluniya, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Université Chouaib Doukkali (UCD), Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), The present study was supported by the Mediterranean Diet Foundation, the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino), Interuniversity International Center for Mediterranean Food Cultures Studies (CIISCAM), Fundacion Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero, Universita Degli Studi di Parma, Istituto Nazionale di Riverca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione (INRAN). The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. The authors contributed as follows: A. B. F., E. M. B., D. L., J.R., A. T., S. D., X. F. M., M. B., R. B. and L. S. M.: conceived and designed the study and revised the manuscript, A. B. F.: conducted the literature review and wrote the manuscript, G. M.: further developed some concepts, identified additional references and edited the subsequent drafts of the manuscript, L. S. M.: coordinated the study. All authors have seen and approved the content and contributed to the work. The Mediterranean Diet Foundation Expert Group contributed intellectually and scientifically to the project. The authors thank the members of the Mediterranean Diet Foundation Expert Group (Lluis Serra-Majem (Chair, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Barcelona, Spain), Joan Reguant (Andorra la Vella, Andorra), Anna Bach-Faig (Barcelona, Spain), Antonia Trichopoulou (Athens, Greece), Denis Lairon (Marseille, France), Elliot Berry (Jerusalem, Israel), Sandro Dernini (Rome, Italy), Francesc Xavier Medina (Barcelona, Spain), Maurizio Battino (Ancona, Italy), Javier Aranceta (Bilbao, Spain), Tola Atinmo (Ibadan, Nigeria), Juan Miguel Barros (Santiago de Compostela, Spain), Rekia Belahsen (El Jadida, Morocco), Sabah Benjelloun (Rabat, Morocco), Isabel Bertomeu-Galindo (Barcelona, Spain), Barbara Burlingame (Rome, Italy), Marc Caballero-Bartoli(Barcelona, Spain), Carmen Clapes-Badrinas (Barcelona, Spain), Sandrine Couto (Porto, Portugal), Ibrahim Elmadfa (Vienna, Austria), Ramon Estruch (Barcelona, Spain), Amanda Faig (Toronto, Canada), Flaminio Fidanza (Perugia, Italy), Silvia Franceschi (Lyon, France), Joseph Hautvast (Wageningen, Holland), Elisabeth Helsing (Oslo, Norway), Diana Julia-Llobet (Barcelona, Spain), Carlo La Vecchia (Milano, Italy), Aicha Lemtouni (Rabat, Morocco), Abel Marine(Barcelona, Spain), Miguel A. Martinez-Gonzalez (Pamplona, Spain), Gemma Miranda (Barcelona, Spain), Ridha Mokni (Tunis, Tunisia), Francisco Mombiela (Pais, France), Idoia Noain (Ordizia, Spain), Biel Obrador (Barcelona, Spain), Guden Pekcan (Ankara, Turkey), Suzanne Piscopo (Msida, Malta), Blanca Raido-Quintana (Barcelona, Spain), Emilio Ros (Barcelona, Spain), Sara Saez-Almendros (Barcelona, Spain), Jordi Salas-Salvado(Reus, Spain), Francisco Sensat (Barcelona, Spain), Dimitrios Trichopoulos (Boston, United States), Josep Antoni Tur (Palma de Mallorca, Spain), Maria Daniel Vaz da Almeida (Porto, Portugal) and Walter C. Willett (Boston, MA, USA)) and the 2009 CIISCAM Conference experts (Marie Joseph Amiot-Carlin (Marseille, France), Anna Bach-Faig (Barcelona, Spain), Rekia Belahsen (El Jadida, Morocco), Alfonsina Bellio (Cosenza, Italy), Elliot Berry (Jerusalem, Israel), Barbara Burlingame (Rome, Italy), Carlo Cannella (Rome, Italy), Roberto Capone (Bari, Italy), Davide Cassi (Parma, Italy), Sandro Dernini (Rome, Italy), Lorenzo M.Donini (Rome, Italy), Cosimo Lacirignola (Bari, Italy), Denis Lairon (Marseille, France), Giuseppe Maiani (Rome, Italy), Mario Mancini (Naples, Italy), Francesc Xavier Medina (Barcelona, Spain), Nicolo Merendino (Viterbo, Italy), Martine Padilla (Montpellier, France), Stefano Padulosi (Rome, Italy), Lluis Serra-Majem (Las Palmas deGran Canaria, Spain), Antonia Trichopoulou (Athens, Greece)) for their contributions., Université Chouaib Doukkali, Université de la Méditerranée, Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Sapienza Università di Roma, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Interuniversity International Center for Mediterranean Food Cultures Studies, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Mediterranean Diet Foundation Expert Group, Alimentació, Nutrició, Creixement i Salut Mental, Bioquímica i Biotecnologia, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, and Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza' = Sapienza University [Rome] (UNIROMA)