Mediterranean diet pyramid: a proposal for Italian people.

Bread was a staple in the traditional Mediterranean diet of the early 1960s, as well as nowadays; however, it was a stone ground sourdough bread in Nicotera and probably in the Greek cohorts of the Seven Countries Study. In the present review, the nutritional characteristics of this food are analyzed in relation to its protective effects on coronary heart disease, metabolic diseases and cancer. According to our traditions, cultural heritage and scientific evidence, we propose that only cereal foods with low glycemic index (GI) and rich in fiber have to be placed at the base of the Mediterranean diet pyramid, whereas refined grains and high GI starchy foods have to be sited at the top.