L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 5 pany, Mission Olive. Despite the good image of the Mediterranean Diet on the press, for the general public in the U.S., it's hard to follow this diet, because you can't just go to a supermarket and buy something labeled "Mediterranean Diet". People need to get back to basics and just eat in the naturally healthful and tasty way that our ancestors did. On the contrary, the Paleo diet is filling up the news, because of the wide availability of its prod- ucts. We strived to give the audi- ence useful tips to adopt the Mediterranean lifestyle, which combines pleasure with health. I visited Calabria for the first time, during my college years. I could observe how everyone of our family had an identical twin in Calabria. The only difference was that those of us in the United States had lots of health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular dis- eases and a shorter life expectan- cy. The huge cultural difference is that, in the U.S., we look at food as an "enemy", something to avoid, while in Italy and in the rest of the Mediterranean region, food is seen as an "ally" and almost a medicine. Are you taking part to other food-related events in Los Angeles? Six years ago, I came here as a tourist, for the first time. Last year, I got invited to appear on The Home and Family Show, on the Hallmark network. Over time, I took part to sever- al events, organized by the Italian Consulate, The Italian Cultural Institute, The Italy America Chamber of Commerce, and the International Visitors Center of L.A. Last week, I presented a recipe from one of my cookbooks, aired by Hallmark. On Friday, I spoke about diabetes and conducted a cooking demo in Spanish with recipes, from my Italian Diabetes Cookbook, to the patients at the California Medical Center. Last but not least, among the scientific representatives, here are the considerations from Professor Eugenio Luigi Iorio, one of the top experts in oxidative stress. Please, introduce yourself. What is your cultural back- ground? I was born in Foggia (in the Apulia region of Italy) and I am a medical doctor and biochemist. I hold a PhD in Biochemical Sciences and my research, over the years, has focused mainly on the oxidative stress. Tell us more about the con- ference on the Mediterranean Diet, as strong point within a wider promotion of Made in Italy, held at the Italian Chamber of Deputies in Rome, last April 5. We officially presented the Mediterranean Diet Roundtable (MDR), at the press conference, held at the Italian Chamber of Deputies, last April 5, in Rome. There were lots of producers, especially of olive oil, in atten- dance. The aim of my presentation, during the MDR in L.A., was to explain why the Mediterranean diet is healthy. It's widely proved that this lifestyle assures a good quality of life and, especially, prevents from cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. There is an explanation at molecular level. I've studied specifically the balance between free radicals – atoms or mole- cules containing unpaired elec- trons - and antioxidants – protec- tive molecules. One theory about the healthy properties of the diet is that it includes plenty of fruit and veg- etables, which are rich in polyphenols – signaling mole- cules, which communicate direct- ly with our DNA, giving instruc- tions to produce antioxidants. The latter fight against free radi- cals, whose accumulation in our cells, over the years, is responsi- ble for our aging. The second theory tells us that, fruit and, mostly, green veg- etables contain a large percentage of nitrite salts. The latter undergo a biochemical reaction in our mouth and transform into nitric oxide, which is a vasodilator. The vasodilatation enables the blood to circulate better through our tis- sues and the pressure to decrease. In 2007, you founded the International Observatory of Oxidative Stress. What has it been accomplished, so far? What long-term goals are still to be reached? I am the President of this non- profit organization. The aim of the latter is to translate the med- ical research into clinical prac- tice. Through a small, "made in Italy" device, which analyzes a drop of blood, we perform bio- chemical measurements of free radicals, antioxidants and the level of oxidative stress in our body. The latter is an emerging risk factor, in fact, if the level of oxidative stress stays high for five/ten years, it may lead to car- diovascular diseases and even cancer. The observatory includes around three thousand and five hundred researchers, from 35 countries worldwide. Aside from the main headquarters in Salerno (city in Campania, region of Italy), our second main branch is in Japan. Last year, I accompanied the TV troupe of Le Iene (The Hyenas) – a popular satirical show which airs on the Italian channel, Italia 1 (part of the Mediaset network) – to Okinawa island, south of mainland Japan. This small island is famous for the longevity of its inhabitants, with an impressive rate of 34 cen- tenarians per 100,000 people. Besides, what's really incredi- ble is that these people age with- out any disease. I was impressed by a centenarian man, able to read the newspaper without reading glasses. Aside from a small percentage of genetic causes, the deciding factor (maybe 70-75%) in their longevity is their diet, largely based on purple-fleshed, sweet potatoes (rich in polyphenols) and goya (bitter melon). The ideal paradigm for our health would be a "Mediterr- Asian" diet. Could you delve more into how your main field of research apply to the Mediterranean diet? We are observing in particular the young population, which, as opposed to the past, now tends to be generally overweight and suf- fers from obesity. The levels of oxidative stress, registered in guys and girls attending high school, are sur- prisingly high. In 2014, in cooperation with the Harvard Lifestyle Medicine Center, I founded the Popular University of Lifestyle Medicine, in the town of Ascea (in Cilento, a traditional geographical area in Campania). Our main focus is on the education of young genera- tions, through seminars and cook- ing demonstrations. We developed also a test kit to measure the oxidation of olive oil. By collecting a drop of the latter in a phial and observing its change of color, every consumer can check that the peroxide num- ber stays below twenty, and, thus, the olive oil is not oxidized. Maybe, not everyone knows that this precious dressing is the top form of prevention against arteriosclerosis. Do you like cooking? What is your favorite dish? My favorite dish is "pasta e fagioli" (pasta and beans), a com- plete meal, which allows us to avoid meat. It's becoming popular in Italy, the brand "Pasta Dolce Vita", which is 97 % made of regular grains and 3 % of chitosan, extracted from the shrimps' outer shell. Matter of fact, it is clinical- ly proved to favor hypoglycemia and to lower blood pressure. For the first time in the world, my team and I introduced a certi- fied recipe of Neapolitan whole- wheat antiaging pizza, containing eight different vegetables and all the main ingredients of the Mediterranean Diet. L to R Daniela Puglielli, Dr. Angelo Mojica, Ken Toong, Enrico Cademartiri, Jennifer LeBarre, Rafi Taherian Michiel Bakker. Photo Courtesy of D. Puglielli LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY Continued from page 3

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