Ella Olsson via Pexels People in the Middle East were living on the “Mediterranean Diet” 2,800 years ago, according to new research. What Ancient Syrians ate resembled the trendy present-day eating plan, say scientists. An international team analyzed chemistry of plant, animal, human remains to study historic food chains They found that people in ancient Syria likely ate mostly grains, grapes, olives and a small amount of dairy and meat - similar to today’s Med diet.
Celebrities including Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Selena Gomez and Catherine Zeta-Jones are among fans of the eating plan which has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It emphasizes plant-based foods with followers mostly eating fruit, veg, and whole grains while extra virgin olive oil is the main source of fat. Tell Tweini, an archaeological site near the Syrian coastal city of Jableh, contains relics dating back to the early Bronze Age, around 2,600 BC, stretching into the Iron Age, nearly 2,300 years later.
Photo by Dana Tentis via Pexels For the new study, researchers used isotopic analyses of plant, animal and human remains from the site to map how nutrients flowed through the food chain and agricultural systems on this land over time. Study co-author Dr. Simone Riehl, of the in Germany, said some of the most interesting results came from the Middle Bronze Age, between 2000 BC and 1600 BC.
She explained that human remains from that period showed a relatively low level of δ15N -.
