It's lunch time at an elementary school in Gothenburg, Sweden. In the school canteen, the manager checks a list by the Ministry of Health of the daily food that must include five categories of vegetables. Roots, fresh pulses, leafy vegetables, bulbs and vegetables rich in vitamin C, in different colors. Sweden is the country in Europe most faithfully following the Mediterranean diet. Children here are 15% less likely to be overweight than in Southern Europe, while the lowest consumption of vegetables by children and young people is recorded in Greece and Italy. One of them explains: “Many people don't like broccoli. I like it a lot because it looks like a tree and when I eat it I feel like a giant!...it seems strange to me that people who live near the Mediterranean eat less vegetables and fish than those of us who live far away."

Series Description

Food has a great influence on our well being and our body. Everybody knows that the Mediterranean Diet, consisting of plant based foods like vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes and fruits, with few or no animal products - is good for our health. Only few of us know, however, how particular plants affect different parts of our body, our heart and mind or how the food we eat can act as medicine, if used correctly. The Perfect Meal series follows five leading international scientists who gradually uncover the secret mechanisms of the Mediterranean Diet and reveal how certain ingredients and combinations of plant based foods can protect us from obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancers and brain- ageing.