Not only does he eat a Mediterranean diet, he works with it. He's on the board that reviews the safety of   PREDIMED, the ongoing Spanish study which recently made headlines with the news that a Mediterranean diet cuts the risk of heart disease and stroke by 30 per cent.

This was no small study. It took more than 7,000 people at risk of heart disease and split them into three groups. One ate a Mediterranean diet, supplemented with extra virgin olive (EVO) oil; another ate a Mediterranean diet supplemented with 30g of nuts daily, while the control group ate a lower fat diet. In less than five years the advantage of the Mediterranean diet was so clear that the board Sabaté sits on voted to stop the study so that the lower fat group wouldn't be denied the benefits of the Mediterranean diet.

This diet's strength is thought to be in its mix of vegetables, fruit, olive oil, legumes, nuts and fish with smaller amounts of dairy food and meat. Added protection for the heart may come from using cold pressed extra virgin olive oil rather than more refined olive oil and extra nuts, says Sabaté -  hence the EVO on his tomatoes.

"Instead of using heat or chemicals to extract the oil, cold pressing just uses pressure  and this produces an oil which is richer in phytochemicals," he explained during  a recent visit to Australia.  "It's not that refined olive oil isn't good – it has the same healthy fatty acid profile as extra virgin olive oil, but extra virgin olive oil is superior and seems to help prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidising in the arteries.  Nuts also contain phytochemicals which may have a similar effect," he adds.

While the Spanish research has boosted the Mediterranean Diet's heart healthy reputation, Melbourne researchers hope to show that it improves mental health too.

"Since 2009 there's  been an explosion of studies examining the links between diet and mental health and it seems that the Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk for depression," says Associate Professor Felice Jacka from Deakin University's School of Medicine.

"But this is the first study to test whether getting people with depression to switch to a Mediterranean diet makes a difference.  We already know that exercise improves depression but we  don't know enough about the effects of food – psychiatry is a long way behind when it comes to looking at the effects of diet on mental health. "

But although a traditional Mediterranean diet tends to be light on meat, the Deakin study is including a little more –just three to four small serves each week.

"We've found in previous research that for women's mental health, the right amount of red meat seems to be important -- both too much or too little red meat were linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety," says Jacka who suspects that with too little meat the problem may be related to low zinc levels.

Also on the menu are six serves of vegetables each day, including leafy greens like rocket and spinach, a daily handful of nuts, healthy carbohydrates like wholegrain bread, basmati rice, barley and buckwheat, legumes, oily fish and olive oil.

Jacka also thinks that what the Mediterranean diet leaves out might be as important as the healthy foods it includes.

"Research in rodents has found that diets high in saturated fats and sugar have a big impact on the brain – we're asking people to leave out junk food and processed food and limit sweet foods to three serves a week."

If you're in Melbourne, have been diagnosed with depression and are interested in taking part in the Deakin study call 03 8415 0944 or contact diet@barwonhealth.org.au

Need inspiration for Mediterranean style meals?  There's plenty of good ideas on the Oldways website.

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