Crete is the largest and most populous island in Greece and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus and Corsica. Its capital and largest city is Heraklion, which is the seat of the region of Crete that includes neighboring islands and islets.
Based on the Cretan diet, the scientific community in the fields of health and nutrition in the 1960s defined the Mediterranean diet pattern, which has been the object of intensive scientific research during the past years.