Our mission

La Grande Via was founded with the intention of creating a movement to reduce the number of people affected by chronic diseases, by means of preventive approaches in which people can be educated to implement the necessary steps to slow down aging processes and stay healthy. This is the only way to restore a balance that can allow an increasing number of people to stay physically and mentally healthy, to be happy, independent and socially active until their third age and the end of their life.

La Grande Via is the essence of ancient and modern knowledge on health and longevity and it consists of three paths:

The Path of Food
The western lifestyle, characterized by increasing physical inactivity and a high-calorie diet, richer and richer in processed food and poor in vegetables, pulses and whole grains, contributes to increasing the risks of contracting diseases such as diabetes, tumors, eye degenerative diseases (cataract, glaucoma, retinopathy), senile dementia, as well as a range of conditions of risk such as abdominal obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, osteoporosis, insulin resistance.
The western lifestyle, increasingly characterized by physical inactivity and high-calorie diets, in processed food and animal products, poor in vegetables, pulses and whole grains, largely contributes to the onset of the chronic diseases affecting western populations: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, tumors, eye degenerative diseases (cataract, glaucoma, retinopathy), hepatic steatosis and cirrhosis, senile dementia, as well as a host of conditions of risk including abdominal obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance.

The latest WCRF (World Cancer Research Fund) recommendations are useful to reduce the risk of contracting cancer. However, studies have shown that their observance also helps to prevent cardiovascular and chronic diseases. Such recommendations are as follows:

Eat plenty of whole grains, pulses, vegetables and fruit.
Limit high-calorie foods (rich in sugars and fats)
Avoid sugary drinks, including fruit juices and sweetened yogurts
Avoid processed meats
Limit red meats
Limit foods rich in salt
Maintain a healthy body weight

DELVE FURTHER INTO THE PATH OF FOOD – LEARN MORE

The Path of Movement
Our genes have been programmed to function properly only if there is a constant and regular
physical activity. Exercising should be a key component in the daily routine. In the last decades,
scientific data has clearly shown that physical activity plays a crucial role in promoting health.
Regular physical activity is important to:
- maintain a healthy body weight (Evans WJ. 1995 Journal of Gerontology 50A: 147);
- prevent abdominal fat build-up and diabetes mellitus (Sigal RJ et al., 2006 Diabetes Care.
29:1433);
- prevent many other chronic diseases associated with aging, such as cardiovascular diseases and
cancer (Blair SN & Jackson AS. 2001 Med Sci Sports Exerc. 33:762; Fontana L et al., 2007 Am J
PhysiolEndocrinolMetab. 293:E197; Ehsani AA et al., 1981 Circulation 64:1116; Yang L &Colditz GA.
2014 J Natl Cancer Inst. 106: djul135)

DELVE FURTHER INTO THE PATH OF MOVEMENT

The Path of Meditation
It is scientifically proven that spiritual search is deeply beneficial on a physiological and mental
level. In order to be enhanced and genuinely understood, the Path of Food and the Path of
Movement have to be supported and interpenetrated by the Path of Meditation. Meditating is not
a practice to dedicate just few minutes to, it is not a window that sharply opens and closes in the
hectic panorama of our life, just as healthy eating habits cannot be limited to following an
occasional diet. Meditating is not a fad or a quirk, it is not (only) a pleasure or a duty. . . Meditating
is a necessity of our spiritual life, it is the oxygen of our soul. Meditation is the seed of our
everyday deeds. When we live with awareness, meditating becomes a lifestyle. The path of inner
search nurtures the soul, just as a correct dietary habit nourishes the body. At every step of our
life.

DELVE FURTHER INTO THE PATH OF MEDITATION.