What could be interesting about the diets of the past in modern realities? At first glance, nothing but satisfying elementary curiosity. However, one should not forget one wisdom that everything new is well forgotten old. Often, modern dietetics gurus talk about the secret miraculous diets of our ancestors, capable of doing the impossible. In order not to fall into the network of deception, it is useful to learn about strange diets from the past.
Why did diets appear?
The simple and healthy food of our ancestors could not cause obesity, often everything was different, and the task was to find a way to provide the family with food. A lot of time and energy was spent on obtaining food, and the very process of eating it was aimed at replenishing the spent energy. In such conditions, it is inappropriate to talk about being overweight.
Diet was understood as a "lifestyle", and they resorted to eating according to a certain scheme only in case of illness. The development of society and the means of production has led to an increase in wealth and made food more affordable. In addition, products began to appear, brought from different countries of the world, and with them new methods of cooking. At the same time, the dishes became more appetizing but less useful.
As a result of this trend in the 19th century, a problem arose associated with the appearance of excess weight in humans. This led to the emergence of a variety of diets in the understanding as we present them now. Moreover, they had such bizarre shapes that we can only smile.
Alcohol diet
Nothing is known about the effectiveness of an alcoholic diet.
The emergence of this diet is associated with the name of King William the Conqueror. The mention of her dates back to 1087. The English ruler was a great lover of feasts and feasts, which was reflected in his figure. When it became clear that there was no horse in his kingdom capable of carrying him, they decided to give up food completely. Wine and beer replaced food. Nothing is known about the effectiveness of such a diet, but a self-taught nutritionist fell off his horse after a while and died.
Vinegar diet
Lord George Gordon Byron left behind not only his creativity but also the first documented diet. The poet was a rather well-fed physique, so the thought of losing weight and achieving a "noble pallor" did not leave him.
For this purpose, and in order to compensate for some natural deficiency - lameness, he stopped eating meat and took a great interest in sports. However, pallor did not come, but on the contrary, a healthy blush glowed on the lord's cheeks. Byron did not give up and began to drink vinegar before eating, as well as soak food in it. The poet's diet was dominated by rice, which was washed down with a mixture of vinegar and water. The long-awaited result was achieved and, in addition to the desired pallor, death came when the lord was only 36 years old. Prolonged fever is believed to be the cause of Byron's death, and an autopsy revealed significant deterioration of internal organs.
It is not known exactly what prompted Byron to use vinegar in his diet. The most reliable assumption about the prerequisites for such an act is the version that the poet was familiar with the works of Hippocrates. In them, the founder of medicine described the beneficial properties of vinegar. One of the properties of this acid is the ability to break down fats, so it has been used as a weight-loss aid.
The Byron diet was remembered in America in the 70s of the 20th century. To suppress their appetite, the vinegar dieters drank a little apple cider vinegar before meals. Tableted vinegar preparations were specially produced for those to whom the vinegar smell is unpleasant.
Apple cider vinegar contains a certain amount of minerals and vitamins, so it can be considered beneficial. It is able to have a beneficial effect on the digestive process and prevents the formation of cholesterol plaques. However, by its nature, vinegar is an acid, so there is a certain risk when using it.
The complex of the vinegar diet consists of a properly organized diet and includes physical activity, and you can reduce your appetite by drinking a glass of water. The effect will be similar, but less traumatic.
Also Read: Diet for multiple sclerosis
Religious diet
The period of active activity of the preacher of the Presbyterian Church Sylvester Graham fell in the 1830s. He waged a fierce battle against sins in all their forms. Gluttony was also on his list, so the church leader came up with a diet that he believed would save him from the fall. Losing weight, in this case, was seen as a side effect.
The list of prohibited foods began with meat and, in addition to it, included alcohol, as well as soft drinks - tea and coffee. Even the use of salt and spices was excluded so that the latter would not whet the appetite and exclude the appearance of other carnal desires. The diet, according to Graham's recommendations, included wholemeal bread. The Christian preacher as opposed to bleaching flour with chlorine, made him an enemy in the eyes of the bread and baked goods industry.
Graham's postulates in nutrition became the foundation of American culinary traditions. In particular, sweet instant cereal came from his work. To suppress sinful desires, the followers of the preacher, the married couple Kellogg, suggested eating porridge, which included ground wheat, corn, and acorns. As you might expect, people didn't like such a dish, but John Kellogg did not stop searching for the optimal recipe. Like many other inventions, Kellogg dreamed of cooking porridge. In a dream, he realized that flakes can be obtained by soaking the grains and then flattening them.
A large number of experiments have resulted in thin crispy flakes. However, the desire for profit and the thoughts of the inventor's brother, John Kellogg, were far from righteous. As a result, sugar was introduced into the cereal, sales increased significantly, and the brothers parted ways forever.
Fletcher's diet
Fletcher's diet consists of the need to chew food for a long time.
At the end of the period of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, when hunger retreated in the New and Old Worlds, a full person was no longer considered as successful and well-off. The spread of the slim figure fashion led to the opposite process when the rich acquired a slender figure, and the poor began to gain weight.
The idea of the politician William Gladstone and Dr. Fletcher began to gain popularity among the wealthy. It consisted of the need for prolonged chewing of food and the obligatory mixing of all liquids with saliva, which supposedly promotes better assimilation.
One of the followers of this theory was Rockefeller, and the cadets of military educational institutions were charged with doing this by order. Fletcher's books were a huge success, which brought him, in addition to fame, a huge fortune.
Chemical diets
At the end of the 19th century, many inventions were made, saccharin was also obtained during this time. Thus, the cost of producing sweets has significantly decreased, and the risk of getting fat has also decreased.
With the advent of this chemical, and industry began to flourish to profit from people's desire to lose weight. Due to the fact that there was no state control in this area, many charlatans appeared.
Their arsenal of miraculous means for weight loss included substances, the most harmless of which was soda. Often, the drugs contained strychnine, mercury, or arsenic, packaged in attractive containers. A very original tool that allows you to lose weight and at the same time fully eat was offered by one enterprising gentleman. He offered tapeworm larvae sealed in capsules. With the outbreak of the First World War, the invasion of pseudo-nutritionists stopped.
Cigarettes and diet
In the period between the First World War and before the onset of the Great Depression, a diet based on cigarette smoking gained popularity in the United States. It was believed that cigarette smoke dulls hunger. Such a diet can lead not only to a decrease in human weight but also to more serious consequences.
Most likely, it was a 1925 advertising campaign for Lucky Strike cigarettes, as this brand was offered instead of candies.
Eskimo diet
When studying the peoples inhabiting the Arctic, Villalmur Stefanson proposed the Eskimo diet in 1928. The ethnographer lived side by side with the Eskimos for quite a long time, eating their usual food.
The change in the scientist's habitual diet, as he expected, did not lead to negative consequences. The diet of the Eskimos does not include plant foods, however, vitamin deficiencies and diseases were not observed. This was due to the consumption of large quantities of fresh fish containing fatty acids.
Thus, the diet of the inhabitants of the North consisted of foods with a low amount of fat and a minimum of carbohydrates, which contributed to weight loss in the shortest possible time. However, city dwellers do not have the opportunity to eat fish just caught from the ocean, and meat that would not be frozen. Following the Eskimo diet by a white man will inevitably lead to loss of vitality and lead to illness.
Banana diet
A banana diet will not help you lose weight.
Almost any diet excludes sweets from the diet, so weight loss is difficult for those with a sweet tooth. Bananas and cream were the basis of Dr. George Harrop's diet, which he proposed in 1934.
There are no arguments against the use of these products since the protein, calcium, and vitamins they contain are easily absorbed. Why such a diet appeared, it became clear later. It is associated with an advertisement for a transnational corporation that supplies bananas. Therefore, in terms of weight loss, the banana diet is completely ineffective, which cannot be said about the advertising campaign.
Weight loss pills
Observations of medical workers at warehouses where various chemicals were stored showed that they have a tendency to lose weight. In-depth studies have revealed a pattern - many products contained dinitrophenol, which helps to speed up metabolism, that is, the burning of fat reserves.
The properties of dinitrophenol in the USSR found military application, where they began to study it in order to identify the possibility of influencing the activity of military personnel. In America, the drug was used peacefully and began to be used for weight loss. The new drug was used by about one hundred thousand people, after which its sale was discontinued. This has been associated with deaths and negative effects on vision, including blindness.
Cabbage and diet
As soon as the diet was called, which is based on the use of cabbage: both the military, and the Russian peasant, and even the General Motors diet. Its maximum popularity fell in the 50s of the 20th century. It was based on the low-calorie content of this vegetable.
The developers of the diet were sure that the weekly decrease when consuming only cabbage soup and some meat and vegetable products was about 5 kg. Later, nutritionists found that such a diet leads to the excretion of fluids from the body, but not fats, therefore, a protein deficiency can have an extremely negative effect on health. In addition, eating cabbage in large quantities leads to an increase in gas formation and the emergence of a persistent dislike for it.
Grapefruit diet
The introduction of the Hollywood Grapefruit Diet dates back to the 1930s and peaked in the 1970s. It is based on grapefruit and grapefruit juice, which should be consumed before meals while reducing the daily diet.
Followers of the grapefruit diet guaranteed a weight loss of 4-5 kg per decade, which is very likely. At the same time, they did not take into account that the acid contained in the fruit is capable of destroying the enamel of the teeth, and also has an extremely negative effect on the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract.
It should be noted that most of the described dietary regimens were proposed before the scientific justification of the diet itself and a number of medical discoveries, so they can look naive, and in some cases silly.
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