Healthy eating: eat like a peasant, not a king
1 October 2010
While the lifestyle of medieval European peasants would not be one that many people today would wish to experience, their diet could offer a clue to reducing the obesity epidemic.
British educators and child health experts will travel to different schools teaching the beneficial aspects of the medieval diet.
Dr Iona McCleery, lecturer in medieval history at Leeds University, UK, said in a university media release that in the past it was usually the rich who had unhealthy diets, whereas today it was largely the poor who were prone to obesity.
“The poorer you were, the higher chances you ate more vegetables and had more mixed grains in your diet”, she said.
“The poor were semi-vegetarians who simply could not afford meat … Wealth was very much associated with diet.”
Food historian Caroline Yeldham, another member of the education team, said medieval diets were, of necessity, based around fresh foods with few preserves, and were low in fat, salt and sugar. In addition, meal times were a family and community focus, and snacking was less socially acceptable, she said.
“There was certainly also a much wider range of ingredients than we tend to eat today – more herbs and fish, rather than imports which were a small part of the diet.”
Last Reviewed: 01 October 2010
- 1. You are what you ate: academics serve up a lesson in medieval nutrition. University of Leeds News 2010 Jul 20. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/860/you_are_what_you_ate_academics_serve_up_a_lesson_in_medieval_nutrition (accessed 13 Oct 2010).
