By 600 B.C. Hindu physicians had identified the clinical symptoms of diabetes, blaming the condition on 'dietary indiscretion'. Around 400 B.C. an Indian physician, named Susruta suggested that diabetes may be linked to an excess of sugar, flour and rice in the diet.And you just have to keep clicking. Of course, they highlight the prescient early citations and the really bad modern ones (OK, there's the goofy middle ages, too).... But it's still fun reading. It would be an interesting exercise to give this to some students and see what sort of "history" they could draw from these facts.
Recommendations in the Caraka Samhita (c.123 A.D.) were for a moderate diet high in fibre and carbohydrates to counter these excesses.
The Social Issues Research Center has some other fascinating papers, too, including a guide to flirting (one wonders if they are trying to take all the fun out of it) and a detailed and vigorous defense of gossip as an essential social function enabled by wireless and asynchronous communications.
1 comment:
Everything in moderation, I suppose.
I'm deeply suspicious of any dietary advice which locks you in to a particular pattern of eating. I tend towards light breakfasts myself, but there are times -- such as meetings where lunch is rarely available -- where a very large breakfast is entirely appropriate.
As far as fasting goes, while it's an interesting religious discipline, I've never felt healthier at the end....
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