On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 22:22:54 GMT, "Cookie Cutter"
> wrote:

>>The poor
>> may have fared better nutritionally by foraging for field greens to
>> add to grain than the rich with abundant supplies of meat and little
>> else.
>
>Why would the rich not have anything other than meat? They would
>have had a house full of servants who would have kept the house
>well-supplied from a kitchen garden.

Point taken. Although people tend to disparage 'low class' items and
favor the rare and expensive. 'White' (refined flour) bread was an
upper-class treat (see 'Heidi') Meat has often been a prized and rare
addition to the diet. Yet low-class diets -- the beans & corn and
squash of Central & South America, beans & rice in many areas, peas or
lentils and rice (and veg) in Indian cuisine seems, by today's
standards, a healthier diet than a tableful of roasts and sweets, as
described in many medieval feasts. I believe the concept of 'salads'
of raw greens were once thought poisonous. Specifics aside, we're
told today that a 'healthy' diet consists of a balance of protein,
fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, etc., etc. How many pre-20tth
century diets were 'healthy' by contemporary analysis? How 'balanced'
is balanced? Meat, veg and starch at every meal? A recommended daily
allowance of everything every day? A pound of meat (in one meal) every
3 weeks and beans/grain the rest of the time? Veg in summer; grain and
stored fat in winter?

My belief (unsubstantiated by research) is that we have a fondness for
calorie-dense foods -- fat & sweet -- because plain ol' calories
supported life. A carrot is beneficial in terms of fiber and vitamin
A, but it doesn't contribute much to keeping the internal fires
burning. The Irish potato famine was devastating in part because many
people were existing on a diet of potatoes and damned little else.
They weren't particularly healthy, but potatoes supplied calories and
most vitamins, and could support life for some time with occasional
supplements of meat, fat, bread, and other veg.

So how many balanced, nutrition-complete diets have there been in
history?