Nowadays we regard nutrition as a science and consider our experts to know all secrets of healthy eating. In addition, a much wider variety of healthy food is available to us today than ever before. However, in modern society, more of us tend to be overweight and become ill or even die from obesity!
First of all, let us consider eating habits which were common in the past. Earlier people used to consume more natural food. Notwithstanding the fact that people ate more fat and more calories respectively, they acquired them from food that was close to its natural state, and therefore better for health.
Another surprising fact is that people in most ancient societies – during the Middle Ages and Renaissance – did not follow the advice most nutritionists give today. They hardly ate any breakfast at all, though we are often told that breakfast is the ‘most important meal’. In fact, they were likely to eat only one large meal a day – or two at times. And here’s another thing that would make modern nutritionists shake their heads in despair – during long period of time one big meal used to be eaten rather late in the day – often after the sun went down and the day’s work was done!
This is, of course, the direct opposite of what we hear nowadays. We are told never to skip breakfast, and that a number of smaller meals are better than fewer large ones. According to traditional societies, though, it is not true. People in ancient Greece and Rome would eat very little in the morning – a small piece of bread, maybe, or a fig or two. They would work throughout the day, eating little or nothing. Then, when work was done for the day, they would sit down to a great meal which varied according to how well-off the people were, and the region they lived in – but for everyone, the evening meal would be comprised of most of their daily calories. They would go to bed on a full stomach, digest during the night, and be energized – and have little need to eat – next morning.
As time went on, some farming cultures changed this basic plan and shifted their main meal to the middle of the day. They would then have a light supper – rather like our lunch – late in the evening. In fact, even at the present time there are people in some European cultures who still do the same.
Today, breakfast is considered to be a sacrosanct, but it actually was not even invented until the seventeenth century. At that time, the idea of breakfast was popularized by the British royal family – and their ‘breakfast’ consisted of several courses, including meat, salads, and even dessert. In fact, the royals and aristocrats were the ‘deviants’ all along. They didn’t eat like most people did – they increased the amount and frequency of their meals, and ended up with much of the health and weight problems that we have today!
On the contrary, the peasants’ meals seemed to be, for the most part, proper – in case there wasn’t a drought or famine in the area and evidence proves that people in bygone times had very few weight problems, despite their tendency to eat most of their calories at one meal, which was often in the evening. Should we follow their eating habits? It goes against conventional wisdom, but it seems worth thinking about. If nothing else, we should appreciate the fact that this type of eating has been around a lot longer than modern diets and eating plans, and seems to have been successful, for the most part. So if you’re not a breakfast person, don’t despair – chances are you weren’t bred to be one!
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