Now Reading: Ancient Mediterranean diet was mostly bread, not olive oil and fish
-
01
Ancient Mediterranean diet was mostly bread, not olive oil and fish
Ancient Mediterranean diet was mostly bread, not olive oil and fish
Historians say the ancient Mediterranean diet centred on bread and cereals, not the modern image of olive oil, vegetables and grilled fish. The Roman emperor Julian called bread "the most nourishing" food,…
The Story in Brief
Historians say the ancient Mediterranean diet centred on bread and cereals, not the modern image of olive oil, vegetables and grilled fish. The Roman emperor Julian called bread "the most nourishing" food, and the physician Galen's writings show wheat supplied most calories for ordinary people. Pulses such as lentils and chickpeas were also important, while fresh fish was a luxury for the wealthy and coastal residents. Galen reported that fish near Rome could be tainted by waste from latrines and bathhouses.
The 2nd-century CE writer Athenaeus recorded that eating habits varied sharply by region and income. In parts of Spain seafood was cheap and abundant, while in other places diners complained of exorbitant fish prices. A surviving recipe from 5th-century BCE Sicily called for covering ribbon-fish with cheese and oil, a far cry from today's "healthy, lightly grilled" cliché. The Hindustan Times reports that the ancient evidence leaves no single "Mediterranean diet" but a pattern of cereal-heavy, locally determined eating.
The Indian Opinion
The Mediterranean diet is often sold as an age-old health secret, but the ancient plates were mostly bread, not superfoods. The fashionable narrative of our ancestors eating lightly grilled fish and fresh greens ignores that for most, cereals were survival, and vegetables were poor man's fare or medicine. Next time a wellness guru invokes antiquity, ask: whose table are they describing, the baker's or the banker's?
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
