- A rubdown with a wet towel is a good sleep inducer
- Scotchmen possess vitality on account of oatmeal, pure air and hard
exercise
- The longer children are out in the open air the better for them. Frost
makes them run about to keep warm
- To miss a meal occasionally does more good than a feast
Dr Thomas Allinson was a man far ahead of this times - a healty eating
visionary. He was telling his readers in his popular newspaper column "a man is
what he eats" long before it became an overused slogan. Ultimately, he believed
that virtually all ailments could be cured by a good diet, exercise and a
healthy lifestyle.
His criticism of the drugs of the day - opiates, mercury, arsenic were all
commonplace - was eventually to get him into such disfavour with the General
Medical Council that they struck him off in 1894. Today, though most of his
advice is taken as a given - smoking can damage your health and cause cancer;
obesity should be avoided by exercise and healthy eating, not fatty diets (he
was particularly scathing about the Victorian version of the Atkins diet); and
wholefoods are more healthy than processed ones.
'A Victorian Guide to Healthy Living' brings together the best of his advice
and gives an extraordinary insight into how the Victorians lived their lives.
Contents:
Introduction
Part 1: Food
1. The Staff of Life
2. Vegetarianism
3. What to Eat
4. What Not to East - or Drink
Part 2: Health and Sickness
1. Surviving the Victorian Doctor
2. Everyday Victorian Drugs
3. Victorian Coughs and Sneezes
4. English Leprosy and Other Skin Diseases
5. Over-indulgence: Too Much of a Good Thing?
6. Being in Good Spirits
Part 3: Hygienic Living
1. Allinson's Long Walk
2. Allinson's Stage of Life
3. The Shape of Things to Come
4. Pure Water and Sunshine
5. Victorian Self-improvement
Part 4: Recipes
1. Soups and Stews
2. Savouries
3. Vegetables
4. Egg Cookery
5. Salads
6. Potato Cookery
7. Sauces
8. Puddings
9. Bread and Cakes
10. Menus
Recipe Index
Index
