Modern day awareness of healthy diets and fat-free foods for fitness is nothing new; it was the same case with the ancient Greeks and Romans who emphasized the importance of healthy eating habits.
In ancient times, philosophy and medicine were closely intertwined, and Aristotle and Plato spoke of the key role of food on health. “A healthy mind can only reside in a healthy body” was the motto ancient Greeks lived by in terms of physical and mental fitness, and they believed the former was practically impossible in the absence of the latter or in the case of issues in weight.
In cleansing the body of impurities and assisting in weight loss, ancient Greeks often relied on a popular mixture of vinegar, honey, and water. The concoction has survived to date and is used in the reduction of blood sugar levels. The value ancient Greeks placed on the medicinal properties of food is also evident in statements of Hippocrates, often called the “father of medicine,” who stated, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” He emphasized that a balanced diet rich in fresh, whole foods could both prevent and treat illness.
Moreover, in the study Dietetics in ancient Greek philosophy: Plato’s concepts of healthy diet, PK Skiadas and JG Lascaratos argue that the ancient Greek philosopher’s fundamental principle of moderation is applicable to the human diet as well. Plato recommended a healthy diet of cereals, legumes, fruits, milk, honey, and fish. He also believed meat, sweets, and wine should be consumed only in moderation because excesses in such types of food could lead to ailments. This is further revealing of how highly ancient Greeks valued healthy eating habits.
Greek physicians emphasized healthy eating habits as a form of preventative care
Parallel to Plato’s philosophy on a healthy diet, Roman-Greek physician Galen of the 2nd century AD wrote that an excess in red meat consumption could lead to cancer.
Galen, the personal physician of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, wrote what many regarded as the definitive guide to a healthy diet, describing the effects of a vast range of foods including lettuce, lard, peaches, and hyacinths, on health. He was generally highly influential in medical thought for centuries, building on the work of Hippocrates and also expanding the theory of the four humors.
In the book Galen on Food and Diet, author Mark Grant includes the physician’s writings on each food and its qualities. Galen inherited theories on nutrition from authors and numerous older medics influenced by Hippocrates’ ideas on medicine, which relied on scientific observations rather than superstition and magic. Nutrition for Galen was one third of medical practice, along with drugs and surgery. His treatise on nutrition, The Capacities of Foodstuffs, was based on a wealth of experiments and observations of his patients and their diets.
Celsus, a Roman encyclopedist who wrote the manuscript De Medicina, also suggested moderation in eating. “When one consumes food, it is never proper to overload,” he had said. On the other hand, too great of an abstinence from food is harmful as well, and if there is to be any overindulgence, it is safer that it be in drinking rather than in eating.
Celsus also spoke of the importance of going on a walk either before one sits down for a meal or afterwards. He had other helpful suggestions on the manner in which eating should be done, as well, pointing out, for instance, that it is best to begin a meal with salt fish, vegetables, and the like and that meat should be best consumed roasted or boiled.
Furthermore, Celsus spoke of the need to reign in consumption of preserves, as they were generally unhealthy and difficult to digest. It should be noted that sugar is practically absent from ancient writings, wherein, instead, “sweetness” was spoken of. “The most important thing of all is that everyone be familiar with the nature of their own body,” Celsus wrote. Some are inclined to gain weight, others struggle to keep it on. Hence, one must take care of their bodily weakness by following the appropriate diet.
Healthy diet for body types
Hippocrates is credited with introducing the theory of the four humors in medicine, alternatively also referred to as “humoralism.” He believed that the body is composed of four essential fluids (humors): blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. The ancient Greek physician also posited that an imbalance in these humors could lead to illness. A healthy person was one who had an ideal proportion of the four.
Galen expanded upon and popularized this theory, linking each humor to specific temperaments, organs, elements, and seasons. From Galen onwards, the properties of wet, dry, hot, and cold were believed to correspond to humors in the body. Blood was hot and moist; phlegm was cold and moist; black bile was cold and dry; and yellow bile was hot and dry. The four humors could be regulated primarily through exercise, which would heat the body, and diet, which (depending on the substances), could either cool or heat the body from within.
In the book How to Eat: An Ancient Guide for Healthy Living, Claire Bubb, an assistant professor of classical literature at NYU, writes that bodies such as those of women were considered to be more so predisposed to humidity while others—those of young men for instance—were hotter and dryer. The important thing to the ancients, she explained, was maintaining balance in all the properties.
“The basic theory was that a patient who was suffering from a hot and dry disease [e.g. cholera] would likely find some relief in a cool and moist diet,” she writes. In antiquity, lettuce and raw vegetables in general were deemed to be cooling foods that could regulate body temperature in those who were overheating, whether due to their intrinsic nature, disease, or the weather, and these were best consumed in the summer. Meat, on the other hand, was a heating food, particularly if roasted. Hence, roasted pork and other such foods were best consumed in the winter.
The diet of the ancient Olympic athletes
The diet of ancient Olympic athletes was heavy on protein, as this was needed for building muscle, and carbohydrates, necessary for energy. As the ancient Olympians were of the upper social classes, their families could afford a more protein-rich diet composed of legumes and various types of meat. They did not rely on breads, fruits, and vegetables in other words.
Early records show that the first Olympic athletes relied on a healthy diet of cheese and fruits, while, later on, dietary emphasis shifted to meat. According to Pausanias, the first ancient athlete who subsisted on a nearly entirely meat-based diet was Dromeus of Stymphalus, who participated in the Olympics as a long-distance runner in 480 BC. According to other sources, heavyweight Olympic boxer Eurymenes of Samos could have also been the first who subsisted strictly on a meat-based diet.
The ancient Greeks had a wealth of practical tips for athletes and also emphasized the avoidance of bread prior to a competition, relying instead on fruit such as dried figs, a staple of Greece to this day, for building muscle and stamina.
Of course, it is known that the eating habits of Olympians in the ancient Greek world were eventually exaggerated, as was the mythical strength of the athlete Milo of Croton, who won the Olympic wrestling title six times. Though he was said to have consumed twenty pounds of bread, twenty pounds of meat, and eighteen pints of wine daily, it would be best to stick to the ancient Greek wisdom of moderation in all things pertaining to food and drink.