Old Wisdom On Daily Meal Frequency

To rise at six, dine at ten, sup at six and go to bed at ten, makes a man live ten times ten. ~ 16th century proverb

I have recently been going through some older books online, and it amazes me how much simple wisdom and insight has been said so long ago…yet seems lost in today’s information overload.

It is almost like 100+ years ago people were saying what we needed to do to stay out of trouble, but we ignored it and just went on our merry way (and are now paying for it).

For example, here are some good quotes from the book entitled “The Hygienic System: Orthotrophy” by Dr Herbert M. Shelton, originally published in 1935:

Dr. Felix Oswald says that “during the zenith period of Grecian and Roman civilization monogamy was not as firmly established as the rule that a health-loving man should content himself with one meal a day, and never eat till he had leisure to digest, i.e., not till the day’s work was wholly done.

For more than a thousand years the one meal plan was the established rule among the civilized nations inhabiting the coast-lands of the Mediterranean.

The evening repast–call it supper or dinner–was a kind of domestic festival, the reward of the day’s toil, an enjoyment which rich and poor refrained from marring by premature gratifications of their appetites.”

How many people today use a meal as a reward for a hard day’s work? How many use it as a “festival” to enjoy with friends and/or family? How many take the time after the meal to relax and let the body digest what they have eaten?

Here’s another quote from the same book:

At the period of their greatest power, the Greeks and Romans ate only one meal a day.

Dr. Oswald says: “For more than a thousand years the one-meal system was the rule in two countries that could raise armies of men every one of whom would have made his fortune as a modern athlete–men who marched for days under a load of iron (besides clothes and provisions) that would stagger a modern porter.”

He also says, “The Romans of the Republican age broke their fast with a biscuit and a fig or two, and took their principle meal in the cool of the evening.”

Among the many things that have been offered as an explanation for their physical, mental and moral decline has been their sensuous indulgence in food which came with power and riches.

One more from a great BBC article on the history of breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Breakfast as we know it didn’t exist for large parts of history. The Romans didn’t really eat it, usually consuming only one meal a day around noon, says food historian Caroline Yeldham. In fact, breakfast was actively frowned upon.

“The Romans believed it was healthier to eat only one meal a day,” she says. “They were obsessed with digestion and eating more than one meal was considered a form of gluttony. This thinking impacted on the way people ate for a very long time.”

So in the history of some of the greatest academic and athletic cultures, they ate but only one “main” meal per day! In terms of “meal” in the quotes above, this was most likely referring to their larger “cooked” feast later in the day.

To be fair, I wouldn’t personally say they ate “one meal” as it really doesn’t fully describe their full daily eating habits (as you will see below in another quote).

It was more like 2 meals. The later meal being the main and larger one, but they most likely also had an earlier smaller “meal” at some point of bread, fruit (like fig), cheese, olives or local grains mashed up into a porridge.

“But breakfast is the most important meal of the day”

Well not sure who came up with the “most important meal” line (except maybe some of the breakfast cereal companies who want to sell you more cereal)….but “breakfast” as a meal is more a historical concept based on economic prosperity, not nutritional requirements.

Salzman’s English Life in the Middle Ages, tells us that: “Breakfast as a regular meal is little heard of, though probably most men started the day with a draught of ale and some bread.”

“Barely two centuries ago,” says Major Austin, “the first meal of the day in England was taken about noon. Breakfast was an unrecognized meal and it originated in the practice of ladies taking an early dish of chocolate before rising.

The ancient Greeks–the finest of people, physically and mentally, that ever lived–ate but two meals a day. The same was true of the ancient Hebrews and it is the custom of some of the best fighting races in India today.”

The adoption of three meals a day, in England, came along with the increasing prosperity of that country.

So what we find is some of the most revered past civilizations full of healthy, athletic, and intelligent people only eating enough to nourish their bodies and not having “the most important meal of the day” (well by modern standards that is).

Dr Dewey was promoting the “No Breakfast Plan” back in 1900 for his patients as well, not only as a remedy but also a vibrant lifestyle.

The no-breakfast plan with me proved a matter of life unto life. With my morning coffee there were forenoons of the highest physical energy, the clearest condition of mind, and the acutest sense of everything enjoyable.

The No Breakfast Plan (and The Fasting-Cure) was published back in 1900 by Edward Hooker Dewey MD. Dr Dewey

The desire for morning food is a matter of habit only. Morning hunger is a disease under culture, and they who feel the most need have the most reason to fast into higher health.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27128

So when I look around today and see a world full of chronically tired, sick, rapidly aging, overweight and mentally clouded persons who are told to eat more often and need to “fuel up” for the day first thing (eat a big breakfast)….how is this reflecting any wisdom from the past?

Whether you want to eat 2x, 3x or 10x a day…the choice is yours to make.

Just take time to ask yourself why you really eat the way you do and see if there is another way which might be better for you (that is if you are not already full of daily energy, health, strength and mental clarity).

Meals in Ancient Times
Believe it or not, you will be hard pressed to find any older/ancient civilizations that were based around a big (if any) breakfast. People back then would do most of their labor/work first thing in the morning, saving their first real meal till more around what is more commonly known as “lunch time”. Eating a big meal first thing in the AM before doing daily work was not something they saw as a good idea (and for good reason).

Strength and Vitality of Ancient Greeks

“Barely two centuries ago, the first meal of the day in England was taken about noon. Breakfast was an unrecognized meal and it originated in the practice of ladies taking an early dish of chocolate before rising. The ancient Greeks–the finest of people, physically and mentally, that ever lived–ate but two meals a day.” ~ Source: The Hygienic System; Dr Shelton, 1935

“The Greeks did not just eat to live, on the contrary from earliest times dining had enormous social importance. In addition, most of the dialogues of Plato were written during the dining and the symposium. The basic Greek diet was both frugal and monotonous. Ancient Athenians ate two meals a day – a light lunch, known as Ariston and dinner known as Deipnon, their main meal.”
Source: Greek Heritage, The American Quarterly of Greek Culture; C G. Janus, 1963

In fact, some of the past societies that we cherish for their health, vigor, wisdom/philosophy, athletic ability, strength, and many other things did not favor eating breakfast.

Even if they occasionally did eat in the morning, it was nothing more than some olives, figs, fruit or even homemade bread dipped in wine/ale. The largest meal was always at the end of a hard day, to relax and celebrate for hours with friends, family, or whoever was around. Dinner was more socially important, than just another time to eat.

“For more than a thousand years the one meal plan was the established rule among the civilized nations inhabiting the coast-lands of the Mediterranean. The evening repast—call it supper or dinner—was a kind of domestic festival, the reward of the day’s toil, an enjoyment which rich and poor refrained from marring by premature gratifications of their appetite.”

Source: Fasting, Hydropathy and Exercise, MacFadden; 1900

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