Recent History
January 1, 1951
Benjamin P. Sandler
DIET PREVENTS POLIO - by Benjamin P. Sandler, M.D. - 1951
In Denmark the increase in tuberculosis mortality took place in 1916-1917 simultaneously with a greatly reduced consumption of meat and fish, and the decrease of the mortality coincided with a greatly increased consumption of these foods.
It is far more important to enable the human to maintain his natural powers against infection than it is to keep bacteria and viruses away from his door
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From my observations and studies in human nutrition I have become convinced that Nature originally did endow us with natural powers of protection and that we have lost these powers through errors in diet.
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The purpose of this book is to show how one may fortify the body through diet and thus prevent infection. The method which I offer as a protection against polio is based on the concept that the maintenance of normal blood sugar levels
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"In Denmark the increase in tuberculosis mortality took place in 1916-1917 simultaneously with a greatly reduced consumption of meat and fish, and the decrease of the mortality coincided with a greatly increased consumption of these foods. If we take beef, veal, and fish alone, the fall in consumption was extraordinary during 1915-1916. The total calories consumed was not diminished because there was sufficient bread and flour." He continues:
"We see the same thing in Sweden, though to a less marked degree. The rise in tuberculosis mortality was recorded in 1914-1916, and in those years the consumption of bread and flour rose, whereas that of meat decreased. After 1916 we see a steady and continuous fall in tuberculosis mortality, and at the same time flour foods fell off while the consumption of meat and fish rose rapidly. It may be added too, that in England, a rise in tuberculosis mortality coincided with a lower consumption of meat and butter and an increased consumption of flour foods."
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GENERAL DIET INSTRUCTIONS DURING AN EPIDEMIC
I advise that, during an epidemic, sugar and all foods containing sugar, be avoided, and that foods containing starch be consumed in reduced amounts. Those foods containing no sugar and no starch may be eaten in unlimited quantity. Below are listed common foods containing either sugar or starch or both, and those containing no sugar and no starch. Since sugars are to be eliminated and starch consumption reduced, the calories needed for proper nutrition will be derived from an increased consumption of proteins, fats, and permitted carbohydrate foods.
The following foods should be avoided: sugar, soft drinks, ice cream, ices, sherbets, cakes, candies, cookies, wafers, pastries, pies, fruit juices, canned and preserved fruits, jams, jellies, marmalades, puddings, honey, syrups.
Coffee, tea, cocoa, lemonade, etc., may be sweetened with saccharin. Ice cream, ices, and custards may be prepared with saccharin. So-called "diabetic desserts" and food preparations may be used.
Nuts may be eaten in unlimited quantity except the starchy ones such as peanuts, cashews, chestnuts, and cocoa-nuts. These should be eaten sparingly.
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All animal foods may be eaten in unlimited quantity Such foods are: beef, pork, lamb, mutton, veal, poultry, fish These may be purchased fresh, canned, smoked, dried, etc. Eggs can be used freely whether fresh or dried All dairy products may be eaten in unlimited quantities milk, buttermilk, fermented milk, butter, sweet and sour cream and all cheeses. Milk may be fresh, evaporated, or powdered
January 2, 1951
Benjamin P. Sandler
Diet Prevents Polio
Dr Sandler links polio to eating sugar. "Their susceptibility to infection was possibly due to their poor diet with its high sugar and starch content. The human is a carnivore and can thrive on protein and fat alone, if necessary."
The following is a chapter from the book Diet Prevents Polio written by Benjamin P. Sandler, M.D., and published in 1951, at the height of the polio epidemic. Dr. Sandler received his degree in medicine at New York University in 1931. He interned at Morrisania city hospital in the Bronx, New York and later was on the staff there as well as Polyclinic and Montefiore hospitals in New York City. From July, 1941, until February, 1947, he was in the U. S. naval medical corps, attaining the rank of commander. He has done considerable research in polio and the relationship between diet and disease. He has published six papers on the latter subject, as well as papers on other medical subjects including research on glucose and tuberculosis. His research includes a period assisting the research staff at Willard Parker hospital in New York City during the epidemic there in 1931, and independent research later, when he “gave” polio to a rhesus monkey, transmitted it to a rabbit, and then to another monkey.
Diet Prevents Polio by Benjamin P. Sandler, M.D., and published in 1951 by the Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research, Milwaukee, WI
Chapter 2: Low Blood Sugar and Susceptibility to Polio
During my research I observed a large number of patients who had symptoms that were caused by low blood sugar. They complained of the symptoms previously described, namely:
headache
dizziness
weakness
fatigue
abdominal pain
nervousness
palpitation
frequent sweats
occasional fainting spells
Most of these patients were malnourished, which, physiologically, meant subnormal liver glycogen storage. Their diet was deficient in protein and consisted largely of the cheaper starchy foods.
I noted that these patients also had poor resistance to infections such as colds, sore throat, grippe, influenza, bronchitis, and pneumonia. By increasing the protein content of their diet and by reducing the sugar and starch content, they improved considerably. They became stronger, more vigorous and buoyant, and had fewer infections.
A few of these patients had had polio in childhood. Observations of these patients over a long period of time led me to suspect that their susceptibility to infection was possibly due to their poor diet with its high sugar and starch content.
Their increased resistance to infection with a better diet confirmed this suspicion. It then occurred to me that their susceptibility to polio could be explained on a similar dietary basis.
Specifically, I suspected that children and adults contracted polio because of low blood sugar brought on by a diet containing sugar and starch.
I reasoned that the polio virus was able to cross tissue barriers, reach the brain and spinal cord, invade the nerve cells, damage or destroy them and cause paralysis. And I further reasoned that if the blood sugar never fell below 80 mg polio could never result. I suspected that during a polio epidemic only those children and adults who experienced periods of low blood sugar would contract the disease and that those individuals who were in actual contact with the virus but who maintained normal blood sugar levels would not contract the disease. Thus, it remained to prove that low blood sugar could be a factor in susceptibility to polio. And, after this had been proved, the following questions had to be answered:
What causes low blood sugar in humans?
How can low blood sugar be prevented?
The prevention of low blood sugar would thus mean the prevention of polio. Before describing the experiments performed, I should like to make a preliminary summary and state without reserve that:
1. Low blood sugar is a factor of susceptibility to polio.
2. Low blood sugar occurs frequently in children and adults and is caused chiefly by a dietary error, namely, the consumption of sugar and starch
3. Correction of this dietary error will prevent low blood sugar and thus prevent polio.
An experimental method to prove that low blood sugar was a factor of susceptibility to polio was readily available. In 1938, the only laboratory animal that could contract polio by experimental inoculation was the monkey. All other laboratory animals were completely resistant to the polio virus. The rabbit is one of these resistant animals. Without knowing the blood sugar range in the monkey and rabbit, it was suspected that the blood sugar in the monkey reached lower levels than in the rabbit. These suspicions were found to have a basis in fact through the investigations of Drs. Jungeblut and Resnick of Columbia University who studied blood sugar levels in monkeys, and through the investigations of Drs. du Vigneaud and Karr of Cornell University who studied blood sugar levels in rabbits. In monkeys, blood sugar values as low as 50 mg. were observed, whereas in the rabbit, values below 100 mg. were never observed. In numerous determinations made on rabbits I have never obtained values below 100 mg. It was therefore concluded that the susceptibility of the monkey to the polio virus was due to the fact that its blood sugar fell to subnormal values, and that the resistance of the rabbit might be associated with the fact that its blood sugar never fell below 100 mg, and that at this concentration cellular oxidation of glucose in the nervous system and other organs would be maintained at such a level as to enable the cells to protect themselves against invasion by the virus. Physiologists have stated that the normal blood sugar level of 80 mg. holds true for all mammals. The next step was to lower the blood sugar of the rabbit to subnormal values with insulin injections, and then inoculate the rabbit with polio virus. This was done and it was found that the rabbits became infected and developed the disease. The details of these experiments were published in the American Journal of Pathology, January, 1941. Some rabbits showed signs of infection 8 to 10 hours after inoculation. I wish to stress this short period of incubation in the rabbit because it demonstrates that polio can develop in a short period of time. This is important, as we shall learn later, when we discuss the onset of polio in humans within 24 hours after severe physical exertion. The rabbit is also resistant to the dog distemper virus. One of the largest research laboratories has conducted much research with this virus and when I informed the members of the staff about my success in inoculating rabbits with polio virus after lowering the blood sugar, they inoculated rabbits with the dog distemper virus after insulin and reported to me that they observed signs of infection in the rabbit for the first time. This corroborating experiment indicates that low blood sugar may cause susceptibility to many infections. I was thus satisfied that low blood sugar was a factor of susceptibility to the polio virus in monkeys, and that rabbits could be rendered susceptible after their blood sugar was lowered with insulin (Insulin, as you probably know, is the hormone which diabetics inject into themselves in order to keep their blood sugar within normal range. It is a quickacting drug and can lower the blood sugar within an hour or so after injection). I concluded that the concept that low blood sugar created susceptibility to polio in both monkeys and rabbits could be applied to humans as well. What Causes Low Blood Sugar in Humans? The next step in the solution of the polio problem was to find out the causes of low blood sugar in humans. Fortunately the answer to this problem was already at hand. It has been found that the consumption of sugar and starch and foods containing these substances were the chief causes of low blood sugar. When patients drank a solution of pure glucose they had a period of low blood sugar which began one to two hours after the glucose was taken and which lasted for one to two hours, and longer. This study of the blood sugar is called the "glucose tolerance test" and is employed for the detection of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. When they ate a meal containing sugar and starch they also had periods of low blood sugar which came on an hour or so later and which lasted for from one to two hours. The low blood sugar was more marked and lasted for a longer time after the glucose solution than after a meal containing starch. It is an established fact that this paradoxic depressant effect on the blood sugar level is more readily exerted by sugar than it is by starches. I have observed these results in hundreds of cases and similar results have been obtained by other investigators. It is a surprising paradox: the more sugar (and starch) you eat, the more likely you will develop low blood sugar. Drs. E. P. McCullagh and C. R. K. Johnston have shown how the glucose tolerance test is readily influenced by diet. Thus the second problem: What can cause low blood sugar in the human? was solved. How Can Low Blood Sugar be Prevented? The third problem, "How can low blood sugar be prevented?" was the only one left and this, too, was readily solved. It had been found by other investigators that a meal consisting of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, but with no sugar or starch, NEVER caused low blood sugar. The addition of sugar and starch to such a meal could readily produce low blood sugar. Thus I arrived at a simple formula for preventing polio: eliminate from the diet sugar and foods containing sugar, and reduce the consumption of foods containing starch. Since eating sugar and starch during a meal may cause low blood sugar after one to three hours, and since elimination of sugar and starch prevents low blood sugar, the invasion of the body by the polio virus will be prevented by a diet containing no sugar and no starch. Protection against polio would thus begin on the very day such a diet was started and protection would last just as long as such a diet was adhered to. I have found that a diet completely free of sugar and starch and consisting of proteins, fats, and non-starchy vegetables: May be adhered to for years with beneficial effect and absolutely NO harmful effect. There is NO supporting evidence to indicate that sugar and starch are necessary for health or for energy purposes.
The human is a carnivore and can thrive on protein and fat alone, if necessary. The Eskimos thrive well on meat and fish which yield only protein and fat, and polio is unheard of among them. American and European explorers in the Arctic regions have lived on meat and fish for as long as 18 months and have maintained perfect health all the time on such a diet. Vilhjalmur Stefansson, the Arctic explorer, has described his existence on such a diet in great detail. He states that he was in perfect health on such a diet which consisted of protein and fat alone.
Eskimos who live on meat and fish are not susceptible to infectious diseases. They do become susceptible when they live amongst white men and eat the white man’s diet with its sugar and starch. It is true that the Eskimo’s fresh contact with the white man exposes him to infectious diseases to which he (the Eskimo) has not had the opportunity to become immune. The presence of sugar and starch in the Eskimo's new diet is of greater significance. A US public health officer stationed in Alaska has blamed this dietary factor for the great susceptibility of the Eskimo to tuberculosis. A low carbohydrate meal elevates and stabilizes the blood sugar levels. This stabilizing effect is important because some of the symptoms of low blood sugar are due to rapid fall in blood sugar level which accompany wide fluctuations in blood sugar levels following the ingestion of sugar and starch.
September 1, 1952
How I Stay in Shape by Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe maintained a mostly carnivore diet of raw eggs in warm milk, and a broiled steak, liver, or lamb chops. She might indulge in a hot fudge sundae or some raw carrots on the side.
If you've ever wondered how women stayed in such great shape before the days of juice cleanses, gluten free everything, and training programs fit for Victoria Secret angels, Marilyn Monroe may be able to give you some insight into that. In the September 1952 edition of Pageant Magazine, the late star revealed her extremely strange diet to the world in a feature that was titled "How I Stay in Shape."
In her own words, she outlines her not-so rigorous workout routine and her liquid breakfast consisting of two raw eggs poured into a glass of warm milk. This became her morning routine even when traveling. For dinner, she never dined out. Instead of opting for the best restaurant in town, she'd stop at a market near her hotel for steak, liver, or lamb chops, which she'd broil herself using an electric oven. On the side, she'd eat raw carrots. And when she wanted to treat herself, it was all about an ice cream sundae.
"It's a good thing, I suppose, that I eat simply during the day, for in recent months I have developed the habit of stopping off at Will Wright's ice cream parlor for a hot fudge sundae on my way home from my evening drama classes. I'm sure that I couldn't allow myself this indulgence were it not that my normal diet is composed almost totally of protein foods.”
"Breakfast. I've been told that my eating habits are absolutely bizarre, but I don't think so. Before I take my morning shower, I start warming a cup of milk on the hot plate I keep in my hotel room. When it's hot, I break two raw eggs into the milk, whip them up with a fork, and drink them while I'm dressing. I supplement this with a multi-vitamin pill, and I doubt if any doctor could recommend a more nourishing breakfast for a working girl in a hurry.
Dinner. My dinners at home are startlingly simple. Every night I stop at the market near my hotel and pick up a steak, lamb chops or some liver, which I broil in the electric oven in my room. I usually eat four or five raw carrots with my meat, and that is all. I must be part rabbit; I never get bored with raw carrots."
January 1, 1953
Elmer V. McCollum
Diet in Relation to Dental Caries
Dr McCollum thinks a strictly carnivorous diet will prevent dental caries, which are caused by a considerable amount of carbohydrate in the diet.
"Subsistence throughout life on a strictly carnivorous diet will prevent dental caries. This would be impractical in most parts of the world, and if practicable, would be less satisfying than is a mixed diet. The presence of considerable carbohydrate in the diet is necessary for the development of carious teeth. There seems to be good evidence in support of the view that the regular consumption of a diet in which all the essential nutrients are present in adequate amounts, and in which the ratio of fatty acids to total carbohydrates (including the sugar which may arise from protein and glycerol) is not less than 1.5:1, prevents dental caries. This is equivalent to saying that a diet suitable for the diabetic is so constituted as to afford protection against dental caries, and even makes possible the arrest of the carious process in open cavities. This protective action of excessive fat in the diet may possibly be due to greasing the tooth surface and the cavity surface, thus waterproofing it and preventing access of water-soluble acids (for example, lactic acid) to the enamel surface."
January 1, 1953
Alfred W. Pennington
Carnivore
Treatment of OBESITY with Calorically UNRESTRICTED DIETS
Dr Pennington recommends a calorically unrestricted diet of protein and fat with restriction of carbohydrate
"Restriction of carbohydrate, alone, appears to make possible the treatment of obesity on a calorically unrestricted diet composed chiefly of protein and fat. The limiting factor on appetite, necessary to any treatment of obesity, appears to be provided by increased mobilization and utilization of fat, in conjunction with the homeostatic forces which normally regulate the appetite. Ketogensis appears to be a key factor in the increased utilization of fat. Treatment of obesity by this method appears to avoid the decline in the metabolism encountered in treatment by caloric restriction. Details of diet and regimen are given."
Ancient History
Germany
50000
B.C.E.
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic kill-butchering sites: the hard evidence
The upper paleolithic is characterized by advanced hunting of large animals with various weapons, and planning to maximize easy prey
Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Hunting:
the archaeological record leaves us some direct evidence of man's hunting activities. At Meiendorf (Rust 1937) and Stellmoor (Rusf 1937), some bones of reindeer and birds still conserve weapon marks and a few pieces of silex have remained thrusted in mammalian bones; man kills reindeer with harpoons and sticks (fractured skulls), birds with bows and maybe slings. Three fractured skulls of red deer in Abri Pataud (Bouchud, 1975), and one bovid skull with a circular orifice in Saint Marcel (Allain, 1952) suggest the practice of the so called " co'up de merlin": man has delivered a blow similar to the one used today to butcher cattle. Probably the animal already immobilized (wounded or entrapped) was hit on the frontal with a big stone. At Kokorevo I (Siberia), a large scapula of bison is pierced by the upper end of a point made of bone (Boriskowksi, 1965). At High Furlong (Mesolithic), an elk was discovered with the marks of L7 wounds made by barbed points, of which two were found in the site, and by other arms. The animal had apparently been attacked at two distinct occasions: during the first one, hunters aimed at the legs to lame the animal (fig. 6), later hunters hit the thoracic region and the lungs to kill it. However the elk died in a little lake, perhaps imprisoned in the ice, and man had no access to the meat. The animal represents in fact a hunting loss (Hallam et a1.,1973).
Planning: very good. Many sites belong to Wpe e, were occupied periodically or seasonally and specialised in the capture of a particular game (e.g., horse, reindeeq, ibex). Game drive towards cliffs have been claimed and Solutre (Combier & Thevenot,1976) has long figured as an example, but the evidence is far from conclusive.
Scavenging: no doubt H. sapiens still killed or exploited animals in the occasional and opportunistic way of Lower Palaeolithic times. According to Lindner (Lindner,1941), hunters at Predmost utilised the carcasses of hundreds of mammoths that probably succumbed as a result of natural catastrophes, as food.
Food transport: selective transport of the most useful animal parts is claimed for many sites.
Specialised activities: sometimes the material is dislocated in distinct clusters that could reflect specialised activity areas as for example at Solutre (Combier & Thevenot, 1976). Site topography: some hunting sites were located in valleys enclosed by steep slopes as at Rascano (Gonziilez-Echegaray, 1979), Stellmoor (Rust, 1937), Meiendorf (Rust 1937), or at the foot of rocky cliffs at Solutr6 (Combier & Th6venot, 1,976).
4. Conclusions
Most of the Lower Palaeolithic sites analysed here belong to category a (butchering sites); other kind of concentrations are rare and difficult to ascertain. A number of hunting stations (category e) and a hunting stop (category f) form my sample for the age of Neanderthal man and related people. The Upper Palaeolithic is characterised by many hunting stations, while in Mesolithic times a hunting loss (category d ) was found as well as several sighting sites (category g). The foregoing distribution seems to reflect in a vague way an evolution from scavenging and haphazard opportunistic hunting to well organised, selective hunting activities. However, this reflection results no doubt in part from a priori assumptions concerning the evolution of hominid meat procurement often colouring the interpretations offered for the osseous "hard" data; these are frequently equivocal.
Vindija, 42000, Varaždin, Croatia
28500
B.C.E.
Neanderthal diet at Vindija and Neanderthal predation: The evidence from stable isotopes
The isotope evidence overwhelmingly points to the Neanderthals behaving as top-level carnivores, obtaining almost all of their dietary protein from animal sources
Archeological analysis of faunal remains and of lithic and bone tools has suggested that hunting of medium to large mammals was a major element of Neanderthal subsistence. Plant foods are almost invisible in the archeological record, and it is impossible to estimate accurately their dietary importance. However, stable isotope (13C and 15N) analysis of mammal bone collagen provides a direct measure of diet and has been applied to two Neanderthals and various faunal species from Vindija Cave, Croatia. The isotope evidence overwhelmingly points to the Neanderthals behaving as top-level carnivores, obtaining almost all of their dietary protein from animal sources. Earlier Neanderthals in France and Belgium have yielded similar results, and a pattern of European Neander- thal adaptation as carnivores is emerging. These data reinforce current taphonomic assessments of associated faunal elements and make it unlikely that the Neanderthals were acquiring animal protein principally through scavenging. Instead, these findings portray them as effective predators.
Stable Isotope Analyses.
Mammal bone collagen δ13C and δ15N values reflect the δ13C and δ15N values of dietary protein (14). They furnish a long-term record of diet, giving the average δ13C and δ15N values of all of the protein consumed over the last years of the measured individual's life. δ13C values can be used to discriminate between terrestrial and marine dietary protein in humans and other mammals (15, 16). In addition, because of the canopy effect, species that live in forest environments can have δ13C values that are more negative than species that live in open environments (17). δ15N values are, on average, 2–4‰ higher than the average δ15N value of the protein consumed (18). Therefore, δ15N values can be used to determine the trophic level of the protein consumed. By measuring the δ13C and δ15N values of various fauna in a paleo-ecosystem, it is possible to reconstruct the trophic level relationships within that ecosystem. Therefore, by comparing the δ13C and δ15N values of omnivores such as hominids with the values of herbivores and carnivores from the same ecosystem, it is possible to determine whether those omnivores were obtaining dietary protein from plant or animal sources.
Cheddar Reservoir, Cheddar BS26, UK
12000
B.C.E.
FOCUS: Gough’s Cave and Sun Hole Cave Human Stable Isotope Values Indicate a High Animal Protein Diet in the British Upper Palaeolithic
We were testing the hypothesis that these humans had a mainly hunting economy, and therefore a diet high in animal protein. We found this to be the case, and by comparing the human δ15N values with those of contemporary fauna, we conclude that the protein sources in human diets at these sites came mainly from herbivores such as Bos sp. and Cervus elaphus
We undertook stable isotope analysis of Upper Palaeolithic humans and fauna from the sites of Gough's Cave and Sun Hole Cave, Somerset, U.K., for palaeodietary reconstruction. We were testing the hypothesis that these humans had a mainly hunting economy, and therefore a diet high in animal protein. We found this to be the case, and by comparing the human δ15N values with those of contemporary fauna, we conclude that the protein sources in human diets at these sites came mainly from herbivores such as Bos sp. and Cervus elaphus. There are a large number ofEquus sp. faunal remains from this site, but this species was not a significant food resource in the diets of these Upper Palaeolithic humans.
If the humans hunted and consumed mainly horse, then their 15N values should be c. 3–5‰ (Equus 15N value of 0·7‰+enrichment of 2–4‰). Instead, their 15N values make more sense if they lived mostly off Bos and Cervus elaphus (Bos and Cervus values of c. 3‰+enrichment of 2–4‰=the observed values c. 6–7‰). It is also possible that other species, including Rangifer tarandus, were consumed by these individuals. Rangifer tarandus has 15N values similar to Cervus elaphus (Richards, 1998), and has more positive 13C values, which may explain the observed slight enrichment in the human 13C values. A number of artefacts made from Rangifer tarandus have been found at Gough’s, but there is no other evidence that this species was being exploited for food
Province of Crotone, Italy
500
B.C.E.
On the Sociology of Ancient Sport
One report states that a trainer named Pythagoras recommended a meat diet to the Olympic athletes he trained.
A lack of animal-derived protein seems to have been rectified early in history, as there are two reports of the introduction of meat into the athletes’ diet. One report states that a trainer named Pythagoras recommended a meat diet to the athletes he trained. https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/a-comparison-of-ancient-greek-and-roman-sports-diets-with-modern-day-practices-2473-6449-1000104.php?aid=69865
8 He [Pythagoras] is said to have been the first to train athletes on a meat diet. The first athlete he did this with was Eurymenes. Formerly they had trained on dried figs, moist cheese, and wheat. Some say that it was a trainer named Pythagoras and not the philosopher who was responsible for this innovative diet. For our Pythagoras prohibited killing, not to mention eating, life which possessed souls like our own.
Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers 8.12
Sport and Recreation
To all appearances medical knowledge in general and nutrition in particular was widespread in Pythagorean circles in Southern Italy, especially in Kroton. Burkert has pointed out that the fmaous doctor Alcmaeon came from the Pythagorean center of Kroton. From the akousmata (secret doctrines), which doubtless contain old religious traditions, we learn that the Pythagoreans were not originally strict vegetarians; the consumption of meat was permitted, with the exception of lamb and the meat of draft oxen. Burkert considers there is some likelihood that Pythagoras introduced a meat diet for athletes. He believes this tradition arose when Pythagorean vegetarianism had not yet been completely developed. In later times, when vegetarianism had prevailed, a second tradition has possibly been invented, in which it was not Pythagoras, the philosopher from Samos and Kroton, but a homonymous person who wrot the great 'trainer's recipe book'.
57: There are similar issues regarding the transmission in later sources of Pythagoras advising the successful heavy athlete Eurymenes of Samos to use a special meat-based diet instead of the dried figs and cheese he had previously been eating.
On the Sociology of Ancient Sport - page 43.
Mantineia 221 00, Greece
480
B.C.E.
A Comparison of Ancient Greek and Roman Sports Diets with Modern Day Practices
Dromeus, a long-distance runner, is said to have first thought of eating meat for training instead of just cheese and won multiple victories.
The second report is that of Pausanias, who writes of Dromeus, a long-distance runner from Stymphalos [23].
“...he won two victories in the dolichos at Olympia, the same number in the Pythian Games, three at the Isthmian and five at the Nemean. He is said to have first thought of eating meat (as part of his training diet). Until then the food for athletes was cheese fresh out of the basket.”
Clearly, if his success is anything to go by, then Dromeus had really found a winner’s diet. There are also reports of athletes eating meat from oxen, bulls, goats and deer, a very” red-meat” diet which is a rich form of protein. Moreover, with meat as a part of their diet, the performance of competing athletes would most certainly have improved noticeably.
5 A man named Dromeus from Mantineia was said to have been the first we know of to have won the pankration by default [ = akoniti]. Pausanias 6.11.4
Dromeus, Long-Distance Runner
There was a man from Stymphalos, named Dromeus, whose record as a long-distance runner was exceptional: he won two victories in the dolichos at Olympia, the same number in the Pythian Games, three at the Isthmian and five at the Nemean. He is said to have first thought of eating meat (as part of his training diet). Until then the food for athletes was cheese fresh out of the basket.
