Living On A Medieval Diet Today

There was a time when even minor illnesses were life-threatening and people took their health very seriously. From the 1200s through the 1800s the Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum was a well read European guide to health. It was created in poem form by doctors for English royalty.  It is heavy on wheat and meat. Red wine, fresh eggs, figs and grapes are recommended and water is looked on with suspicion, probably with good reason. But is it healthy?

Sarah Laskow, a staff writer at Atlas Obscura, decided to test the Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum out herself. For a week and a half, she followed the advice of the doctors of Salerno. See how she made out.

Thanks Bruce!