Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

[liv]

Not sure where this would go. It is nto exactly news since it is from 1864. Not sure that it is even research as it is one man experimenting on himself. But Banting is considered a founder on low carb by many (Atkins included) so if you have not read Banting here is your chance. It is quite interesting.
He cut out potatoes, bread, sugar, butter and milk and stuck to meat (but not pork), fish (but not salmon), vegetables but not potato, small servings of toast or biscuit and tea and alcohol. Quite a rebel

http://www.zerocarbage.com/library/banting.pdf

[Alexa]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

Thanks Liv! I have saved a copy to read at my leisure. I have heard of him before - he was mentioned in the William Leith's The Hungry Years. And possibly in Atkins? I don't recall and my copy is all the way downstairs...

I wonder why not pork or salmon - aside from chicken they are my fave meat/fish proteins.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

Maybe he didn't like either pork or salmon?

[liv]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

I don't think he really explains why he leaves them out. Maybe the dietician that he used felt these items would not be good for all the ailments that Banting tried to get rid of.
But it is clear that he is a bit of a pioneer.
He thinks we should eat what we were naturally meant to eat (so mostly meats and fish) and he thinks bread (and beers) are really not great. He writes that

My impression is, that any starchy or saccharine matter tends to the disease of coruplence in advanced life...[and] should be avoided

[JulieB]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

Great article. Thanks for sharing

[LovingThyself]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

I will read this when I'm alone.... Thank you for sharing!

[Georgiana]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

Barry Groves says that, at that time, they believed there was starch in pork meat.

Banting's descriptions of the diet are quite clear, however. Other than the prohibition against butter and pork, nowhere is there any instruction to remove the fat from meat and there is no restriction on the way food was cooked or on the total quantity of food which may be taken. Only carbohydrate — sugars and starches — are restricted. The reason that butter and pork were denied him was that it was thought at this time that they too contained starch.

Source: About William Banting, author of Letter on Corpulence - Second Opinions, UK

No idea about salmon.

But Banting must have loved alcohol! He was having 2-3 glasses of claret, sherry or Madeira for dinner, 1-2 glasses of claret for supper and, "if required", a tumbler of grog (gin, whiskey or brandy) or 1-2 glasses of claret or sherry.

Mike Eades blogged about Banting's letter: Banting’s Letter on Corpulence | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D.

[liv]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

It seems like sleeping was important to him and a toddy was he felt was needed to go to sleep Those were the alcohol items he introduced to replace his beloved beer.

[RosieC]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

So this is why when characters in Agatha Christie novels from the 1930s talk about dieting they call it "banting"!
I always wondered where that came from!

[liv]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

Yes his letter on dieting became so popular that the word banting did become synonymous with dieting in Britain - all kinds of dieting though not just low carb. I think it is important to pay attention to banting in Christie's books because so many deaths are from poisoning so it may tell us something about suspects and perpetrators. (or not as she hides them well )

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

>>Banting must have loved alcohol! He was having 2-3 glasses of claret, sherry or Madeira for dinner, 1-2 glasses of claret for supper and, "if required", a tumbler of grog (gin, whiskey or brandy) or 1-2 glasses of claret or sherry.>>

Don't forget that back then, water generally wasn't potable.

[RosieC]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

Yes his letter on dieting became so popular that the word banting did become synonymous with dieting in Britain - all kinds of dieting though not just low carb. I think it is important to pay attention to banting in Christie's books because so many deaths are from poisoning so it may tell us something about suspects and perpetrators. (or not as she hides them well )

LOL! As far as I remember banting is the kind of thing that Miss Marple's friends do. In fact AC probably did it herself - or tried to. She put on a lot of weight as she got older. So she was probably a high carb banter ...

[Georgiana]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

>>Banting must have loved alcohol! He was having 2-3 glasses of claret, sherry or Madeira for dinner, 1-2 glasses of claret for supper and, "if required", a tumbler of grog (gin, whiskey or brandy) or 1-2 glasses of claret or sherry.>>

Don't forget that back then, water generally wasn't potable.

I haven't even thought of that. Thanks for pointing it out.

[Georgiana]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

Thinking about it... Could they have boiled water and then drink it?

[liv]

Re: Bantings letter on corpulence 1864

Yes they called it tea