Joker
Sinn Fein
Joined: Mar 20, 2011
Age: 24
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Location: North Carolina The Tar Heel State :)
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 Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 3:17 am Post subject: What Is The Spartan Diet? |
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| Does anyone know what the Spartan Diet was? |
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nostromo
Honk-honk Hippo
Joined: Mar 13, 2010
Age: 45
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Location: At Festively Plump
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 5:35 am Post subject: |
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| Atheneans mostly |
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CrazyCatLord
Phoenix
Joined: Oct 25, 2011
Posts: 2177
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 7:58 am Post subject: |
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| nostromo wrote: | | Atheneans mostly |
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CrazyCatLord
Phoenix
Joined: Oct 25, 2011
Posts: 2177
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 8:10 am Post subject: |
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I found a short article on the diet in ancient Greece. I assume that the Spartan diet wasn't much different from that of their neighbors.
http://www.historylink102.com/greece3/food.htm
| Quote: | The Greek diet consisted of foods that were easily raised in the rocky terrain of Greece’s landscape. Breakfast was eaten just after sunrise and consisted of bread dipped in wine. Lunch was again bread dipped in wine along with some olives, figs, cheese or dried fish.
Supper was the main meal of each day. It was eaten near sunset. It consisted of vegetables, fruit, fish, and possibly honey cakes. Sugar was unknown to ancient Greeks, so natural honey was used as a sweetener.
Fish was the main source of protein in the Greek diet. Beef was very expensive, so it was rarely eaten. Beef and pork were only available to poor people during religious festivals. It was during the festivals that cows or pigs were sacrificed to the gods, and the meat was cooked and handed out to the public.
Wine was the main drink in ancient Greece. It was watered down; to drink it straight was considered barbaric. Milk was rarely drunk, because again, it was considered barbaric. Milk was used for cheese production. Water was another possible choice as a drink.
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Btw, people only drank so much wine back then because water was rarely ever safe to drink. Unless you found some crystal clear mountain spring, you were probably in for an E. coli surprise. That's why people, including children, drank wine all day. Like the article says, the wine was watered down a great deal. That way, the alcohol content was just high enough to kill bacteria, but low enough to prevent people from being permanently hammered 
In the Middle Ages, Western European people drank beer all day rather than wine. But like the watered-down Greek wine, it was a very weak drink. Beer had the great advantage that it was a meal in its own right, and beer soup with bread was a popular meal for the entire family. |
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Gravechylde
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Mar 18, 2012
Age: 25
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Location: Funeralopolis
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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Just spent some time looking and it seems like it's basically vegan, except that fish and wild game (not from a farm) is allowed, and grains have to be prepared a certain way.
Here is a quote from the author (comparing it to paleo diet):
Source (about 1/3 down the page)
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The Spartan Diet is not a re-creation of the diet of ancient Spartans. It's informed by their diet, and also by the ancient Greek diet, but includes superfoods from around the world. Above all, we learn all kinds of specific lessons the Spartan culture has to teach us about moderation, physical training and many, many others, all of which are detailed in the book.
We love the Paleo diet, and the Spartan Diet shares many of the principles of it, including the elimination of what Paleo fans call "processed foods" and what we call "industrial foods," elimination of sugar, deep-fried foods and many other thing like that.
The Spartan Diet differs from the Paleo in two very big ways, and in many very small ways having to do with food preparation, mostly -- the Spartan Diet, for example, is very big on fermented foods and is far more detailed on sophisticated (but easy) methods for healthy food production.
The big ways are over meat and grains. Most Paleo diet fans eat beef, as well as chicken. We regard these as industrialized species selectively bred for passivity and obesity, and they're not on the Spartan Diet. All animal flesh on the Spartan Diet is wild fish and wild game. We also think most Paleo fans get far too much protein from meat and far too little from plant sources.
The second big divergence is over grains, which are welcome on the Spartan Diet in fermented form. You'll note that nearly all the evidence in the Paleo literature against grains comes from the beginning of civilization (early farmers were short and sick) and the end of civilization (industrial revolution and the current obesity/diabetes epidemics). Between these extremes traditional cultures all over the world fermented (and many still ferment) their grains through "sourdough" bread processes, and with liquid ferments. Fermentation nearly eliminates antinutrients, and radically increases the bio-availability of nutrients in grains, and even produces new nutrients.
Paleo fans who want to take their health to the next level will be able to "Spartanize" their Paleo diet to take it to the next level. Grains are not required, and Paleo fans who oppose grains can skip them. No big deal. The most important thing is to stop eating industrial meats, and prepare foods using the extensive list of Spartan Diet principles and cooking methods for maximum health. |
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Joker
Sinn Fein
Joined: Mar 20, 2011
Age: 24
Posts: 7593
Location: North Carolina The Tar Heel State :)
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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| CrazyCatLord wrote: | I found a short article on the diet in ancient Greece. I assume that the Spartan diet wasn't much different from that of their neighbors.
http://www.historylink102.com/greece3/food.htm
| Quote: | The Greek diet consisted of foods that were easily raised in the rocky terrain of Greece’s landscape. Breakfast was eaten just after sunrise and consisted of bread dipped in wine. Lunch was again bread dipped in wine along with some olives, figs, cheese or dried fish.
Supper was the main meal of each day. It was eaten near sunset. It consisted of vegetables, fruit, fish, and possibly honey cakes. Sugar was unknown to ancient Greeks, so natural honey was used as a sweetener.
Fish was the main source of protein in the Greek diet. Beef was very expensive, so it was rarely eaten. Beef and pork were only available to poor people during religious festivals. It was during the festivals that cows or pigs were sacrificed to the gods, and the meat was cooked and handed out to the public.
Wine was the main drink in ancient Greece. It was watered down; to drink it straight was considered barbaric. Milk was rarely drunk, because again, it was considered barbaric. Milk was used for cheese production. Water was another possible choice as a drink.
... |
Btw, people only drank so much wine back then because water was rarely ever safe to drink. Unless you found some crystal clear mountain spring, you were probably in for an E. coli surprise. That's why people, including children, drank wine all day. Like the article says, the wine was watered down a great deal. That way, the alcohol content was just high enough to kill bacteria, but low enough to prevent people from being permanently hammered
In the Middle Ages, Western European people drank beer all day rather than wine. But like the watered-down Greek wine, it was a very weak drink. Beer had the great advantage that it was a meal in its own right, and beer soup with bread was a popular meal for the entire family. |
Thank you Crazycatlord this was must useful information hmm so the Spartans had a similar diet that the greeks had. |
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