Assess the nutritional adequacy of the pre industrial diet How were different social groups affected
The pre-industrial period stretching from 1250-1750 has often been discussed in terms of the great wars, diseases, kings and people. ... The pre-industrial diet on the other hand has often been an area of study that has been neglected by historians , however contemporaries such as Dyer, Fogel, Camporesi and Livi-Bacci have undertaken extensive research into the subject allowing us a much better understanding of pre-industrial England. For the purpose of this essay I will try and ascertain from the research into the pre-industrial diet whether it was nutritionally adequate. In doing so I will try to be aware of differences between different social groups in their dietary regime and how this may have come to cause problems in their life such as malnutrition and obesity. When considering the question posed it is important that we establish what ‘nutritional adequacy’ is by today’s medical standards. This will enable us to compare a recommended diet with the pre-industrial diet, in essence assessing its nutritional adequacy. ... uk, an established medical website suggests that the key to obtaining these constituents of food and achieving nutritional adequacy is through a balanced diet. ... Meat, fish and other food groups such as eggs, nuts and poultry are also needed because they have excellent levels of protein, vitamins and minerals. ... With all this in mind a list of questions can be drawn to help lead us to conclusions concerning the pre-industrial diet. One, was the typical pre-industrial diet made up primarily from cereals, breads and foods from the starchy vegetable food group? Two, did the pre-industrial diet include five portions of fruit and vegetables? ... For example, the development of refrigeration has meant milk can be kept for longer periods of time, whereas it would soon go off in pre-industrial England. Nether the less, the indicators of nutritional adequacy are important, if we are to come to a conclusion on the pre-industrial diet. With all this in mind I will now attempt to consider the nutritional adequacy of pre-industrial diet with reference to the following social groups: the nobility, the urban population, and the rich and poor peasantry. As a social group many would expect the nobility to have the nutritionally best pre-industrial diet. It can be argued however that this was not always the case; often cultural prejudices prevented the nobility from having a truly balanced diet. ... This said there were benefits to be found in the average noble diet and it “seems to have been based on a common standard in the quantities of bread and ale… between two and three pounds of bread and about a gallon of ale” . ... The “upper class diet lay in the ample amounts of meat and fish… consumption in magnate households was in the region of two or three pounds per day” . This level is arguably nutritionally adequate and would provide ample levels of protein in the diet. Moreover Dyer in English Diet in the Later Middle Ages eradicates the common presumption that nobles lived on a diet of salted meat throughout the winter and states that “households were usually able to obtain supplies of fresh meat and fish throughout the year” . ... The typical diet of the pre-industrial upper class has other problems associated with it as well. The calorific content of the average nobles diet reaches estimates as high as 5,000 calories a day .