Eating Right in the Renaissance

Description

Eating right has been an obsession for longer than we think. Renaissance Europe had its own flourishing tradition of dietary advice. Then, as now, an industry of experts churned out diet books for an eager and concerned public. Providing a cornucopia of information on food and an intriguing account of the differences between the nutritional logic of the past and our own time, this inviting book examines the wide-ranging dietary literature of the Renaissance. Ken Albala ultimately reveals the working of the Renaissance mind from a unique perspective: we come to understand a people through their.;Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; Note on Spelling; Introduction; 1. Overview of the Genre; 2. The Human Body: Humors, Digestion, and the Physiology of Nutrition; 3. Food: Qualities, Substance, and Virtues; 4. External Factors; 5. Food and the Individual; 6. Food and Class; 7. Food and Nation; 8. Medicine and Cuisine; Postscript: The End of a Genre and Its Legacy; Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Illustrations. Cover Contents Acknowledgments Note on Spelling Introduction 1. Overview of the Genre 2. The Human Body: Humors, Digestion, and the Physiology of Nutrition 3. Food: Qualities, Substance, and Virtues 4. External Factors 5. Food and the Individual 6. Food and Class 7. Food and Nation 8. Medicine and Cuisine Postscript: The End of a Genre and Its Legacy Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Illustrations.