Review of `Food and diet in relation to life and health', by Hereward Carrington edited by Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, published by Haldeman-Julius Company, Girard, Kansas in 1927(?).
CITATION: Carrington, H. (n.d.). Food and diet in relation to life and health, (Little Blue Book #761). Girard,...
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Review of `Food and diet in relation to life and health', by Hereward Carrington edited by Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, published by Haldeman-Julius Company, Girard, Kansas in 1927(?).
CITATION: Carrington, H. (n.d.). Food and diet in relation to life and health, (Little Blue Book #761). Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company.
Reviewer: Dr William P. Palmer
`Food and diet in relation to life and health' is one of twenty Little Blue Books that Hereward Carrington wrote for Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, the well known publisher whose publishing business was centred at Girard, Kansas. This is a 62 page Little Blue Book and covers a topic in which Carrington was considered an expert in his era. The booklet has some errors, but the major problem is that general views of diet have changed considerably since Carrington's time.
The book contains an introduction and a bibliography and 29 sections which vary in length considerably. The longest section (11 pages) is on vegetarianism with the next longest section (6 pages) on fasting. Most of the other sections are about 2 pages long, with several being less than a page.
Carrington fails the test of consistency in that he appears to be an enthusiastic supporter of vegetarianism in his long chapter on subject, perhaps because he was a vegetarian for most of his life. In the short section on `Diet for reducing weight' he suggests a couple of chops or some chicken for dinner (page 52).
His main thesis, however, is that humans should eat simple natural food and `eat only as much of them as the body needs'. He continues `we eat to excess, and subsist largely upon all kinds of foods which are not suited to the human body, but which are positively destructive to it'. He considers that this overworks the organs resulting in sickness, premature old age and death. He also encourages exercise and fresh air. Generally much that he recommends agrees with modern ideas, but there is much repetition, considerable exaggeration and in some sections advice which makes little sense. Although he lived to be over seventy, he suffered from much ill-health throughout his life, which leads one to doubt some parts of his philosophy. On the positive side, his advice that overeating and excessive consumption of protein are bad for health is well founded. Also his theory that there is value in fasting to live longer, is surprisingly modern, as in the latest diet system, which recommends two days fasting per week. Wikipedia reports `The 5:2 diet, also written as 5/2 diet, is a diet which involves severe calorie restriction for two days a week and normal eating the other five days.'
The book is very mixed the quality of advice given, but if considered as an early advisory text on diet, now superseded, then it was a useful volume.
BILL PALMER
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