Terrors of the Table
The curious history of nutrition
Walter Gratzer
Price: £18.99 (Hardback)
ISBN-13: 978-0-19-280661-1
Publication date: 29 September 2005
304 pages, 8 pp halftone plates,, 234x156 mm
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| Reviews |
| - ''...its breadth and liveliness make this an excellent introduction to the one science that touches all of us daily and intimately.'' - David Schleifer, Time Out New York
- 'An irresistible cavalcade of cranks and charlatans.' - Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman
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| Description | | - A unique and fascinating account combining the history and science of nutrition with tales of the heroes, heroines and charlatans who have told us (and sold us) what we should eat.
- Chronicles the terrible diseases caused by poor diets such as scurvy and beriberi, and the efforts made to eradicate them.
- Brings the story right up to the present, with discussions of dietary problems in today's developed world, such as diabetes and obesity, and puts trends such as the Atkins diet in context.
- Relates the discoveries of vitamins and provides valuable information on other key ingredients of our diets.
| Terrors of the Table
is an absorbing account of the struggle to find the necessary ingredients of a healthy diet, and the fads and quackery that have always waylaid the unwary and the foolish when it comes to the matter of food and health. Walter Gratzer tells the tale of nutrition's heroes, heroines and charlatans with characteristic crispness and verve. We find an array of colourful
personalities, from the distinguished but quarrelsome Liebig, to the enterprising Lydia Pinkham. But we also find the slow recognition that the lack of vital ingredients can cause terrible illnesses - scurvy, rickets, beriberi. These diseases stalked the poor in the West even into the 20th century, and scandalously remain in poorer parts of the world today. The narrative stretches from classical
times to the modern day and gives a valuable historical perspective to our current understanding. It also highlights some of the problems faced by the developed world regarding health today - in particular diabetes and obesity. And despite our far greater understanding of what our body needs, there are still many who would fall for fads and fancy diets - some dangerous, others just daft.
Of
course, the story of nutrition does not end there. We have discovered the key vitamins and minerals our body needs, but research continues on the connections between diet, health and disease. The body's biochemistry is complex, and there are no easy answers, no magic formula, that applies to all individuals. The safest and most rational course would seem to be a sensible, moderate, and varied
diet, not forgetting that 'a little of what you fancy does you good'.
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Readership: General readers of popular science, and those interested in nutrition, social history, and the history of medicine.
| Contents |
1.
The Ravages of War
2.
The Scurvy Wars
3.
In the Beginning
4.
Dawn of the Scientific Age
5.
The Savants' Disputes
6.
The Poor, the Rich, the Healthy and the Sick
7.
Cheats and Poisoners
8.
Paradigm Postponed: The Tardy Arrival of Vitamins
9.
The Quarry Run to Earth
10.
Fads and Quacks
11.
The New Millennium: Profits and the higher quackery
12.
Appendix: The hard science
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| Authors, editors,
and contributors |
Walter Gratzer, Emeritus Professor, King's College London
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limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations,
and month of publication, was as accurate as
possible at the time the catalogue was compiled.
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