What do you think?
Rate this book
A Vegetable Diet: As Sanctioned by Medical Men, and by Experience in All Ages
First published in 1849, this vintage book contains an exposition of vegetarianism, with chapters on its history, nutritional value, scientific evidence and observations, and much more. “Vegetable Diet” will appeal to existing vegetarians and those considering the lifestyle alike, and it would make for a fantastic addition to collections of related literature. Contents “Origin of this Work”, “Letters to Dr. North”, “Remarks on the Foregoing Letters”, “Additional Intelligence”, “Testimony of Other Medical Men, Both of Ancient and Modern Times”, “Testimony of Philosophers and Other Eminent Men”, “Societies and Communities on the Vegetable System”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on vegetarianism.
- GenresSelf HelpNonfiction
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1838
13 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
William A. Alcott
279 books12 followersWilliam Andrus Alcott (also known as: William Alexander Alcott), 1798-1859, was one of the most prolific authors in early American history. He wrote frequently on the topics of education and health. In 1836 he wrote a letter to the editor of the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal titled 'The Graham System' and signed it 'M.D.'
The cause of greatest interest in Alcott throughout his life was vegetarianism. In 1850 he wrote three long letters on vegetarianism to the editor of the New York Tribune - at the request of the editor.
Alcott wrote The Physiology of Marriage in 1856. He deplored free courtship manners. He specifically deplored 'conversation which is too excitable', 'presence of exciting books', 'unnecessary heat', and many other courtship practices prevalent in 18th century America but steadily going out of fashion by 1856. He warned young people of the dangers of courtship. He is criticized by modern day feminists for his 'rigidity'.
Alcott was a founding member (in 1850) and the first president of the American Vegetarian Society. He was also the author of 'The Vegetable Diet As Sanctioned by Medical Men and By Experience in All Ages'. He also founded The American Physiological Society in 1837, the world's first physiological society.
He died of a lung infection and is buried in Newton Cemetary. He worked until the day before he died.
The cause of greatest interest in Alcott throughout his life was vegetarianism. In 1850 he wrote three long letters on vegetarianism to the editor of the New York Tribune - at the request of the editor.
Alcott wrote The Physiology of Marriage in 1856. He deplored free courtship manners. He specifically deplored 'conversation which is too excitable', 'presence of exciting books', 'unnecessary heat', and many other courtship practices prevalent in 18th century America but steadily going out of fashion by 1856. He warned young people of the dangers of courtship. He is criticized by modern day feminists for his 'rigidity'.
Alcott was a founding member (in 1850) and the first president of the American Vegetarian Society. He was also the author of 'The Vegetable Diet As Sanctioned by Medical Men and By Experience in All Ages'. He also founded The American Physiological Society in 1837, the world's first physiological society.
He died of a lung infection and is buried in Newton Cemetary. He worked until the day before he died.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 18, 2022
Is very dry reading with a lot of good information. I will be working toward this vegetable diet.
February 3, 2016
Premise of this book: William A. Alcott set out to prove that humans do not need animal flesh to live.
He asked questions in a scientific publication and people corresponded with him detailing personal experiences with a predominantly vegetable and milk diet and (in some cases) the experiences of their patients, friends, and family members.
In the book he discusses human physiology- teeth, intestines, bone structure. He speaks on biblical reasons for following this diet (citing that man did not eat flesh before the fall of man). Examples are given of groups of people with a predominantly vegetable diet (including vegetarians in India, orphanages without much money in Germany, and the Pythagoreans).
He says this diet helps to cure: scurvy, colic, intestinal problems, weak temperament, inflammatory fevers, and other maladies. It also improves mental capacity and physical endurance and strength.
Bread and other vegetable substances are main foods along with milk and water.
Foods to be avoided include animal flesh, wine and spirits, coffee, and tea. Meats and oils are hard to digest and not helpful for health.
Included at the end of the book are some very dated recipes for porridge type substances.
I find this book interesting on two levels. The first is the historical perspective on health and diet. The second is fact that books like this were being published in the mid- nineteenth century and we are still a meat-eating culture now. Alcott spoke about ending world hunger by ceasing to feed all our grain to livestock and gave figures of how many people could be fed from acreages of ground on different foods. It is sad to think that this information is nowhere near new and still pertains to our culture's everlasting problems.
If you are at all interested in the history of Vegetarianism and health in the 1800s, this would be a great book to start reading.
5 Stars
Where you can find this book: Amazon and Project Gutenberg
He asked questions in a scientific publication and people corresponded with him detailing personal experiences with a predominantly vegetable and milk diet and (in some cases) the experiences of their patients, friends, and family members.
In the book he discusses human physiology- teeth, intestines, bone structure. He speaks on biblical reasons for following this diet (citing that man did not eat flesh before the fall of man). Examples are given of groups of people with a predominantly vegetable diet (including vegetarians in India, orphanages without much money in Germany, and the Pythagoreans).
He says this diet helps to cure: scurvy, colic, intestinal problems, weak temperament, inflammatory fevers, and other maladies. It also improves mental capacity and physical endurance and strength.
Bread and other vegetable substances are main foods along with milk and water.
Foods to be avoided include animal flesh, wine and spirits, coffee, and tea. Meats and oils are hard to digest and not helpful for health.
Included at the end of the book are some very dated recipes for porridge type substances.
I find this book interesting on two levels. The first is the historical perspective on health and diet. The second is fact that books like this were being published in the mid- nineteenth century and we are still a meat-eating culture now. Alcott spoke about ending world hunger by ceasing to feed all our grain to livestock and gave figures of how many people could be fed from acreages of ground on different foods. It is sad to think that this information is nowhere near new and still pertains to our culture's everlasting problems.
If you are at all interested in the history of Vegetarianism and health in the 1800s, this would be a great book to start reading.
5 Stars
Where you can find this book: Amazon and Project Gutenberg
August 22, 2013
From an historical perspective, this is a valuable book. It 's interesting to me that natural foods were so poorly adulterated in America during the 19th century. (This also comes from P T Barnum's book on 'Humbugs.') but as for Alcott's assertions on such a limited choice of ingredients, he's swinging too far to the opposite extreme. This book is best taken with a grain of salt. ;0)
June 18, 2016
Very empiric and truly affected by lack of physiology of diseases in that day. An interesting but somewhat too little scientiphicall approuch. I do not think it worth the time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews