Food and mental health. Beliefs for therapeutic approaches

in ancient and medieval Greek cultures

Ioakeimidi S. and Matalas A-L.Department of Nutrition and Dietetics

Harokopio University, Athens, GR

• Food ~ Therapy

• Various theories

Introduction

Food is connected with mental performance.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food .” Hippocrates

Ancient Greeks believed that food was responsible for certain things that happened in their everyday life.

• The Golden Verses of Pythagoras

• Philosophy

• Mental health

• Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.

• The positive dimension of mental health is stressed in WHO's definition of health as contained in its constitution: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

Connection between food and mental health.

Nutrition ~ physical activities ~ baths ~ rest ~ sleep

The term diet refers to a general way of life.

• Follow a diet that does not cause weight gain

• Take exercise (running)

• Avoid abuse of food and drinks

• Eat bread (barley)

• Weight loss

• Helleborus (cyclophyllus)

• More fish instead of meat.

Hippocrates, Therapeutic , chapters 33, 34,35

Symposia

• Exercising the mind

• Limited food

• Conversation that follows very strict rules.

• Speaker’s ingenuity

• Analyze arguments with accuracy

• Listen to others without interrupting them.

• Disciplined consumption of wine and food.

• Inebriation unacceptable , an unpleasant sight.

• Dionysus three glasses of wine, Eubulous

• A valid opinion, sober A mild mental stimulation.

HomerCyclopes - monsters in human form, strictly

carnivorous, repulsive and uncivilised. Intellectual level was very low.

Lotus-eaters were refined people, hospitable, calm and kind-hearted.

Odysseus removing his men from the company of the lotus-eaters

Odyssey, Rhapsody 9

Iamblichus Pythagorean philosophy

Food excellent educational tool

Consumption of food promotes physical well- being

“Pythagorean philosophers were very strict in

their diet and the first ones who attempted

symmetry in drink, food and rest.”

Iamblichus vita pythagorica, verses 1921-2010

Pythagoras• Set of rules by Pythagoras• Avoidance of food bloating & upset stomach. • Millet• Staying away from living beings and wine• Not sacrifice animals also not to harm them.• Music=cure=soothing to the soul & mind.

Pythagoras golden verses Ver.32-34

Ουδ’ υγιείης της περί σώμα αμέλειαν έχειν χρή, αλλά ποτού τε μέτρον και σίτου γυμνασίων τε ποιείσθαι· μέτρον δε λέγω τοδ’, ο μη σ’ ανιήσει.

A typical daily routine in the life of the Pythagoreans

• Personal care and exercise.• First meal of the day.• Common affairs and political issues.• Bath• common meal (syssition ) • Cabbage, milk, honey, fruit, raisins.• Abstinence from animal food

Way of life General conduct

Porphyry of Tyre, Life of Pythagoras , Letter to Marcella

Plato

The vegan diet, is the source of health and ethos

“Republic “ (Politeia)

Music, exercise and diet ethos and philosophyPlato, Republic,403d-410,5e

Plato Pythagorean diet.

Porphyry

• To Firmus

“Abstinence from animal food contributes to better health and to the spiritual struggle required for the practice of philosophy.”

Porphyry, on abstinence from animal food, book 1

“Control of food like a charioteer.”

“Abstinence keeps the mind

healthy.”

Frugal eating is beneficial ensures reflection and inner

peace.

Porphyry, on abstinence from animal food,book 1

Everyday issues

Simple and little, frugal and light.

Meat is harmful to health.

Health is preserved by a frugal diet without meat.

Vegan diet- philosophical view of the world - calm soul - focused mind

Various beliefs in the Roman period

“Someone that examines things in depthwould opt for a frugal diet.”

Porphyry

Schools of philosophy in the Roman period.

• Frugal life and spare diet.• Exercise – an indispensable part of spiritual

cultivation.

• Public baths

W.Fowler,Social Life at Rome in the time of CiCero, London, 1965U.Paoli,Rome, Its people , life and customs, London, 1963.

Mental health wider context

Byzantium

Andrew Dalby, Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Routledge, Reprint edition, 1997Mary Douglas,Purity and danger: An analysis of concepts of pollution and taboo,Routledge & Kegan Paul,London,1966Mary Douglas,Food is not feed,The anthropologists’ cookbook, Routledge & Kegan Paul,London,1977

Social context - Byzantine diet and fasting enhances self-discipline and self-restraint.

Dinner was a ritual.

Shared meals

Φαίδων Κουκουλές, Βυζαντινών βίος και πολιτισμός, Τόμος Ε΄ :Αι τροφαί και τα ποτά. Τα γεύματα , τα δείπνα και τα συμπόσια. Εν Αθήναις,1952P.Caplan,Food, health and identity,Routledge, London,1997P.Connerton, How societies remember, Cambridge University Press,1989C. Fischler,’Food, self and identity.”,Social Science Information,27(2), 1988,275-92.Mary Douglas,”Deciphering a meal”,on Implicit meanings,Routedge and Kegan paul, London, 1979

Creation and preservation of social cohesion Forming of relationships between the individualand community.

• Various studies indicate the connection between diet individual and collective memory.

• Two-way relationship

• Identity of the past

Food preserves memory and in turn, memory preserves cultural identity.

C.Levi-Strauss, “The culinary triangle”, Partisan review 33,1965,586-95D.Sutton, “Rememberance of repasts: An anthropology of food and memory,” Berg, London, 2001Mary Douglas, Food as a system of communication”on In the active voice,Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1982,82-104

Summary

• Avoidance of animal

products, frugal diet, plenty

of hydration

• Consumption of fiber

• Avoidance of drunkenness

and other forms of addiction

• Personal care by taking baths

• Social aspect of food

• Frugal and disciplined diet

• Limited consumption of

animal products

• Emphasis on the social

aspectof food

• Baths and symposia

Ancient Greece Roman period-Byzantium

ConclusionsContemporary guidelines, 2013• Minimize saturated fats & trans fats. dairy products, meats, and certain oils (coconut and palm oils).

• Minimize intake of salt

• Maximize intake of Vegetables, legumes, fruits, and whole grains products, nuts and seeds.

• Include aerobic exercise in your routine, 40 minutes of brisk walking.

•Moderate use of alcohol

• Ensure sufficient intake of nutrients

• Plenty of fluids and hydration

Omega-3 fatty acid ↓ symptoms Nutritional therapies for mental disorders Shaheen E Lakhan* and Karen F Vieira,Nutrition Journal 2008, 7:2  doi:10.1186/1475-2891-7-2

Acropolis of Rhodes, Temple of Apollo

Thank you