Charles Darwin’s Diet Revolution – Low Carb Diet to ease IBS

Recently discovered letters from Charles Darwin to his doctor have revealed that he was well aware of the benefits of a high protein diet to help digestive problems, long before Dr. Arkins made such a diet popular. Not only did Charles Darwin follow an Atkins style diet, he could also have given some diet tips to Beyonce. In one letter Darwin sent to Dr. Henry Jones in 1866, he says:

“A little game or fowl twice a day and eggs, omelet or macaroni or cheese at other meals, and these I think suit me best” – Charles Darwin, 1866.

Charles Darwin suffered stomach complaints throughout his life, and like people today, had to resort to a method of trail and error to determine what he could, and could not, stomach. Like many people that suffer from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) high-GI foods and refined carbs, where often a problem.

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Darwin lived from 1809 to 1882, and during this time also increased his coffee intake to two cups a day. He would add ten drops of muriatic (hydrochloric) acid with cayenne pepper and ginger to help his upset stomach (funny tummy) but flatulence remained a problem. This potion is similar to the Beyonoce’s maple syrup with cayenne and lemon juice that helped her to lose weight before filming Dreamgirls.

Dr Jones also advised Darwin to ride ‘rough pony‘ so he could be “shaken once daily to make the chemistry go on better”. The naturalist wrote that this made him feel ‘much more vigorous and active’. One simple cure for consipation is to go for a long run or jog. Simply getting the body moving is sometimes enough to help things along.

Dr. Alison Pearn, of the Darwin Correspondence Project, points out that ‘He was prey to passing fads and preoccupied by health. His wife kept records of his weight and diet and he’d try anything he thought would help. On the advice of another doctor, he lay down with ice packs on his spine.’

The project, based at Cambridge University, was set up in 1974 and aims to find all the letters written by
and to Darwin. It can be found at www.darwinproject.ac.uk.

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