Reverend Sylvester Graham Diet   

Reverend Sylvester Graham Diet  - Reverend Sylvester Graham was a Presbyterian minister. He was an early advocate of dietary  reform in United States most notable for his emphasis on vegetarianism , as well as sexual and dietary habits. In 1830’s Graham promoted a strict vegetarian diet.

He believed a diet full of meats and fats leads to an unhealthy body, and awakens carnal urges, and sinful sexual excess. He believed this way of eating could cause insanity, spinal diseases, and epilepsy. Graham argued that chemical additives in bread made it unwholesome.

The use of additives by bakeries was a common practice during the Industrial Revolution  to make bread   whiter  in color, and more commercially  appealing. White refined bread was a status symbol of the middle class because of its "purity and refinement" in its color and was purchased, rather than home-made. Graham believed that firm bread made of ground whole-wheat flour was more nutritious and healthy.

In 1837  he had difficulty finding a place to speak in Boston  because of threatened riots by butchers  and commercial bakers. Graham believed an unhealthy diet stimulated excessive sexual desire which irritated the body and caused disease. He managed to develop a significant following known as Grahamites , some of which lived in “Graham Boarding Houses” in Boston and New York City.

These might be considered the first diet “spas” or “ranches”. He died at the age of 58, in Northampton,   Massachusetts, where a restaurant, Sylvester's, now sits on the former location of his house. Graham influenced notable figures in America, John   Harvey Kellogg. 

What we like about this plan. The only issues that were reasonable were Graham’s dietary belief of the benefits of a high fiber diet and the unsifted wheat flour. His lifestyle push against tobacco and alcohol, and for exercise and a good nights rest back then were outrageous statements, but today are right on the money!

What we dislike about this plan. The man is a bit of a nut. His belief that an unhealthy diet causes sexual excess seems absurd. What is even odder is his belief that ketchup and mustard use will cause insanity. 

How healthy is this plan? A vegetarian diet can be a healthy if one gets complete and/or incomplete proteins in your daily intake. However, according to Graham, fats are also from the dark side. No fats and no protein equal no health.  

Here’sthe bottom line. Some of Graham’s concepts were accurate and ahead of this time. Others were downright bizarre. If Graham did anything historic, it will be noted as a great piece of food trivia. Graham used his homemade recipe for his unsifted wheat flour to make his famous bread, Graham Bread. This was later turned into a cracker, yes, the Graham cracker. Today, Graham would be turning in his grave to here that Nabisco began marketing these sweet crackers without his flour, but with white flour, which he regarded as public enemy number one.  

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