Food, dietetics and nutrition in ancient India
Manyam, B.V.
Bulletin of the Indian Institute of History of Medicine 25(1-2): 79-99
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0304-9558 PMID: 11618846 Document Number: 441482
In pre-agricultural era, entire mankind consumed meat as early man was a hunter. Possibly he ate from plants sources which grew in the wilderness. With the advent of agriculture as an outcome of civilization, man acquired the ability to cultivate what he wanted, as by now he was influenced to some extent by the selection of the food that he wanted to eat. All this ultimately led to him taking to vegeterianism, which probably did not occur until approximately 1500 B.C. It is tried in this study to examine the concept of nutrition, balanced diet, appetite, food etiquette, food sanitation and food poisoning etc. in ancient India.