Nutrition History (from Parts Unknown)

In Episode 11 of Nutrition History from Parts Unknown, we're talking the 14th century medical community's response to the Black Death of 1347-51. This response was most exhaustively detailed in a genre of literature known as 'Plague Regimen'. These were popular medical manuals which provided the reader an understanding of the pestilence's origins, and advised on lifestyle interventions to prevent catching the disease. The advice of the Plague Regimen focused on the six medieval lifestyle factors, or "non-naturals" : air quality, sleep, physical activity, excretion and retention (this included bathing and sex), emotional health, and diet.