Hedgehogs, cannabis bread and horse placenta – historian reveals bizarre ‘health food’ from ancient times
HEALTHY eating can be tricky to stick to at times but it would have been even harder if you lived in the past.
Historian Fiona Snailham recently revealed lots of bizarre historic 'health foods' for that were once thought to cure diseases and we've rounded up a list of the weirdest ones below.
Hedgehogs
Back in the mid-15th century people were advised to eat hedgehogs if they wanted to ease the symptoms of leprosy and urinary retention.
This is according to a German cookbook called Das Kockbuch des Meisters Eberhard, which states: "The meat of a hedgehog is good for lepers.
"Those who dry its intestines and grind them to a powder and eat a little of that are made to [urinate], even if they cannot do so otherwise."
Earthworms and snail shells
'Medicinal drinks' including snail water were popular in the 1600's for treating things like 'consumption', which at the time often referred to tuberculosis.
These drinks would include ground up snail and their shells, lots of earthworms, deer antlers and plants.
The final result was said to be covered in wine and left to turn into a jelly like substance.
Prunes and prostitutes
Prunes are a popular health food today but people thought they could cure and prevent sexually transmitted diseases back in the 1500s.
The fruit was commonly served in brothels for this very reason.
Horse Placenta
In ancient Rome, a by-product of horse pregnancies called hippomane was considered to improve fertility.
The substance looks like a liver coloured placenta but actually forms from waste products in the allantoic sac concentrating together.
Allantoic sacs help embryos exchange gases and handle liquid waste in the placenta.
Cannabis bread
Aristocratic noblemen in the 15th century were said to eat cannabis bread for the ultimate health boost.
It was said to ward off the plague and is mentioned in the first cook book ever printed called De honesta voluptate et valetudine – ‘On right pleasure and good health’.
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Would you eat any of the bizarre ancient 'health food' options? Let us know in the comments...
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