Victorian articles on healthy diet, foods and nutrition range from basic common-sense pieces to complicated discussions of the comparative values of different types of foods. One striking contrast between Victorian articles and today's articles on healthy eating is the lack of articles on "dieting" or "weight loss." But then, even though many Victorian foods were laden with calories, one must remember that this was an era before fast foods, junk foods, sugary sodas, and preprocessed packaged foods. It was also an era that required a great deal more expenditure of energy and calories just to accomplish the same tasks (such as cooking one of those high-calorie meals) that take us moments today. It's also quite possible that many writers felt that obesity was more of a moral failure than an issue to be addressed in a medical column.

Talks with Women: Food Fancies, by Jenny June (Demorest, 1873)

Before, at, and After Meals (Harper's Monthly, 1876A)

Pure Water (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

Wanted, an Appetite (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1876)

How to Eat to Live (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

The Chemistry of Food and Cookery, by John Gray, FCS (Girl's Own Paper, 1882)

A Few Facts About Food and Digestion, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1882)

On the Benefits of Pure Water, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1882)

This article explains how to make one's own water filter.

Vegetables as Health Preservatives (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1882)

A Plea for Vegetables v. Drugs, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1883)

That "Slight Inclination" to Enbonpoint (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1883)

"Enbonpoint" was a polite term for being overweight.

Tea in Health and Sickness, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1883)

Facts and Fallacies about Food and Physic, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1884)

Milk: As Medicine and as Food, by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1885)

Reform in Diet and Cookery (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1885)

Food in its Relation to Health (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1886)

The Chemistry of Foods and Nutrition, by W.O. Atwater (Century Magazine, 1887B)

A lengthy series that looks at the chemical composition of foods, the body, metabolism, how calories and other components are measured, and more.

The Curative Uses of Water, by Titus Munson Coan, MD (Harper's Monthly, 1887B)

Is It the Water, I Wonder? (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1887)

Tips on determining whether your drinking water is healthy, or if it is "hard" (overly mineralized).

Kitchen Physic (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1887)

"How About the Diet, Sir?" by "Medicus"* (Girl's Own Paper, 1888)

Pecuniary Economy of Food, by W.O. Atwater (Century Magazine, 1888A)

An interesting article that looks at the cost of nutrition and calories by providing prices on a wide range of food types.

What We Should Eat, by W.O. Atwater (Century Magazine, 1888B)

An attempt to establish dietary "standards" based on a person's profession or activity level, with comparisons to European diets.

A Banian Day (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1889)

The health benefits of having a meatless day once a week.

What Is Vegetarianism? (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1889)

This Too, Too Solid Flesh (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1893)

Dinner and Digestion (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1893)

Digestion and Nourishment, by "The New Doctor" (Girl's Own Paper, 1898)

Diet in Reason and in Moderation, by "The New Doctor" (Girl's Own Paper, 1899)

Amongst other useful tips, this article explains why it is so important to make tea with boiling water, and not to let it steep (the boiling water removes the tannin but allows the caffeine to diffuse). And no milk should be set up on the table which has not first been boiled!

"A Little Strengthening Medicine," by "The New Doctor" (Girl's Own Paper, 1900)

"It is the little strengthening medicine that has given the kindly doctor a well-paying, life-long patient." Our author goes on to say, "Yes, madam, we will give you a little moral strengthening medicine. Don't eat so much; sell your carriage and use your legs; stop your little snacks and glasses of curacoa; live a sensible life, and think of something else than your alimentary canal!"

Diet and Stimulants, by E.F. Benson and Eustace H. Miles (Drapers' Self-Culture, 1913)

*"Medicus" was the pen-name of Gordon Stables, M.D., R.N., health columnist for The Girl's Own Paper. Read the complete collection of Medicus Columns from 1881-1902 in chronological order.

• See also Digestion & Indigestion