Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T12:52:25.711Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Diet and dietetics in al-Andalus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

Jordi Salas-Salvadó ,
Maria D. Huetos-Solano ,
Pilar García-Lorda  and
Mònica Bulló
Jordi Salas-Salvadó*
Affiliation:
Unitat de Nutrició Humana, Facultat de Medicina de Reus, C/Sant Llorenç 21, E-43201 Reus, Spain
Maria D. Huetos-Solano
Affiliation:
Unitat de Nutrició Humana, Facultat de Medicina de Reus, C/Sant Llorenç 21, E-43201 Reus, Spain
Pilar García-Lorda
Affiliation:
Unitat de Nutrició Humana, Facultat de Medicina de Reus, C/Sant Llorenç 21, E-43201 Reus, Spain
Mònica Bulló
Affiliation:
Unitat de Nutrició Humana, Facultat de Medicina de Reus, C/Sant Llorenç 21, E-43201 Reus, Spain
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Jordi Salas-Salvadó, fax +34 9 77759322, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Al-Andalus society (711–1492) based its idea of health on the wisdom of Classical Greece, the Hippocratic–Galenic theories, as well as the Persian and Hindu cultures. The twelfth century in al-Andalus is considered to be the most prolific period for works of a scientific and technical nature. At the time, the main treatises on dietetics were written and this science reached its widest expression with such leading figures as Ibn Wāfīd, Avenzoar, Averroes and Maimonides, whose works revealed the first scientific knowledge on the nutritional processes of the human body. Diet was regarded as being essential for health and the prevention of disease. Dietary guidelines were written for different age groups, different body types and different seasons of the year. The amount of food to be ingested, the number of meals recommended and the order in which the food should be consumed were all issues that were discussed. A variety of foods were thought to have medicinal properties, some of which are known today. The diet in al-Andalus was varied and very probably made a substantial contribution to the origin of the present-day Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil, wholemeal cereals, fruit and vegetables, fish, lamb, poultry, nuts and spices. We also find that many of the terms in current use in diet and agriculture are a living testimony to the Arabic influence, as are many of the dishes of our varied Mediterranean gastronomy.

Keywords

Al-AndalusNutrition historyMediterranean diet
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 96 , Issue S1 , August 2006 , pp. S100 - S104
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2006

References

Abu Ber Abdalacis Al-Arbūlī (2000) Un tratado Nazarí sobre alimentos: al-Kalam Ala l-Agdiya de al-Arbuli: Edición, traducción y estudio con glosarios Amador Díaz García, Almería: Arráez EditoresGoogle Scholar
Abu l-Walid ibn Rusd; Averroes (2003) El libro de las generalidades de la medicina: Kitab al-Kulliyyat fi l-tibb: Traducción de María de la Concepción Vázquez de Benito y Camilo Álvarez de Morales. Madrid: TrottaGoogle Scholar
Avicenna (1490) Canon medicinae, a Gerardo Cremonensi translatus; De viribus cordis (latine), ab Arnaldo de Villa Nova translatum Venetiis [Bonetus Locatellus]; impens, Octaviani ScotiGoogle Scholar
Cruz, J (1997) Dietética Medieval, 293–354Huesca: La Val de Onsera.Google Scholar
Debbabi Missaoui, S (1995) La alimentación en los tratados de medicina andalusíes Granada 1492–1992: Del Reino de Granada al futuro del mundo mediterráneo, 337–349 [Barrios, MVicent, B, editors]. Granada: Gráfica Nueva.Google Scholar
García Sánchez, E (2002) Dietetic aspects of food in al-Andalus Patterns of Everyday Life, 275–288 [Waines, D, editors]. Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Huici Miranda, A (1967) Traducción española de un manuscrito anónimo del siglo XIII sobre la cocina hispano-magribí, Madrid: Maestre.Google Scholar
Ibn al-Jatib, Muhammad ibn Abdallāh (1984) Libro del cuidado de la salud durante las estaciones del año o ‘Libro de la higiene’, edición, estudio y traducción de María de la Concepción Vázquez de Benito, Salamanca: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca.Google Scholar
Ibn Wāfīd, (1980) El libro de la almohada de Ibn Wafid de Toledo: recetario médico árabe del siglo XI; editado por Camilo Álvarez de Morales y Ruiz-Matas Toledo Instituto Provincial de Investigaciones y Estudios ToledanosGoogle Scholar
Ibn Wāfīd, (1995) Kitab al-adwiya al-mufrada: libro de los medicamentos simples; edición, traducción, notas y glosarios de Luisa Fernanda Aguirre de Cárcer Madrid Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas y Agencia Española de Cooperación InternacionalGoogle Scholar
Ibn Zuhr, , Abd al-Malik ibn Abi al-Ala, (1992) Kitab al-agdiya (Tratado de los alimentos); Edición, traducción e introducción por Expiración García Sánchez Madrid Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Cooperación con el Mundo ÁrabeGoogle Scholar
Peña, C, Girón, F & Barchin, M (1999) La prevención de la enfermedad en el al-Andalus del siglo XII.In La Medicina en al-Andalus, [Alvarez, deMorales, CMolina, E, editors]. Granada: Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Cultura.Google Scholar