At the turn of the 20th century, Horace Fletcher, an artist, writer, importer and opera house manager who had no medical background – promoted the chewing of each bite of food at least 100 times until liquefied. The theory was that the bowel was key to good health and weight control and keeping the colon happy was the key.
“Fletcherism”, as it came to be known became a fashionable past time, and Fletcher had success in managing his own weight using the method. At age 40, he weighed 217 pounds and had been refused life insurance. By his mid 50’s, he was reportedly doing exercises with the strength and agility of a man half his age. “Nature, he said, “will castigate those who don’t masticate.” The practice has since been seen as a “fad” diet and became unpopular for obvious reasons. We can spare the details. Don’t try this at home.
FOOD, FACTS and FADS 