Humoral theory tells us that the type of food and amount we consume will affect the predominance of a humor. For example, cold, dry food will make you melancholic.
I agree with this to some extent, only eating cold and dry food would no doubt make you miserable. ‘Good health’ is supposedly reliant on balance of the humors, but what if a lack of resources prevents one from consuming a balanced diet?
The Angry Chef suggests that the way we eat does not entirely determine our health, but other factors such as lifestyle, inequality, and poverty have a greater impact. One might only be able to or want to eat cheap and affordable foods. Fried meats, overly salty, and burnt foods are considered to be ‘melancholic’. These types of foods are considered inexpensive or low quality. Having the means to consume a variety of food requires wealth, and only the elite few can achieve this balance.
This was shown during class activities, where we were given differing budgets to sustain different amounts of people. Circumstances may lead to someone buying whatever food they can, which may be these ‘melancholic’ low-quality foods.
Diet is not the sole factor in determining health; the underlying factor is a person’s access to food. The inability to consume essential food groups could cause health problems as humoral theory believes.
When basic needs are not met, this is what causes melancholy, not necessarily the food itself.
References:
Warner. “Heart of the Problem.”
Small. “Food, identity and humoral theory in early modern England: a case-study from Leicestershire.” The University of Leicester.
