[Sca-cooks] SAD

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Brigi/ sarah dickie <the_raven53 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>I was reading an article in 'Psychology Today" on
>Seasonal Affliction Disorder.  And the main cure for
>it was vitamins.

I there anyway you can synopsize this? What vitamins? I get very very SAD :-)
(and a good reason for me not to live anywhere winter nights begin
before 4:30 PM. Heck, the SF Bay Area is really too far North, and
way too cold for me (temperatures rarely over 75 degrees F.), but it
*feels* like home.

Right now i mostly have "natural daylight" bulbs in my house, which
may be helping a little, but for the most part i don't feel like the
light is quite bright enough...

More light, more light...

>This got me thinking.  Was there
>such a problem in the medeaval diate?  (sorry I am an
>awful speller)

I have no evidence, but just guessing wildly, i'd guess yes, some
individuals had a similar problem in Medieval times as some
individuals have now.

>and did the dieate really change from
>summer to winter?  especially in more northernly
>regions like Briton.

Everyone's diet would would have to change with the seasons. Anywhere
and everywhere. They only had seasonal foods and that included meats,
along side the fruits and vegetables. No cans, no freezers, no
refrigerators in the summer. You ate what was in season where you
were.

There was some trade in some foodstuffs - but mostly things that
would travel and not spoil, such as *dried* fruits, nuts, spices, and
grains.

Things like fish couldn't go far, because the fish were dead.

Other meats could travel, because the animals were alive and wouldn't
be slaughtered until they were to be sold by a butcher in a city or
for a feast at an estate.

Fruits and vegetables are quite variable.

Since fruits would be picked ripe, unlike the fruits of today, they
wouldn't last terribly long, but could be transported some distance.
Some fruits store for a while, such as apples and pears, and quinces
store even longer.

Many vegetables last longer than most fruits - and roots vegetables
and cabbage would be what you'd be eating during the winter.

Seasonal foods would be eaten everywhere, even at the tip of the boot
of Italy, not just in northerly climes, because they were without
modern agriculture and modern transport and modern storage, and there
are very few foods that grow all year round.

I lived for several years in Indonesia which is practically on the
equator and is basically summer all year, and they have seasonal
foods there, too, especially the fruits.

Anahita