nutrient rich diet

from andrewducker, an article on health Great Britain's mid-Victorian period (1850-1872) talks about nutrient rich diets of the middle and working class:

Once those vulnerable childhood years were passed, mid-Victorian life expectancy was not dramatically different from our own. Starting at age five, it averaged 75 for men and 73 for women (reflecting the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth). This compares surprisingly well with present figures, averaged at 79 for men and 84 for women, and indicates that our ‘better’ life expectancy at birth mostly reflects improved neo-natal care.

(...)Our study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (here, here, and here) shows that the majority of the Victorian urban poor consumed diets which were limited, but contained extremely high nutrient density. Bread could be expensive but onions, watercress, cabbage, and fruit like apples and cherries were all cheap and did not need to be carefully budgeted for. Beetroot was eaten all year round; Jerusalem artichokes were often home-grown. Fish such as herrings and meat in some form (scraps, chops and even joints) were common too. All in all, a reversion to mid-Victorian nutritional values would significantly improve health expectancy today.

One of the authors, Paul Clayton, has a webpage that talks about diet (and much resembles Pollan's “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”) and an ideal supplement regimen. He looks like a bright guy.

Last week I made some dark bread, with a very dark stout beer, molasses and a bit of cocoa. It was marvelous. At the end, as it was getting a bit dried out, I made a 8X8 strata with a wonderful swiss cheese, mushrooms and the last of the garden broccoli. Mike doesn't like cheese, and the flavors were too intense for the boys, so I got to eat it all. :) I've been eating it for lunch the last couple days and this is the last piece. *sigh*