BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Dieting hope for monastic elixir
Rated • 2 reviews • botany, medical science, medieval history • bbc.co.uk
From the page: "Archaeologists at the 12th Century monastery at Soutra Aisle have discovered that the Augustinian monks chewed the bitter vetch plant to stave off hunger.
The area's hospital, set up in about 1160, was one of the most important medical centres in Scotland.
Dr Brian Moffat, the director of the Soutra Aisle dig, said there was evidence that the monks were cutting up the tubers of the plant, lathyrus linifolius, to make a potion.
It is believed this was used to help their patients lose weight or cope with the effects of a failed harvest.
Dr Moffat said: "These tiny tubers are eaten two or three at a time. Chewed, they taste of leathery liquorice.
"Quite simply, according to all the reports we've compiled, around 300, people forget to eat and drink.
"They feel no need to eat and drink and this lasts for weeks, sometimes into months."
He said there was also evidence that the monks treated cryptosporidium food poisoning with blaeberries, could induce women in difficult childbirth and used hemlock as an anaesthetic in more difficult operations. "
The area's hospital, set up in about 1160, was one of the most important medical centres in Scotland.
Dr Brian Moffat, the director of the Soutra Aisle dig, said there was evidence that the monks were cutting up the tubers of the plant, lathyrus linifolius, to make a potion.
It is believed this was used to help their patients lose weight or cope with the effects of a failed harvest.
Dr Moffat said: "These tiny tubers are eaten two or three at a time. Chewed, they taste of leathery liquorice.
"Quite simply, according to all the reports we've compiled, around 300, people forget to eat and drink.
"They feel no need to eat and drink and this lasts for weeks, sometimes into months."
He said there was also evidence that the monks treated cryptosporidium food poisoning with blaeberries, could induce women in difficult childbirth and used hemlock as an anaesthetic in more difficult operations. "