The Art of Living in Australia

Description

Unique historical importance and modern appeal So far this year, the Mediterranean diet has been touted as able to lower your cholesterol, reduce pain, increase your lifespan, ease depression and 'cure' ADHD. Whatever the real story might be, it's clear that eating more fruit and vegetables, and less meat and processed foods, provides real benefit to health. In Australia, this story begins with Philip E. Muskett, a colony-born physician with a calling to improve the health and wellbeing of new colonists who were struggling with the climate and lifestyle of the land Down Under. Muskett's seminal work was published in 1893. The Art of Living in Australia is an appeal to white Australians to embrace a southern European approach to food and climate. Now, a new edition of The Art of Living in Australia, complete with index and original facsimiles, is available from Sydney University Press. This Australian classic offers a unique view on the daily lives of post-colonial Australians - and some anachronistic gems! - while also delivering over 300 Mediterranean-style recipes that predate the modern trend for healthy and natural eating by over 100 years.

Philip E. Muskett was an Australian-born medical practitioner and health reformer. Born in Collingwood in 1857, he studied medicine at universities in Melbourne, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and then practised in London before returning to Melbourne. In 1882 he took up a position at Sydney Hospital, and remained an honorary surgeon there after going into private practice. As many of his patients were children, he became interested in infant health and mortality, and particularly the role of nutrition in preventing illness. This led to The Art of Living in Australia, published in 1893, his call to the Australian population to rethink all aspects of their physical life, and embrace Australia's 'Mediterranean' climate. His recommendations included best practices for ablution, bedroom ventilation, appropriate clothing for hot and cold weather, diet and exercise.