This is an old story being resurrected wiht new data:
A new study into the diet of ancient Israel has revealed that far from being 'the land of milk and honey', its inhabitants suffered from the lack of a balanced diet.
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Unhealthy Diet in Ancient Near East
Category: Archaeology • Origin of Agriculture
Posted on: January 16, 2009 8:42 PM, by Greg Laden
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Comments
I wish I could recall where I saw it claimed that "the land of milk and honey" was a euphemism/marketing slogan for arid rocky hillsides good only for goatherding and beekeeping.
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | January 16, 2009 10:32 PM
Makes sense. In the Bible bread is considered a food of prime importance. But it's not the rye/dark bread of Europe -- if you go to the Middle East today you'll still see a lot of pita -- which is quite nutrient poor. So if that's the basis of your diet you'd probably have a lot of nutritional deficiencies.
Posted by: Michael | January 16, 2009 11:58 PM
I recommend sending this to all your Seventh Day Adventist friends and acquaintances. Too bad Ellen G. White didn't have access to this information back in her day.
Posted by: catman | January 17, 2009 11:19 AM
I guess if a deity said, "Get up and go to the land I am telling you about" -- it's rocky and has a ot of desert and little water and, btw, you'll be fighting with everyone around you for the bit of rock & desert, it wouldn't go over too well. Milk and honey sounds a lot better.
Posted by: Lilian Nattel | January 17, 2009 12:38 PM
I don't get it. Milk and honey is not a healthy, balanced diet.
Posted by: Virgil Samms | January 18, 2009 12:02 PM
Good shout, catman. In particular, forward it to all the morans who sent you the 'obama is the antichrist' guff.
It's the evidence, stupid.
Posted by: eddie | January 18, 2009 12:49 PM
It was supposed to be "Milk and Honey Nut Cheerios", which is a part of a balanced diet. Damned translation errors!
Posted by: chancelikely | January 20, 2009 6:11 PM
Contemporary Israeli cuisine is probably not the healthiest either, there are dishes based on chicken skin, which is one of the fattiest foods you can have. As for honey, it is very healthy, yes very high in sugar but low in glycemic index- 55 and one tablespoon of honey will make a big difference to your health as they say. With better blood sugar control, it can even help you lose weight despite high calorie content. But not more than one spoon a day.
Posted by: kate | September 3, 2010 11:50 AM