Sad story-- but brought a smile
to my face , by the kindness of those fulfilling a dream.
I think it is hard to know what people were eating. I would like to think we know but do we really?
As for fruit, IMHO the most common nutrients of fruits can be met via vegies: leaves, roots, herbs, etc. Somewhere along the timeline we ( AMericans) changed our food consumption. As hunter gatherers, we ate fresh grassfed meats and gathered fresh perishables as well as those that could be dried, or mixed with fat. Ithink about the when I walk around my small farm, nibbling on many kinds of vegetable matter, some cultivated, some volunteers, some wild....... what happened to create the mono-culture when corn is king, ( or wheat).
By about 1925 the native people of the Alakan Islands ate either traditional foods, or that food supplemented by tins from the AMerican government. The latter had twice as much tooth decay. The difference seems to be whatever was being supplied to them via the govenment. The cavities, imo, was the beginning of a slow death.
A slow death that we all experience NOW if we have not wised up to the benefits of carefully choosing our food, given the glut of options, most of which are under the header " slow death".
ALso read about a woman who promoted sprouting during the winter to provide good vitamins in an otherwise poor diet---this was the 40's onward in the cities, like Boston.
Just makes me think that quality vegetables are underrated for good health. Fruit? Fruit is a bonus. ANd may have key phytochemicals, flavinoids, etc, that are the icing on the cake.
Of course today, much of this food is covered with pesticides and herbicides........ sheesh....... are we going to win??