Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
Who doesn’t love a scrumptious, crispy Graham Cracker, perfectly sweet and made for the nearest cup of cold milk? What’s not to love?
Well, if you were the creator of the Graham Cracker, you would roll over in your grave, assuming you were dead. Sylvester Graham is the inventor of the cracker, just not the one you are used to eating. His cracker was definitely crispy, but that is where the similarities end. Graham’s cracker was not processed, probably had more hand-crushed bran than flour, and it definitely had no sugar.
Yet, Graham was immensely popular in the 1800s, famous for lecturing and writing about healthy living and eating, all of which were done with much temperance. He believed the physical and spiritual life could only be balanced if people controlled their search for pleasure and excessive lifestyles.
Graham was likely the most popular person to teach against the eating of meat, stressing the need for vegetables and healthy grains. His popularity was such that boarding houses sprang up across the country that featured Graham- approved diets for his followers.
His diet plans were incorporated into numerous college menus, though those desiring to taste and enjoy their food would provide some meat and potatoes at alternative locations. Graham even warned that eating spicy foods would lead to greater levels of temptation.
His rampant popularity was propelled by modern technological advances that made newspapers and other publications the rage of middle-class society. Ralph Waldo Emerson coined Graham as “the bran prophet.”
Not everyone was a fan of Graham, especially those profiting from unhealthy eating habits, specifically those centered around fatty meats, which were the staple of the day.
The medical profession was also enraged at his teachings. Interestingly, doctors still saw leeching as a good thing during Graham’s day. Though he was often described by critics as a “quack,” many of his ideas are still popular today, such as the need for health food stores and eating whole grains. The Kellogg family made use of some of Graham’s teaching in their cereal production. In many respects, Graham is partly responsible for the enduring success of the cereal industry, though I doubt Fruity Pebbles would have ever touched his lips.
However, as the fear of death overtook him and his health dwindled, Graham took extreme measures that were contrary to his teachings. Doctors advised him that eating meat, drinking alcohol and enjoying the occasional opiate enema would perhaps make him “fit as a fiddle.” Graham reluctantly followed their advice.
When he died on Sept. 11, 1851, the cause of death included complications from the opium-laced enemas, among other things. Some believe his tarnished reputation is somewhat why today’s beloved Graham Cracker is so sweetly processed, something he would never have tolerated.
Though history indicates Graham was an unusual figure, touting strange ideas in some areas, he was right about many things that are helping people live healthier lives today.
Should you wish to visit his home in Northhampton, Mass., you can’t, because it is now the site of Sylvester’s Restaurant, but I hear the crackers are great.