(P02-041-25) Empire on a Plate: Ottoman Cuisine and Modern Nutrition Science

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the nutritional status of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled between 1299 and 1923. The first five hundred years of the period are considered the Classical Period (C), while the 19^th century, when significant changes occurred, is considered the Modernizing Period (M). The hypothesis that the possible menus created for the two periods are healthy for the Ottoman society has been adopted.

Methods: The anecdotal case study model was adopted. In the first stage, 1156 foods were listed for the C and 883 for the M, and 5 experts were asked to make choices. Then, 10 menus were determined for both periods based on these selections. The nutritional value calculations of the determined menus; the rates of meeting the daily needs of a person between the ages of 19-50 were evaluated based on the reference values for Türkiye.

Results: When considered for the Ottoman period, menus with high energy and nutritional values, and therefore some of the meals, may not pose a problem for active individuals who ate two meals a day. However, when considered outside the context of the period and for most passive individuals today, it may cause serious health problems. It is read from the sources that people in Ottoman society found health through nutrition and tried to regulate their eating and drinking according to humors. It can be said that with this mentality, kitchens functioned as pharmacies. It is accepted that serious health problems such as stroke, abscess, tumor, heart failure, heart attack, pneumonia, tuberculosis, kidney failure and diabetes are directly or indirectly related to nutrition. Although it is not possible to verify some of them with the available documents, it is mentioned in the sources that some Ottoman sultans lost their lives due to such reasons. Some of the C menus and some of the M menus contain more nutrients than the other. Therefore, it is not possible to distinguish the C-M periods in terms of nutritional value.

Conclusions: The changes in social life practices such as the development of industry, the acceleration of communication and transportation may recall the inference that the individual slowed down in daily life and the energy burning ability of the M people began to decrease. The M foods included in the study started to make the Ottoman society heavier, that people's body weights increased.

Funding Sources: TÜBİTAK