Episode 84
The Steak That Tried to Cure Everything
Who Was Dr. Salisbury?
First, let’s meet the man behind the meat.
Dr. James Henry Salisbury was a doctor during the American Civil War. He worked hard to understand why so many soldiers got sick. He noticed that stomach problems like diarrhea and dysentery were everywhere in the army camps.
Because of this, he believed the problem came from food. But instead of looking at germs, he blamed vegetables.
That’s right—he thought vegetables caused disease. To children everywhere, he became a hero. To science? Not so much.
What Did He Believe?
Dr. Salisbury believed that vegetables and starchy foods rotted in the gut. He said they caused inflammation and sickness. He thought the best way to stop disease was to eat meat—and only meat.
So, he created a special food: the Salisbury steak.
This steak wasn’t fancy. He ground up lean beef, shaped it into a patty, and told people to eat it three times a day. With it, they could drink only hot water or black coffee.
No fruit.
Absolutely no sugar.
No grains.
And definitely no vegetables.
Why Did It Seem to Work?
At first, some people felt better on the Salisbury diet. But why?
Here’s the real reason: it wasn’t the meat. It was the boiling.
Back then, most water carried bacteria. That bacteria caused all kinds of sickness. When soldiers boiled coffee, they accidentally killed the germs in the water. When they ate fully cooked meat, they avoided raw, dirty food.
So yes, people improved. But not because vegetables were bad.
They got better because boiled water and cooked meat killed bacteria.
What Did He Get Wrong?
Now, let’s talk about what he missed.
- ❌ He didn’t understand germs or bacteria
- ❌ He thought fiber was dangerous
- ❌ He blamed plants, even though they weren’t the problem
- ❌ He didn’t test his ideas—he just believed them
He meant well, but he built a health plan on the wrong cause.
Instead of fixing the real issue, he created a food myth that lasted for years.
Why Does This Still Matter?
Even though Dr. Salisbury lived over 150 years ago, his ideas are back—on TikTok.
Some people today say meat is the only healthy food. They avoid fruits, grains, and vegetables. They blame plants for everything from bloating to brain fog.
Sound familiar?
They’re repeating Salisbury’s mistake. They’re trusting old beliefs instead of new science.
What Science Says Now
Let’s be clear. Science today tells a different story.
- ✅ Vegetables help your gut, heart, and brain
- ✅ Fiber feeds healthy gut bacteria
- ✅ A variety of foods lowers your risk of disease
- ❌ Eating only meat can cause nutrient problems and long-term risks
Instead of eating like it’s 1863, you can follow a plan that supports your body and your taste buds.
The best example? The Mediterranean diet—with healthy fats, lean protein, vegetables, fruits, and yes… even a little red wine.
In Summary
Dr. Salisbury had a strong idea—but he missed the mark.
He didn’t know about bacteria. He thought vegetables were the enemy. He gave us Salisbury steak, but also gave us a lasting food myth.
So next time someone says vegetables cause disease, just smile and say:
“We’ve been down that road. It was dusty, undercooked, and came with black coffee.”
Transcript
>> Dr. Terry Simpson: There was a time not long ago when
Speaker:vegetables were accused of everything short of
Speaker:witchcraft. They were blamed for arthritis,
Speaker:brain fog and moral decay. And
Speaker:the man leading that charge wore a white coat.
Speaker:On, uh, today's Fork U, we're introducing you to Dr.
Speaker:James Henry Salisbury, a Civil War
Speaker:physician, amateur chemist, and the patron
Speaker:saint of, uh, meat based diets.
Speaker:I'm your Chief Medical Explanationist, Dr. Terry
Speaker:Simpson. And this is Fork U
Speaker:Fork University, where we bust myths,
Speaker:explain medicine, and occasionally resurrect the
Speaker:ghost of a doctor who thought toast and beef
Speaker:patties were the path to human salvation.
Speaker:Dr. James Henry Salisbury wasn't some fringe
Speaker:quack. He was well educated, well
Speaker:intentioned, man of medicine in the 19th century,
Speaker:a time when microscopes were new, anesthesia
Speaker:was optional, and science was often built
Speaker:on bold certainty rather than pesky
Speaker:evidence. During the Civil War, Salisbury
Speaker:noticed a problem. Soldiers were
Speaker:constantly sick. Diarrhea,
Speaker:dysentery, fevers, and chronic gut issues
Speaker:ran rampant through the ranks. More
Speaker:soldiers died from illness than the
Speaker:battlefield. His diagnosis? The
Speaker:vegetables did it. To the delight of children
Speaker:across the nation, Salisbury believed that starches
Speaker:and plant matter rotted in the gut, created
Speaker:internal decay and disease. And
Speaker:so he set out to eliminate them
Speaker:with a vengeance. Salisbury's solution was
Speaker:simple minced beef shaped into a
Speaker:patty, cooked thoroughly and eaten
Speaker:three times a day. This, he believed, was the
Speaker:most digestible and pure form of nourishment.
Speaker:He paired this with hot water or boiled coffee. And
Speaker:a little else. No fruit, no sugar,
Speaker:no grains, and certainly
Speaker:no vegetables. What he served was basically
Speaker:a carnivore diet with battlefield flair. A
Speaker:meal plan for the man who thinks ketchup is too spicy.
Speaker:This meat patty would, of course, become the now legendary
Speaker:Salisbury steak, a, uh, staple of TV dinners and
Speaker:hospital trades for decades to come.
Speaker:Now, here's where Dr. Salisbury did something rather
Speaker:profound, albeit by accident. He
Speaker:observed that when soldiers drank boiled coffee, their
Speaker:symptoms often improved. He also noticed
Speaker:fewer gut problems when they avoided raw produce.
Speaker:But instead of discovering the germ theory, which was
Speaker:still in its infancy, he blamed plants and
Speaker:starches. What actually worked was the
Speaker:boiling. Boiled coffee sterilized the
Speaker:contaminated water. Cooked meat killed
Speaker:waterborne pathogens. And he didn't cure
Speaker:dysentery with beef. He cured it with
Speaker:heat. But rather than realize this, he doubled
Speaker:down and declared vegetables were the enemy of public health.
Speaker:Again, to the absolute joy of school children
Speaker:everywhere. Let's give credit where it's due.
Speaker:Salisbury was observing patterns. He believed in diet
Speaker:as a form of treatment, and he emphasized sanitation
Speaker:long before it was popular. But like many
Speaker:before and after him, he mistook correlation
Speaker:for causation. And armed with the microscope and
Speaker:moral certainty, he went to nutritional war.
Speaker:He never discovered bacteria, never recognized
Speaker:fiber, and never questioned why so many of his
Speaker:patients were living in filthy conditions. In
Speaker:short, he mistook the symptom for the sin
Speaker:and prescribed salvation in a stake.
Speaker:Though Salisbury himself eventually faded from
Speaker:memory, his ideas live on. Sliced,
Speaker:grilled and hashtagged. The Atkins diet,
Speaker:the carnivore crowd, TikTok, uh, nutritionist eating
Speaker:raw liver by the pound. They all echo his
Speaker:distrust of, uh, plants, his glorification of meats,
Speaker:and his overconfidence in a single
Speaker:macronutrient salvation.
Speaker:Salisbury thought he found the universal cure in a
Speaker:beef patty. His modern followers think they've
Speaker:evolved. They haven't. They've just added
Speaker:branding and a ring light.
Speaker:We know now that fiber is essential to gut health, that
Speaker:vegetables reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular
Speaker:disease, and cognitive decline, that high consumption
Speaker:of red and processed meat is linked to colon cancer and
Speaker:heart disease, and that diets based on
Speaker:diversity, not dogma, uh, are
Speaker:consistently the most effective. So if
Speaker:you still think vegetables are poison and steak is the cure,
Speaker:you're not on the cutting edge. You're just eating like
Speaker:it's 1863 with none of the
Speaker:context and all of the constipation.
Speaker:This episode was written and researched by me, Dr.
Speaker:Terry Simpson. More on this and other
Speaker:dietary myths can be found on the blog associated with
Speaker:this, uh, @yourdoctorsorders.com and
Speaker:forcu.com and while I am
Speaker:a board certified physician, I am not your
Speaker:physician. If you're thinking about going full
Speaker:carnivore or living off the Salisbury steak in
Speaker:boiled water, please consult with your doctor
Speaker:and your registered dietitian. Not a
Speaker:chiropractor, not a Civil War reenactor,
Speaker:and not some guy who grills spleens on Instagram.
Speaker:All things audio and distribution were handled by my friends at
Speaker:Simpler media and the pod God himself,
Speaker:Mr. Evotera. Have a good week,
Speaker:everybody.
Speaker:Hey, Evo, do you think Salisbury would
Speaker:have lasted a day on TikTok before getting roasted by the
Speaker:vegan influencers?
Speaker:>> Speaker B: I'm pretty sure that in the 1860s, anybody calling themselves
Speaker:a vegan influencer would have been burned at the stake.
Speaker:Lights. Uh, not the steak, the Salisbury steak, but the steak
Speaker:that you put. You know what I mean? Yeah.
