Sylvester Graham he was a Presbyterian minister who belonged to the temperance movements of the first third of the 19th century in the US -those that in 1920 managed to get Prohibition approved-. While his fellow reformers dealt with social and humanitarian issues such as alcohol consumption, women's rights, or slavery, Graham focused on health and sex. American society was in full decline and Americans were sick, and the symptoms were very clear:the masturbation of their young people (you know, because of the blindness and the danger to health due to the immaturity of the sexual organs), the relationships sex without the purpose of procreation (more than once a month was depraved) and the consumption of meat, spices and alcohol that corrupted the body. In fact, he found a direct relationship between meat consumption and carnal impulses?
Sylvester Graham
Inspired by his religious ardor to save humanity and his magnificent oratory - typical of today's televangelists - Graham encouraged people to take control of their health by repressing their carnal impulses and drastically changing their meals… the Graham diet . This diet consisted mainly of fresh fruits and vegetables, wholemeal bread, and cereals, excluding meat and spices; some foods such as milk, cheese, butter and eggs were allowed as long as they were consumed in moderation. It is true that he introduced another series of measures that were not bad for American society, such as bathing regularly, brushing your teeth, getting fresh air and exercising every day.
There would still be another food that would suffer the attacks of this visionary, bread . In his Treatise on bread and its manufacture (1830), Graham denounced the low quality of the bread that was consumed. Rapid industrialization and urbanization had caused families to change their eating habits; not because of the type of food, but because of its origin:the factories and not the kitchens themselves. And the white bread was the worst of them. Being produced in a chain by factories - a business, Graham recalled - the flour was cut (adulterated) with chalk and, furthermore, being so white was unequivocal proof of the use of additives harmful to health. So, Graham developed his own process for making whole wheat flour, which he used for Graham bread -today the Graham crackers are marketed , cookies that are made with Graham flour (Graham flour).
And what did Americans think of this visionary? Despite the fact that most ignored him -well, butchers and bakers tried to lynch him on more than one occasion-, a kind of fanatic following was created around this character who followed his guidelines to the letter... the grahamites . However, Graham flour was successful, even some establishments, such as restaurants or guest houses, stated in their windows that they used Graham flour as if it were a Michelin star. Graham always thought that his was a divine mission, and for this reason he never wanted to patent his flour or take economic advantage. In fact, financial problems were a constant in his life. At the end of the forties, his radicalism was separating many Grahamites on his side and decided to withdraw from circulation. Alone, he died in 1851 at the age of 57.
If he were to raise his head today, Graham would taste bittersweet:sweet because he was the forerunner of vegetarianism (not for the reasons he would have liked) and very bitter because his flour is used to make a mass-produced cookie additives. Of course, in 1878 the doctor John Harvey Kellogg , a disciple of Graham, created a grahamite cereal which he called Granola . Following his success, Kellogg formulated his recipe for corn flakes (corn flakes) and thus launched the American breakfast industry.
Kellogg ran a sanatorium in Battle Creek (Michigan, USA) in which he followed the instructions of his teacher to the letter. In fact, he made the corn flakes for children's breakfast because it would help them fight the impulses of "self-abuse" (that's what he called masturbation). Kellogg worked to rehabilitate masturbators, often using extreme measures:circumcision, tying their hands, covering their genitals with cages, electric shocks...
One remedy that is almost always effective in young boys is circumcision, especially when there is some degree of phimosis. The operation must be performed by a surgeon without administering an anesthetic, as the pain of the operation is brief and it will have a salutary effect on the mind, especially if it can be connected with the idea of punishment. Pain that continues for several weeks interrupts practice, and if it had not become a habit, it could be forgotten […] Another treatment that we have used successfully consists of the application of one or more silver thread sutures of in such a way as to avoid an erection.
And for women…
The application of pure carbolic acid (phenol) or other irritants to the clitoris is an excellent means of avoiding arousal, as well as genital mutilation…
So, if you follow a vegetarian diet or eat cereal for breakfast... repress your carnal impulses, sinner!
Sources:The Atlantic, Atlas Obscura