Given the discussion about diabetes treatment on this forum earlier, I thought this might be a place to ask something. Note, I am not looking for a specific medical diagnosis, but am interested in opinions from some of the folks here with a medical/biology background.
I am working on a biography of a man from the 19th century, a German immigrant in the US. (I have to be a little vague as I’d like to keep some privacy for myself. The book should be out in 2016). He was generally in pretty good health, and lived to a ripe old age. He liked going to central Europe to take “the cure.” Usually it was a water cure, but at least once he took an Air-Bath treatment.
"Taking the cure" seemed to help. His medical complaints were vague, not unusual for the time, but included what we would describe as lethargy, constipation, and dizziness. His doctor blamed overwork. That’s not unreasonable as he did work very long days for years. He had no heart problems that I know of, but he may (MAY!) have had a type of malaria as a young man in the American Midwest. He “worked it off” by working on a sailing ship in the tropics for awhile.
What caught my attention was his complaints of dizziness when he was about 60 years old. The dizziness seemed to be (he thought) connected to diet. He had to stick to bland foods. In one case he complained that he had a beer and some Swiss cheese and the dizziness returned. He blamed the cheese.
He was a moderate beer drinker, and had a couple bottles of lager every day, usually served warm. I have found no accounts of him ever drinking to excess and he disliked distilled liquors. The beer he drank would have had an alcohol content of about 5-6% ABV (I know which brand he liked and roughly what its alcohol content was in the period). There is no record of any allergies. He was a non-smoker. FWIW, his mother probably died of typhus and his father from "Consumption" (so probably TB). He was never overweight and walked a lot everyday (including using a standing desk). He wore glasses later in life, and indeed got out of the draft because he had one "weak eye."
What types of things might have caused dizziness that could be controlled by diet? Or could his dizziness have been caused by something else and the change in diet was not a factor?
I know this is really, really vague. I apologize. His medical records are long, long gone. All I have to go on are his unpublished memoirs and letters plus a few family recollections from decades later. But the bit about “I got dizzy from Swiss cheese” caught my attention as it seemed so odd.
Thanks for any insights or ideas of what else I should look for as I read further...
I am working on a biography of a man from the 19th century, a German immigrant in the US. (I have to be a little vague as I’d like to keep some privacy for myself. The book should be out in 2016). He was generally in pretty good health, and lived to a ripe old age. He liked going to central Europe to take “the cure.” Usually it was a water cure, but at least once he took an Air-Bath treatment.
"Taking the cure" seemed to help. His medical complaints were vague, not unusual for the time, but included what we would describe as lethargy, constipation, and dizziness. His doctor blamed overwork. That’s not unreasonable as he did work very long days for years. He had no heart problems that I know of, but he may (MAY!) have had a type of malaria as a young man in the American Midwest. He “worked it off” by working on a sailing ship in the tropics for awhile.
What caught my attention was his complaints of dizziness when he was about 60 years old. The dizziness seemed to be (he thought) connected to diet. He had to stick to bland foods. In one case he complained that he had a beer and some Swiss cheese and the dizziness returned. He blamed the cheese.
He was a moderate beer drinker, and had a couple bottles of lager every day, usually served warm. I have found no accounts of him ever drinking to excess and he disliked distilled liquors. The beer he drank would have had an alcohol content of about 5-6% ABV (I know which brand he liked and roughly what its alcohol content was in the period). There is no record of any allergies. He was a non-smoker. FWIW, his mother probably died of typhus and his father from "Consumption" (so probably TB). He was never overweight and walked a lot everyday (including using a standing desk). He wore glasses later in life, and indeed got out of the draft because he had one "weak eye."
What types of things might have caused dizziness that could be controlled by diet? Or could his dizziness have been caused by something else and the change in diet was not a factor?
I know this is really, really vague. I apologize. His medical records are long, long gone. All I have to go on are his unpublished memoirs and letters plus a few family recollections from decades later. But the bit about “I got dizzy from Swiss cheese” caught my attention as it seemed so odd.
Thanks for any insights or ideas of what else I should look for as I read further...
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