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posted by Edward Casanova | Dec 06, 2019

As I previously talked in a post, living life as a gladiator was a harsh business.

Whether you were a slave or someone looking for fame and fortune, you needed to endure the physical and mental pain require to succeed in the training. [1]

Needless to say, you should also consider the severity of the wounds that may have been inflicted on these warriors as their preparation required intense commitment towards and unflinching death. [2]

In order to recover as quickly as possible from those, an optimal diet high in complex carbs should have play a big part in their training according to this study. [3]

22 gladiators were analyzed. All individuals consumed C3 plants like wheat and barley as staple food.

All samples were cleaned with distilled water and ground to bone powder.

Their bones were examined using a stable light isotope ratio analysis of bone collagen which is an established method in bioarchaeology. It reveals important information about nutrition, life history, and migration in past populations. [4, 5]

It is also worth knowing that stable carbon isotope ratios in bone collagen were analyzed to differentiate between individuals with higher intake of C3 (e.g. wheat, barley) and C4 (e.g. millet, maize) plants which differ in their photosynthetic pathway. [6]

On the other side, stable nitrogen isotopes in bone collagen reflect the intake of animal protein, especially meat and dairy products. Like stable carbon isotope ratios, the d15N values also give information about the trophic level. [7]

Fueled by grains and…

All individuals consumed C3 plants like wheat and barley as staple food. Pliny the Elder reported in his Naturalis historia that barley (hordearii), a C3 plant, was a main component of the gladiators nutrition. [8]

Also, millet was an important nutrition crop in Eurasia and its consumption has already been verified in several ancient societies by stable isotope investigations. [9]

The scientists could also detect a frequent consumption of pulses, which seems to have been their main source of protein (Nitrogen).

Peas and lentils were extensively cultivated since the Early-Middle Imperial Roman time from 25BC until 300AD. [10]

Old-school supplementation for strong bones

Besides having a diet mostly based on whole grains and a high share of vegetables their Calcium levels were particularly high. This is surprising considering that they weren’t consuming dairy every day or at all. [11]

There was evidence of increased bone mineral density and bone formation for bone sites under high mechanical stress, perhaps due to nature of their training.

So, what was their secret juice for an accelerated Calcium metabolism?

In a study on the non-linearity of bone Sr/Ca and diet, describe bivilviki, a traditional Hopi food made from corn to which ash of the salt bush plant is added. [11]

Plant ash is known as a culinary spice and also as a medical remedy in many cultures. It is frequently mentioned as pyxis in Roman texts.

At the end of the day, even if they weren’t eating the luxurious meat only meant for the high social classes, these guys were literally killing it at the arena.

What do you think?

Thanks for reading. If you liked this post, upvote and share it with your friends. Feel free to curate it, as long as you include the original authors and follow me for more fitness wisdom.

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Next: Gladiators: The High-Performance Assassins

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References:

1. Futrell, Alison (2006). A Sourcebook on the Roman Games. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-1568-8.
2. Futrell 2006, p. 137. Futrell is citing Quintilian's Oratorical Institute, 5.13.54; Futrell 2006, p. 140. Futrell is citing Cicero's Tuscullan Disputations, 2.17; Futrell 2006, p. 139. Futrell is citing Epictetus's Discourse, 3.15.
3. Stable isotope and trace element studies on gladiators and contemporary romans from Ephesus (Turkey, 2nd and 3rd Ct. AD) - Implications for differences in diet, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110489 & ISSN: 19326203
4. Ambrose SH (1993) Isotopic analysis of paleodiets: Methodological and interpretive considerations. In: Sandford MK, editor. Investigations of Ancient Human Tissue: Chemical Analyses in Anthropology. Langhorne, PA: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers. pp.59–130.
5. DeNiro MJ, Epstein S (1978) Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42: 495–506.
6. Lee-Thorp JA, Sealy JC, van der Merwe NJ (1989) Stable Carbon Isotope Ratio Differences Between Bone Collagen and Bone Apatite, and their Relationship to Diet. Journal of Archaeological Science 16: 585–599.
7. Bocherens H, Drucker D (2003) Trophic level isotopic enrichment of carbon and nitrogen in bone collagen: Case studies from recent and ancient terrestrial ecosystems. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 13: 46–53.
8. Junkelmann M (2008) Gladiatoren. Das Spiel mit Tod. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern.
9. Bocherens H, Mashkour M, Drucker DG, Moussa I, Billiou D (2006) Stable isotope evidence for palaeodiets in southern Turkmenistan during Historical period and Iron Age. Journal of Archaeological Science 33: 253–264.
10. Fuller BT, De Cupere B, Marinova E, Van Neer W, Waelkens M, et al. (2012) Isotopic reconstruction of human diet and animal husbandry practices during the Classical-Hellenistic, imperial, and Byzantine periods at Sagalassos, Turkey. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 149: 157–171.
11. Burton JH, Wright LE (1995) Nonlinearity in the relationship between bone Sr/Ca and diet: paleodietary implications. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 96: 273–282.

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