The Allinson Vegetarian Cookery Book

Thomas R. Allinson

Thomas Richard Allinson (29 March 1858 – 29 November 1918) was an English physician, dietetic reformer, businessman, journalist and vegetarianism activist.

Biography

He was a proponent of wholemeal (whole grain) bread consumption. His name is still used today for a bread famous in Europe, Allinson bread. Allinson was born in the Hulme district of Manchester on 29 March 1858. At fifteen, he went to school in Lancaster and Manchester and began work as a chemist’s assistant. With the money he saved and financial help from his stepfather, he could attend the extramural medical school in Edinburgh, which was less expensive than the University medical school. He graduated as a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (LRCP, LRCS) in 1879. After assistantships in Hull and the East End of London, he established his practice in Marylebone in 1885.

During the 1880s, Allinson developed his theory of medicine, which he called Hygienic Medicine. Instead of orthodox medicine, he promoted health through diet, exercise, fresh air, and bathing. He advocated a vegetarian diet and the avoidance of alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea. He significantly promoted the benefits of stone-ground wholemeal pieces of bread. He opposed the use of drugs by doctors, many of which at that time were ineffective and toxic, and was a lifelong opponent of compulsory vaccination against smallpox. This approach became known as Allinsonian Medicine. He became medical editor of the Weekly Times and Echo in 1885, for which he wrote over 1000 articles during his life, as well as answering readers’ medical queries.

He wrote several books and pamphlets directed at a general rather than medical readership, including A System of Hygienic Medicine (1886), How to Avoid Vaccination (1888), The Advantage of Wholemeal Bread, Medical Essays and A Book for Married Women (1894) and books on stomach diseases, consumption (tuberculosis), rheumatism, vegetarian cooking, and healthy diet. He gave frequent public lectures throughout the country, propounding his ideas. In one of his books, The Advantages of Wholemeal Bread (1889), he proposed that wholemeal bread was healthier than white (or refined) bread. He believed that smoking was a cause of cancer, which was a radical idea at the time. Allinson regularly sought publicity for his theories and practices in the press and directed his energies not just toward his colleagues but directly to the public. To demonstrate the suitability of a vegetarian diet for strenuous exercise, he walked from Edinburgh to London in 1891.

He walked for 15 consecutive days, averaging 28.5 miles (45.9 km) daily, arriving in London on Saturday, September 12. In 1888, Allinson married Anna Pulvermacher, an artist who exhibited at the Royal Academy; they had one daughter and three sons, including Bertrand P. Allinson and Adrian Allinson. His views often brought him into conflict with the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the General Medical Council, particularly his opposition to doctors’ frequent use of toxic drugs, his opposition to vaccination, and his self-promotion in the press. In 1892, he was struck off the Medical Register. Despite this, he continued practising and maintaining England’s most significant medical practice. Also, at this time, he was expelled from the Vegetarian Society because of his views on birth control. Gandhi, who was studying law in Britain at the time and was also a member of the Vegetarian Society, spoke in favour of Allinson’s right to support contraception despite being opposed to it.