--- description: Literary giant Walt Whitman was an early advocate of what today sounds's like the popular paleo diet title: Walt Whitman Was Into the Paleo Diet Before It Was a Thing image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb5544894f948d58/6988913ef887dc6995e95a9f/walt-whitman.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Walt Whitman Was Into the Paleo Diet Before It Was a Thing  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Apr 29, 2016 9:38 PM CUT  Walt Whitman (1819-92), American Poet, circa 1887. Walt Whitman (1819-92), American Poet, circa 1887.Universal History Archive/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Apr 29, 2016 9:38 PM CUT Literary giant Walt Whitman was an early advocate of what today sounds like the popular [paleo diet](http://time.com/3614394/paleo-diet/ "undefined"), according to the author’s recently [uncovered writings](http://ir.uiowa.edu/wwqr/vol33/iss3/ "undefined"). “Let the main part of the diet be meat, to the exclusion of all else,” Whitman wrote, according to a New York _Times_ [report](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/books/walt-whitman-promoted-a-paleo-diet-who-knew.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&%5Fr=1 "undefined"). The advice is part of a 47,000-word series advising readers on how to live a healthy life that the poet published in the now-defunct _New York Atlas_ in 1858\. In 13 parts, Whitman offers advice on a range of topics including sex, hygiene and footwear, according to a Houston _Chronicle_ [report](http://www.chron.com/life/books/article/University-of-Houston-student-uncovers-an-unknown-7384053.php "undefined"). The 13-part series was uncovered by University of Houston doctoral candidate Zachary Turpin amidst microfilm that has never been digitized. “It took about 24 hours for it to sink in,” Turpin told the _Times_ of his reaction to his discovery. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4313243/walt-whitman-paleo-diet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4313243/walt-whitman-paleo-diet/"},"headline":"Walt Whitman Was Into the Paleo Diet Before It Was a Thing","datePublished":"2016-04-29T21:38:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:09:48.902Z","description":"That's just one of his health recommendations in a recently uncovered document","url":"https://time.com/4313243/walt-whitman-paleo-diet/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb5544894f948d58/6988913ef887dc6995e95a9f/walt-whitman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbb5544894f948d58/6988913ef887dc6995e95a9f/walt-whitman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Walt Whitman (1819-92), American Poet, Portrait, circa 1887. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)","caption":"Walt Whitman (1819-92), American Poet, Portrait, circa 1887. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)","creditText":"Universal History Archive/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4313243/walt-whitman-paleo-diet/","name":"Walt Whitman Was Into the Paleo Diet Before It Was a Thing"}}]}] ```