Food and Medicine in France

Like most European countries in the 18th century, France demonstrated a major difference between the quality of food and medicine received by the upper and lower classes. Lower classes survived mostly off of bread and vegetables. This diet often proved satisfactory, but many people had a vitamin C deficiency and thus suffered from scurvy. Meanwhile, upper class citizens indulged themselves with various meats and sweets. Due this unhealthy diet many were upper class citizens were ill with gout. Middle class citizens had the most balanced diet and were therefore the healthiest. Predictably, upper classes received superior medical care to everyone else. Although doctors were not as well trained today, they could afford treatments and medicines that were too expensive or not available to lower class citizens.