10. Due to the archaic belief that the body was sustained by a harmonious balance of the four “humors”, bile was consumed by patients at the behest of ancient doctors resulting in major gastrointestinal distress and even potentially death
Throughout the history of early western medicine, from classical antiquity all the way through the Middle Ages, human bodily health was broadly believed to depend upon the balancing of four essential “humors”. These humors, encompassing blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile, were believed to constitute the vital fluids upon which life was founded and which necessitated a careful equilibrium between the four ingredients to maintain good health. Consequently, physicians during this period routinely ascribed physical illness to an imbalance of these humors, requiring a medical intervention to re-calibrate the body’s levels.
As a result, human and animal bile was introduced to the body either through oral consumption or rectal intake using an enema. Whilst human bile was generally preferable, elephant bile was believed to cure bad breath, python bile as a remedy for genital warts, and a boar’s bile as a panacea for all bodily ills. Subverting the expectations of physicians of the day, bile, whilst serving a vital function in the breaking down of food, absolutely should not be consumed by humans. The ingestion of bile by these unlucky patients did not cure their ailments, but rather led to severe gastrointestinal conditions whilst repeated consumption could prove fatal.