Modern food

[SaligoBay]

There's been mention of the awfulness of modern food in the salmon thread.

But life expectancy is a whole lot longer than at any time in human history, in the West we're generally a whole lot healthier than ever before.

Is it really such a problem?

[Teamedup]

I had been thinking that, like ergot had been a healthy to our ancestors diet.

I don't know of many people as fit as my Dad, 80 this year, how many on here can run 10kms in around 56 minutes, 54 mins on a good day, young or old....I couldn't even walk it. And he still fries in lard and eats butter.

I've just finished the rest of the cold salmon from last night. I love salmon. I don't want to live for ever, but I am inclined to enjoy the 'now' of life.

[Iceni]

In the last 20 years or so, whilst doing digging in London prior to new buildings being put up the scientists discovered coffins which were many centuries old containing people of about 6 foot - and some of them very old. They also discovered that for about a century most Londoners had a strange bone deformity on the back of their heads - still do not know why - probably something in the diet.

Perhaps we are looking at our life expectancy and comparing it to other countries, the statement that we now live longer has to be taken with the knowledge that most early deaths were children and then women (who could have up to 20 life threatening pregnancies). If you take an average of the whole population you skew the statistics (bit like saying that 9% of all women will get breast cancer and then saying that only 2% in the 0 to 30 age group will - so for older women the risk is higher - if you see what I mean).

For a good proportion of men who were not of the manual labour class a few centuries ago our life expectancy has not improved. The lack of infant mortality( at birth and then over age of 18 months) and reduction of maternal deaths is probably the reason for the improvement and not the so called modern diet.

As has been mentioned, children born today in the first world will live shorter lives than we or our parents - we may find a cure for cancer but a cure for junk food will not come about while the US refuse to understand that fat and sugar in huge amounts causes obesity. By the way, if your children go to UK schools, do you know what is in the vending machines all around the school - take a look and have a shock.

Guess who used to teach statistics - or lies as I like to call them.

Di

http://www.iceni-it.co.uk