Egyptian princess was first to have heart disease

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: AP

LONDON (AP) -- An Egyptian princess who lived more than 3,500 years ago is the oldest known person to have had clogged arteries, dispelling the myth that heart disease is a product of modern society, a new study says.

To determine how common heart disease was in ancient Egypt, scientists performed computer scans on 52 mummies in Cairo and the United States. Among those that still had heart tissue, 44 had chunks of calcium stuck to their arteries - indicating clogging.

"Atherosclerosis clearly existed more than 3,000 years ago," said Adel Allam, a cardiology professor at Al Azhar University in Cairo, who led the study with Gregory Thomas, director of nuclear cardiology education at the University of California in Irvine. "We cannot blame this disease on modern civilization."

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_MED_MUMMY_HEART_DISEASE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-05-17-15-28-42

[tblue37]

1. Wealthy and powerful people back then probably led lives as indolent and

hedonistic as that of the typical couch potato in an affluent society today. If the princess and other high status people ate rich foods and got little exercise, because all the work was done by slaves, one would expect them to have heart disease.

[boppers]

2. Yes, but it's not:

HFCS
Preservatives
Sugar
BGH
"fast food"
...or any of the other boogymen people drag out when insisting that we eat in more primitive ways "for health".

[tblue37]

5. Probably a rich red meat/animal fat based diet and lack of exercise. nt

[Demeter]

13. Or even fried food, salt, food coloring, beef, pork, eggs

and all the other bugaboos.

I have a friend, well-intentioned, who poo-poos everything I cook as "unhealthy", but she eats it all....

[TheWraith]

3. So the solution is that everyone should work in the fields 16 hours a day?

I don't think that's viable.

[dipsydoodle]

6. Or build pyramids

:shrug:

[Zhade]

19. Food pyramids, maybe?

:p

[tblue37]

7. No--just that they shouldn't sit on their butts in front of a TV or a computer

16 hours a day--while eating all sort of unhealthy foods and avoiding whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Your post presents the logical fallacy known as a false dichotomy (sometimes called a false dilemma, or the fallacy of the excluded middle--not to be confused with the law of the excluded middle).

[ginnyinWI]

8. no, just don't eat such rich food on a daily basis.

In this country we eat like kings and queens three times a day. No wonder we get fat and sick.

We need to eat more simply, more like peasants: whole grains, vegetables, fruit on a daily basis, and richer food only once in a while.

[harun]

18. 1 hour would be enough.

[Taverner]

4. Most people, including aristrocracy, had poor nutrition

The meal of the typical Roman during the good ol days of the Empire ate the equivalent of 1 piece of bread, a few nuts and grapes. And that was IT.

[GETPLANING]

9. This has been known for decades.

Nutritionists have long studied ancient cultures looking for clues as to how diet affects health. The Egyptian culture has been carefully studied due to their practice of mummifying and preserving remains. Ancient Egyptians were bread eaters. In fact, the Romans called the Egyptians "the bread-eaters, because Egyptian soldiers were issued five pounds of bread a day. Egyptians ate very large amounts of whole grain breads, fruits and vegetables, and almost no red meat. They ate some fish and poultry. Their diet was fairly low in fat and protein, and very high in complex carbohydrates. It was what mainstream health professionals consider the ideal. Egyptians should have been very healthy and should have lived long lives, according to current thinking. But examination of countless mummies reveals that most Egyptians suffered from clogged arteries, obesity, poor teeth,and other degenerative conditions. The average Egyptian lived into his forties, whereas the average Roman citizen who ate lots of lamb, fish, vegetables, and cooked with olive oil lived into his sixties.

[Fool Count]

11. Average Roman lived into his sixties? Really?

That's not what historians say. Life expectancy at birth in Ancient Rome according to various estimates was between 20 and 30 years, with Wikipedia citing the value of 28.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy)
Even factoring out the very high infant and child mortality, life expectancy at 15 years of age was only 52 years. So the average Roman, who was lucky enough to survive
his childhood, could barely make it into his 50s.

[GETPLANING]

12. Yes, really, but well, not exactly

Your post promted me to do a little searching and yes, my estimate was a bit optimistic. I came up with numbers that spanned age 20-60 for the Romans, and 15-45 for the Egyptians. Mt point was really more about the Egyptian diet being responsible for the high incidence of coronary artery disease in the Egyptian population. Whatever numbers you use, the Romans lived longer lives, and died with less cack in their veins.

[Demeter]

14. Thank you!

A starchy diet is bad for one's health, mental and physical. As well as boring as hell.

[calimary]

16. What kind of things did they eat with? Plates, cups/goblets, food preparation tools -

During the Romans' time, there was a lot of lead in everything because of the plates and bowls and drinking vessels and bottles and bottle and jar lids. From what I've read and heard, many of them were believed to value the tangy taste that lead provided as it leached into their food and drink.

:scared:

[rug]

10. If only she had modern medicine she might still be alive.

[unkachuck]

15. "We cannot blame this disease on modern civilization."

....fantastic!....I'm old and I have clogged arteries; now I feel much much better....and healthier....

....I think I'll have me a couple double-bacon cheeseburgers with large fries and a strawberry shake for lunch tomorrow....

[nilram]

17. Exactly! Bacon for breakfast! Ummm, bacon...

Butter on my toast, and a milkshake to wash it all down!