Everyday Systems

We've heard that the high grain diet that Egyptians ate caused atherosclerosis and other health problems. I read this article yesterday. This author blames it on their "rich" diet and mentions 50 years worth of research about the ill-effects of saturated fat in the diet (which has been proven to be based on faulty research).

However, maybe neither one of these hypotheses is right. Maybe it's not the diet high in grains nor the fact that those who were mummified ate rich diets. Maybe it's something else.

Dr. McDougall wrote:Problems with the teeth are found in mummies. The most common abnormality is wearing down of the teeth by friction caused by eating gritty bread made from flour contaminated by windblown sand and other abrasive materials from the soil and grinding stones.

I'm pretty sure that sand was never meant to be part of the human diet. What if eating sand regularly, even though unintentionally, caused chronic low levels of inflammation which leads to many health problems, including atherosclerosis? In addition to their bread, it was probably present in just about everything they ate -- not to mention the rest of their environment, so they probably breathed sand or dust from sand as well.

What if the problems seen in studying these mummies had nothing to do with what they chose to eat, but everything to do with what they ate and breathed unintentionally? Our scientists are so trained to look at diet as the cause of all our health problems, that maybe they forget to look outside the (sand)box.

Phew. When I saw the title of this thread, I thought we were going to be pointed to an article called "Egyptian Mummies: How Do They Keep So Slim?"

hahahaha dave mc!!!

You know, sand or no sand, there is a correlation between poor dental health and poor cardiovascular health....

Ha -- the slimming secrets of the dead: Never Eat Again, Lose Weight, Get That Skeletal Physique You've Always Wanted!

Thalia wrote:Ha -- the slimming secrets of the dead: Never Eat Again, Lose Weight, Get That Skeletal Physique You've Always Wanted!

Exactly! The Mummy Diet is going to happen, it's just a matter of time. Just follow these simple steps: 1) die; 2) have all your internal organs removed (losing dozens and dozens of pounds); 3) dry out for several thousand years. "Many of our clients are initially reluctant about steps 1 and 2", says Dr. S. Nakeoil, founder of the system, "but our compliance rate is unmatched: our clients never regain any of the weight they've lost!"

You forgot the part where one's brains are removed through one's nostrils.

Who Me? wrote:You forgot the part where one's brains are removed through one's nostrils.

That's three pounds lost right there.

Well, to be fair, a lot of diets require you to check your brains at the door. The Mummy Diet is just more explicit about it than most.

NoS, fortunately, is fully compatible with intact brains.

(Edit: Oof, this may come across as more harsh than I intended. No offence meant, all around, it's intended to poke fun rather than as savage criticism.)

This has certainly deviated from my intent!

Right, sorry, wosnes. Your point that not everything has to be about diet is well taken!

I have to admit that I found the original article's point somewhat persuasive, though: as I understand it, the issue was that people were using the blocked arteries in ancient mummies as an anti-carb argument, along the lines of "See? These ancient Egyptians ate mostly carbs, and they had terrible heart and blood vessel problems!" The rebuttal makes a lot of sense to me: he points out that mummies are generally *rich* ancient people, and their diet wasn't the same as everyone else's, including a lot more meat and fat.

I try not to take a side in the fats vs. carbs debate, because I think it's a classic false dichotomy: of course we need both, in moderation.

I'm comfortable coming down firmly on the side of the low-sand diet, however.

DaveMc wrote:

I'm comfortable coming down firmly on the side of the low-sand diet, however.

Dave, you crack me up!