About the arteries of ancient Egyptians...

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 3:04 pm

I post this mainly because I now read everything through a gluten-focused lens...

http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCove ... oundup_ACC

I'm sure you all know why *I* think the wealthy ancient Egyptians had hardening of the arteries!

Let's just say...

Although their diet was believed to be primarily made up of grain, vegetables, and fruit, the ancient Egyptians did have meat in the form of domesticated cows, fowl, sheep, and antelopes.

"It is plausible that the composition of their diet contributed to the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease," the researchers wrote.

But, Thomas said, "I think the appropriate way to look at this is that ... humans are predisposed to atherosclerosis."

...I don't exactly agree.

Sara

Post by **tex** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:00 pm

Anyone who was mummified was also rather likely to have led a sedentary lifestyle - their work was done by servants. Right?

Tex

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:08 pm

They also ate the breads made with the finest flours

Beer and bread for breakfast, anyone? I don't know the whole story (no one does, probably) - but those were two big-time staples of the Egyptian diet. How that differed for the wealthy mummified and the poorest poor... no real way to know.

Apparently the ecology changed a lot over the millennia of old/middle/new kingdoms (I always am afraid I am mixing that terminology up with Tolkein). I don't know how that affected diet, except - I am guessing MORE GRAINS once things got drier and the marshes and waterways were less productive of fish and game fowl.

And yeah, I should still probably exercise more. Point taken!

xox/S

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:13 pm

p.s. Please don't take my old/new/middle kingdom as remotely factual or date-connected to the article - I am just recalling that things changed in the ecology, and presumably, therefore, in the agriculture. Of course, trade would also have changed food and diet, quite a lot.

I have another crazy speculation - meat/fat isn't bad for you BUT it does get worse for you in the presence of gluten grains. I think there's some way that grain-caused inflammation (which can be low-grade, for a long time, and maybe for some people remain relatively low-grade) makes arteries more susceptible to behaving badly in the presence of dietary animal protein. I must admit that I have made this idea up from whole cloth, but am pondering how to think about it more seriously...