Heart problems are mostly related to the modern, unhealthy way of life. Namely, we consider today's nutrition, lifestyles and bad habits such as smoking and alcohol consumption to be one of the greatest causes of heart problems. Therefore, we are lead to assume that, during the ancient times, when people were eating and living healthy, there were no heart diseases present, or, if such illnesses were there, these were only scarcely found. However, a great discovery was made, changing this point of view completely.
The Research
A group of scientists were visiting Egypt, in order to perform CAT scans on the mummified bodies of the people who lived centuries before Christ to the 1st century AD. Amazingly, the tests showed that several individual's had suffered from heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems. The majority of the mummies had experienced heart problems while they had still been alive, and the signs of these problems had been exactly the same as they are today. Furthermore, one case of arteriosclerosis was identical to the modern cases as well.
The Findings
Basically, 22 mummies were examined for calcium buildup, being one of the main causes behind cardiovascular diseases. Out of 16 test subjects, 9 contained calcium deposits. These deposits bear witness of a possible presence of atherosclerosis, which is commonly connected to both heart attacks and strokes.
The scientists were not expecting these kinds of results, but, rather, they were hoping that people were healthier when the planet and lifestyles were healthier too. However, even though it was discovered that these mummies had belonged to elite social circles, they had suffered from these types of cardiovascular diseases nevertheless.
One possible theory, backing up this scenario is the fact that refrigeration was not possible in those times and people used salt in order to preserve their food. These high levels of salt may have led to their diseases and the results of this research.
Yet, again, the scientists were not able to get any information on the food these people had eaten, making this point of view just another possible alternative. All in all, arteriosclerosis and heart attacks were common for humans long before our time. Whether there are other factors influencing these facts, we do not know. Still, this research gives us plenty to doubt, and a million reasons to keep on looking into this matter, searching adequate answers hidden in the past of our kind.
Your thoughts on this
Loading...