Are Humans Less Healthy Today Than We Were In The Past?
Big Issue|Issue 292
Professor Tim Noakes looks to scientific evidence for answers to this timely question.
Tim Noakes
Are Humans Less Healthy Today Than We Were In The Past?

There is a common belief that, because of great strides in medical care, we humans are healthier today than we’ve ever been at any time in our history. But the scientific evidence tells a different story. The nation with the most expensive healthcare system in the world – the USA – ranks only 46th on the global lifeexpectancy charts and has experienced a falling life expectancy since 2014.

If we go back more than a century, we find people in Britain who lived as long as we do today. When my greatgrandparents were living in mid-Victorian England 170 years ago, it was a period of great food abundance.

Farm-produced real foods were available in such surplus that everyone was eating highly nutritious diets. As a result, in 1875 the life expectancy of those who did not die in infancy was the equal of modern Britons. The profile of fatal diseases was also quite different from today. Whilst mid-Victorians were quite likely to die from infections and trauma, they were essentially immune to coronary heart disease and cancer – two modernday scourges.

The mid-Victorians’ healthy diet included vegetables; fresh and dried fruit; legumes and nuts; fish; meat sourced from free-range animals, especially pork, and including offal; eggs from hens kept by most urban households, and hard cheeses.

Denne historien er fra Issue 292-utgaven av Big Issue.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra Issue 292-utgaven av Big Issue.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BIG ISSUESe alt
Visit The ‘Seaside Circus'
Big Issue

Visit The ‘Seaside Circus'

There’s a new art activation on the prom …

time-read
1 min  |
Issue 300
SA's Food Capture?
Big Issue

SA's Food Capture?

While the debate rages on over glyphosate-based herbicides, farmers are spraying the chemical all over the world

time-read
5 mins  |
Issue 300
Design That Uplifts, Delight Intrigues
Big Issue

Design That Uplifts, Delight Intrigues

A collaboration with Southern Guild at the Silo District in Cape Town showcases designer Rich Mnisi’s first solo exhibition, titled Nyoka, on show from 2 October 2021 through to 4 February 2022. Designed to reach out and inspire.

time-read
4 mins  |
Issue 300
Why Kaaps Language Dictionary Matters!
Big Issue

Why Kaaps Language Dictionary Matters!

The first-ever dictionary of South Africa’s Kaaps language has launched. Why it matters …

time-read
5 mins  |
Issue 300
Hungry, And Tired
Big Issue

Hungry, And Tired

This charity has been feeding Cape Town’s hungry for more than 80 years. Never have so many people queued for food.

time-read
6 mins  |
Issue 300
Life's Ups And Downs
Big Issue

Life's Ups And Downs

Feeling burnt out? Clinical Psychologist and Business Director at The Human Edge, Helene Vermaak, gives some grounded self-care advice for anyone feeling overstressed or depleted.

time-read
4 mins  |
Issue 300
WHAT'S ON?
Big Issue

WHAT'S ON?

Get out and about under the spring sun, or enjoy entertainment online from the comfort of your couch …

time-read
2 mins  |
Issue 300
SPACE TO REFLECT
Big Issue

SPACE TO REFLECT

When former Big Issue editor, Alicia English, lost her husband to Covid-19 earlier this year, she and her son discovered a novel way to process overwhelming, difficult feelings.

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 300
INSPIRATIONAL READING
Big Issue

INSPIRATIONAL READING

Whether you tap, turn pages or listen to audiobooks, an inspirational read can help you relax and see the world differently.

time-read
2 mins  |
Issue 300
Rough sleeping
Big Issue

Rough sleeping

“Winters are the worst nightmare for us,” says a homeless man in Springs. Temperatures dropped to minus 7º C recently.

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 300