new research debunks trad views on nutrition

[Perris]

It would be fun to see the history of commercial animal food in a snapshot sort of way over the decades.

yes, but on a different thread please.

 

[Chixchik]

Dog food as I saw it in the 1050's and early 1960's included dry dog food, canned horse meat, and table scraps. Don't ask me to go back to canned horse meat!
High egg producing hens in the early 1900's maybe produced 100 eggs annually! And farms included multiple species and their feeds, and a more diverse environment generally.
Early dog and especially cat foods were not ideal, but research and food trials have vastly improved most/ many such diets.
Mary

It’s so interesting to look at the past and see both the good and the bad and all the changes that have happened. Some for our betterment and some for the worse!!

 

[Perris]

There have been some recent articles on what are called forever chemicals. just one article I've read and there are plenty more for those who are interested.
What I found interesting was a recent study on vegetables in the USA found high levels of these chemicals in both organic and non organic produce.
Naturally people wondered why and it seems they are in the water used for watering.
Just how big an issue this is remains to be seen. For people the current advice is to steer clear of highly processed foods. For chickens this would include commercial feed.
Just an added issue to think about.

as it happens, this is in the news this morning
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/04/pfas-toxic-forever-chemicals-pets-north-carolina

 

[Folly's place]

And our recent decline in life expectancy is related to the Covid pandemic. Maybe also in the increase in obesity. And nowhere near life expectacy 100 years ago, recent history.
Mary

 

[Sally PB]

I have already lived longer than my parents.

 

[Perris]

And our recent decline in life expectancy is related to the Covid pandemic. Maybe also in the increase in obesity. And nowhere near life expectacy 100 years ago, recent history.
Mary

if you read the article, it says that covid is only partly responsible.
And btw, some ancient Greeks lived to a ripe old age, and with the faculties intact. Some of the famous tragedies were written by octogenarians. Life expectancy isn't a simple linear improvement over time. Things decline too. Witness: the Roman Empire (amongst other cultures).

 

[Sally PB]

Life expectancy isn't a simple linear improvement over time.

Some of the low-seeming numbers were skewed by early childhood diseases. If they made it past those, people stood a decent chance of living what we would consider a long life.

 

[Folly's place]

Public health: modern sanitation and vaccines, then antibiotics, all have made a huge difference in average life expectancy.
Mary

 

[Perris]

Some of the low-seeming numbers were skewed by early childhood diseases. If they made it past those, people stood a decent chance of living what we would consider a long life.

yes, good point; they also had to survive warfare for men and pregnancy and childbirth for women.

 

[Geena]

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/jul/03/us-maternal-deaths-doubled-two-decades

The leading cause of maternal mortality in the US is mental health/substance abuse, followed by hemorrhage and cardiac conditions.
AA women are likely more affected since their obesity and hypertension rates are somewhere around 60%.
Many people are less healthy overall these days due to their poor eating habits and lifestyles and go into pregnancies in less than optimal health. The outcome of that should not be surprising.