Kultur: Thoughts in a Country Churchyard; Longevity in Antiquity
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Has the scourge of cancer always been present in the history of our species? And if so, has it always struck with the same devastating impact as today?
By Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. (First edition posted on Sunday, 25 August 2002) |
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I HAVE HAD some more interesting responses to my article on the relationship of refined sugar to cancer. Several writers independently suggested that the reason there is more cancer today than in former times is that present-day people live much longer. Since cancer is primarily a disease of middle and old age, these writers claim, there simply weren’t enough people in former ages who lived long enough to develop this disease.One often runs into this argument about the alleged doubling of life span in the past century or so. This is flattering to the medical profession, to be sure. But how true is this claim? There are reasons to doubt it. During my morning walk, I pass an old churchyard, dating from the time of the American Revolution. The other day, spurred by these questions about the average span of human existence, I slowed down to study the gravestones. Longevity in Antiquity
During lifetimes of such a generous span, cancer would have shown itself. I remember reading that the average age at which cancer strikes is around 62 years. Many cancers occur even before this age. For metastatic kidney cancer, the average age is around 55. For oral cancer, the average age is 60. Thus, all of the above individuals lived long enough to get cancer. Yet, to my knowledge, there is no record that any of them developed the disease. Could it be that cancer was just as rampant in ancient times as it is today, with the only difference being that it went undiagnosed? Some readers have proposed this idea. My view is this: the disease was definitely known, and it was just as definitely rare in most periods in human history. About one-quarter of tumors manifest externally. Pre-modern medical writers were fascinated by cancer and were on the lookout for malignancies. They had the ability to identify many types of cancer. However, they seldom had the opportunity to do so, due to the paucity of cases. Reports of cancer, and interest in the disease, began to increase, like an incessant drumbeat, throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth centuries. hyperinsulinemia,” or high blood sugar. Eventually, this can develop into full-blown type II diabetes. Many people with a disturbed sugar metabolism are also afflicted with obesity, which is conventionally accepted as a predisposing factor for many kinds of cancer. Thus, the relationship between sugar and cancer can be indirectly mediated through long-term alterations in body chemistry. For health reasons I suggest that readers limit their intake of refined carbohydrates. Evidence suggests that it will decrease your chances of developing a host of diseases, including some kinds of cancer.
Dates of birth and death for authors from antiquity: Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, Sixteenth Edition. Average age of onset for metastatic kidney cancer: http://bonetumor.org/page64.html Average age of onset for oral cancer: http://www.adha.org/oralhealth/oralcancer.htm |
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