Quote:
Originally Posted by Villages PL
The ones I mentioned, except for my maternal grandfather, were from a "family tree" that is not yet complete. So I can only talk about my grandparents who grew up in Italy. Growing up in small towns of about 500 people, they lived close to nature. They didn't have radio, TV, stove or refrigerator. And, of course, there were no cars. If you had a mule, you were considered wealthy.
What they did have (In Sicily, Italy) was lots of fresh vegetables that they grew in their own gardens. Every family had a few chickens so they had a few eggs but not too many. Eating chicken once in a while was a big treat. A lot of families had a goat to. I suppose for milk and goat cheese but that wouldn't have been a lot. Once in a great while they would have goat meat and shared it with family. My father told me that there were orange trees and wheat fields. And food was cooked in a fireplace.
So the diet was simple, from nature, and didn't include a lot of the processing that is so common today.
Thanks for asking.  |
Cooking food over an open fire is not supposed to be good for you and now you are told to avoid a lot of barbecued meat as it is a carcinogen.
I think that all of those things that you mentioned are valid reasons that would contribute to a healthy life. I think people should eat a variety of food and particularly of different colors, that is the easiest way to think of it. Not as much meat as we used too and more vegetables and fruits, but still, STILL, cancer and bad things can happen to us.
Long life is not the prize for being virtuous. Wonderful medicines now exist that help us live longer and more healthily. Antibiotics and blood pressure medicines and medicine that lowers our cholesterol (which in many cases is caused by a genetic factor, rather than a diet factor) and a whole plethora of medicines are helping us live longer lives.
Diet and exercise are two very important factors in living a healthy life.
Choose a good physician, trained at a place you respect and do what he/she tells you to do is also very good advice.