Why does life expectancy declining in the past decade?

Galileo Galili from the 16th century lived to 78. Benjamin Franklin lived to 84. Michaelangelo from the 16th century lived to 89. Pythagoras from the 5th century BC lived to 75. Tomas Jefferson died at 83. And Hippocrates, from the 4 century BC also died at 83.

So, the invertible question is, if we were taught that 100 years ago people lived to 50 years, how come there are so many celebrities from history that lived to 70, 80 and even 90 years?

The answer is, those people of the past lived to their life expectancy and so did many others that were not famous. However, we were taught that the past life expectancy was less than 50. How come? Back then, on average, people lived to less than 50 years, but the life capacity of an individual could reach 80 and even 90 years, just like it is nowadays.

So, why on the average people lived to less than 50 years?

Because people 200 years and more died at younger age mainly due to wars, slavery, infectious, and contagious viral diseases. Do you know that in the time of the Roman empire when a girl reaches 12 years, she’s considered a woman and it’s time for her to supply more children for the continuing survival of the tribe, the kingdom, or the empire? When a boy reaches 14, he enters manhood and joins the workforce or the army.

A 1000 years ago, what were the chances of a soldier to survive the wound of a sword, compared to a soldier in the 21 century, who could survive easily a bullet wound? And a 1000 years ago, what were the chances of a baby reaching 5 years of age?

Have you heard the phrase, don’t throw the baby with the tub water?  The origin of the phrase came from Germany in the 16th century. Now, imagine back then a family of 6 or 7 people in North America or in Europe taking a bath, when water is cold.  First, you need to heat the water. Then the man and the grown boys, bath first. Then came the turn of the woman the girls and small children. They bathe the baby last in the dirty water. So, there was a chance the baby was thrown with the bathwater. 

On top of that, throughout history mankind faced plagues. Like the black plague in the 14-century wiped out about 200 million people in Eurasia. The Spanish flew who killed about 100 million worldwide and there were more pandemics. 

You see, back then there was no knowledge about personal hygiene. That’s why babies die after birth and many die because of infections, and diseases related to contaminated environmental conditions.  At the time, many people died because of infectious diseases from the water supply, from spoiled food and from sewage that was literally running in the streets from horse manure and human waste.

Just imagine in what conditions people lived in the past. The word threshold came from a doorstep that held hay and straw on the wooden floor, to prevent slipping when wet. At that time, roofs were made from thatch, where cats, dogs, rodents, and roaches find a warm place in cold weather. Heavy rain causes them to fall on the house floor. No wonder back then it was raining cats and dogs.

Why do you think women start to carry flowers on their wedding day, if not to mask their body odor?  I’m quite sure you watched the movie or read the book les miserable, about the French revolution in the 19 century. Do you think back then life was much different in any other country?

So, what caused life expectancy to go up in the past 100 years?

The experts say it happened because of the industrial revolution, which started in the beginning of the 19 Century.  First, machines took over the hard work, so people could preserve their strength for a longer time. Second, they cleaned the living environment. In the past, many people died younger because of bacteria that spread uncontrollably through contaminated water, spoiled food, poor personal hygiene, and sewage. Did you forget that 100 years ago people were riding horses? Horse waste was everywhere, helping to spread diseases. 

Better yet, Birth mortality went up, because doctors and nurses started to practice hygiene. Later on, we built water pipes to supply clean water, and connected houses to sewage systems.  Just 150 years ago the water closet, what we call today toilet, was offered to the public and by the 1940s half of the homes had running water pipes and were connected to the sewage. Then, the refrigerator was invented and also preservatives, which both helped to prevent food-related diseases.

Throughout history, mankind was in wars to gain power over people and to take control over fertile land. Many people who died in wars helped to keep life expectancy down. Just in WW2, which lasted 7 years, over 75 million people have died worldwide. Since then the world didn’t have major wars, which help to raise life expectancy.

The development of modern microscopes at the beginning of the 20 Century, followed by other scientific equipment, helped scientists to develop antibiotics and vaccines for infectious and viral diseases. The introduction of them to the public started in the 1940-50s.  From then, science claims that antibiotics, vaccines, and medications for chronic diseases caused the life expectancy to go up to about 80 years of age.  

In the second half of the 20 century, food engineers and corporations developed countless products to suit our taste buds. Their products are clean from contaminants and have a long shelf life. In the beginning, it seemed like people could live without the threat of dying from diseases. However, life expectancy leveled off in the 1980’s and from 2014 there is a reverse in it.

If our living and working environments were improved, and our food is free of contaminants and diseases causing pathogens, and we have doctors and medications for every illness and disease, then what makes our life expectancy go down?

There are a number of reasons for that, from the food we eat to the side effects of medications. But to sum them up, there is a chronic imbalance of bacteria in the body, mainly due to our ignorance and because we are too lazy to change our lifestyle.

By the way, did you know that ignorance and laziness are the keys to all of your problems in life? Did you know there are only 2 foundations for health and vitality?