Mama of 3 :), you have opened a Pandora’s box. Ahh … the marvels of modern medicine, eradication of epidemic diseases .. and greater life expectancy.
Yes, polio, and cholera killed thousands of people in late 1800s and early 1900s, when modern medicine had not arrived to rescue. That’s the same time they started experimenting with lead pesticides and DDT. DDT was the most famous pesticide of all, it was sprayed on humans, plants, crops, animals, fruits, clothes, you name it. Polio was not caused by a virus, that’s a best kept secret of 19th century. Nonetheless, some aware souls have written books on the subject. You can read “fear of the Invisible” by Janine Roberts. Polio was caused by a toxin and was not contagious. After the huge epidemic and after thousands of death, the federal government quietly recalled the lead pesticides, and DDT was banned for human consumption.
Then they came up with vaccination for prevention of polio, and antibiotics for treatment cholera. I wonder if it’s the vaccination that has prevented the polio epidemic (Hmmm) Cholera is another dark story of sewage mishaps that happened in an attempt of “modernization” of sewage disposal. .. I don’t want to go into details, it requires time and peace of mind.
Speaking of antibiotic for treating cholera, do we know what happens to the bacteria when we treat it with antibiotic. The antibiotic get attached to certain site in bacteria and kill it, it’s like a lock and key mechanism. But what if the bacteria changes its shape? What then? It’s called “Bacteria has developed resistance to the antibiotic” The antibiotics are only making harmful bacteria more and more powerful. There will be a time soon, when bad bacteria will be so strong and so versatile (because of so many different shapes, thanks to the antibiotics) that even healthy human bodies will have a hard time in keeping them under control. Right now the companies that make antibiotics are on a roll making billions, the same bacteria will bring them on their knees.
Now about life expectancy being low in West in early 1900s, let’s not forget world war 1 and 2, two of the deadliest battles of world history that killed more than 100 million people collectively. Around the same time, people started experimenting and playing around with nature and that era was so eloquently referred as “Modern ages.” Those early experimentations must have had some contribution in the shortage of life span.
I agree that people are living longer than before, but it’s the quality that counts when it comes to living life. Need I talk about the skyrocketing incidence of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, autism, osteoporosis, fertility issues, neurological problems, MS, bipolar disorder, ADHD, asthma, ulcers, schizophrenia, dementia, .. and the list goes on.
All I can say is, the nature is very merciful when you go along with it. Nature is designed very skillfully to serve humans. However, if you go against the nature flow … it becomes ruthless. Misuse of technology is creating problems, and humans make more technological interventions to solve those problems, that creates even bigger problems, and the vicious cycle continues. For some reason, us humans like to learn everything the hard way
BTW .. where did you get this life expectancy chart :)