Centenarians often say their secret to longevity is "everything in moderation". But moderation means different things to different people. What is moderation, in a lifestyle where excess is normalized? Too much sugar, meat, caffeine, too much sitting, too much stress, loneliness, and too little sleep... Not to mention our baseline exposure to substances we are slowly learning are poisons: PFAs, xenoestrogens, and more recently microplastics. Our bodies no longer understand "moderation" as it once was known -- it is now considered normal to live out the end of our lives in poor health and isolation.
It is amazing to me that in 16th century Europe, sugar cost more than gold per ounce. It was sold by apothecaries and praised for its medicinal properties: energizing the body, curing melancholy, warding off disease... makes it sound like a drug.
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