Pompeii Victims Had Perfect Teeth Because of Healthy Diet
"They ate better than we did," says researcher working to CAT scan casts of 30 victims.
A project to CAT scan and catalogue 30 victims of the Mount Vesuvius eruption over Pompeii in 79 A.D. is uncovering the habits of life among the villagers more than 2,000 years ago, and giving you one more reason to avoid sugar.
“For sure, they ate better than we did,” said orthodontist Elisa Vanacore during a press conference announcing initial findings. “They have really good teeth — they ate a diet that contained few sugars, and was high in fruit and vegetables.”
Victims were flash-heated to death, leaving skeletons mummified in hardened ash.
The victims also lived near a water source rich in fluoride, which contributed to the absence of cavities.
A diet of fruits and vegetables and very little sugar left their teeth in excellent condition.
The team was appointed by the Archaeological Superintendence of Pompeii, and includes archeologists, anthropologists, radiologists, dentists, and engineers. Besides the human victims flash-heated to death, frozen in mid-action forever without even time to suffocate, The Telegraph reports the team is also reviewing the corpses of a dog and wild boar.
A good reason to skip the Halloween candy this year.
Over the last two millennia, the victims’ flesh has decomposed, leaving skeletons mummified in ash. To preserve the remains, researchers poured plaster into the cavities and allowed it to harden.
