Introduction
The Ancient Egyptians were very advanced for its time. They had systems in place to keep everything clean. Although they had numerous hygiene practises which were done regularly to help protect their health, this was not the reason. They may have had a little bit of an idea of the benefit so that is why they continued these methods for such a long time. Also due to abundant such soil the Nile deposited onto the land, crops were able to grow easily and provide food for the people. They were lucky to be able to eat a variety of nutritious food, allowing the civilisation to last as long as it did.
SanitationThe Ancient Egyptians are famously known to be hygienic fearful of illnesses and diseases. Perhaps this is the reason that medicine became such an important pursuit to them. Cleanliness was an important part of the Egyptian life. The aim of any public health is that the community is protected from the spread of disease and to keep the people as healthy as possible. The source of water was so people could wash themselves, their animals and homes, being the vital part of preventing the spread disease. They Ancient Egyptians took on these practises however it was promoted for social and religious reasons, not the health ones. Their homes had basic toilets and baths which took care of personal cleanliness. Eye make-up was used but probably motivated by the desire to keep up with appearances for social reasons not to protect their eyes from diseases. Malaria was common, and most Ancient Egyptians used mosquito nets when sleeping but this was most likely because they didn't want to be bitten, not because they knew it was keeping them safe from the disease. They thought hair was trapping in illnesses inside their body so they shaved off their head and body hair, women included. It also kept them cooled and eliminated the chance of lice. Unfortunately, whilst the Ancient Egyptians were obsessed with sanitation, only the wealthy had the resources to keep themselves healthy with the vast majority of the population lived in poor, unsanitary conditions.
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NutritionEven though the Ancient Egyptians had a reliable agricultural income, there was still times of malnutrition. It had become improved when there was an increased adoption of agriculture and people could be fed with a wider range of food. They were partially aware of the importance of diet, both in balance and moderation. The main crops they harvested were wheat and barely. Vegetables and fruit of many kinds were widely grown and oil was produced from the linseed plant. There was a limited supply of herbs and spices and meat was available at least to the upper classes. Fish was widely consumed after caught from the river Nile. For the people in lower classes, they didn't eat a lot of meat so their diet mainly consisted lots of bread and cereals. For them, iron deficiency was common. Due to Ancient Egypt's great inheritance of fertile land, food production was never a major issue although of course no matter how bounteous the land is, starvation will still exist. In times like this, because of vitamin and other deficiencies, the Egyptians were recorded to have dental abrasion, caries, abscesses and really bad mouth hygiene.
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