"Looking at the bolded phrases and your other comments, you seem to be only thinking about the European experience. The world is a lot bigger than that."
The topic is about the Mediterranean Diet.
"And are you including ancestors before, say, 1850? When do you think cities implemented sanitation and disease control? Which cities?''
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabria
My ancestors live in Calabria.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/...ncient-people-live-life-span-versus-longevity
Do we really live longer than our ancestors?
On the record
The data gets better later in human history once governments begin to keep careful records of births, marriages and deaths – at first, particularly of nobles.
From 1200 to 1745, 21-year-olds would reach an average age of anywhere between 62 and 70 years
Those records show that child mortality remained high. But if a man got to the age of 21 and didn’t die by accident, violence or poison, he could be expected to live almost as long as men today: from 1200 to 1745, 21-year-olds would reach an average age of anywhere between 62 and 70 years – except for the 14th Century, when the bubonic plague cut life expectancy to a paltry 45.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancel_Keys
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_diet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Countries_Study
https://www.truehealthinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/SCS-White-Paper.THI_.8-1-17.pdf
https://theconversation.com/how-the-mediterranean-diet-became-no-1-and-why-thats-a-problem-131771
The Seven Countries Study is an epidemiological longitudinal study directed by Ancel Keys at what is today the University of Minnesota Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene & Exercise Science (LPHES). Begun in 1956 with a yearly grant of US$200,000 from the U.S. Public Health Service, the study was first published in 1978 and then followed up on its subjects every five years thereafter.
The Seven Countries Study represents a lifestyle snapshot of the people living in the regions where Seven Countries Study was conducted.
The 2022 global food distribution network, health care and lifestyle is different from the original study.
The reality of life is anyone can write a book, without leaving their home, espousing the merits of the Mediterranean Diet.
The reality of life is Southern Italy is full of ghost towns because the younger generation move to the industrial north to find employment.
The reality of life is the heritage Italian cuisine is disappearing because the majority of Italian women don't have the time to stand around the stove slowing cook meals. Italian male offspring are refusing to leave home because modern Italian single women are no longer interested in taking care of "Peter Pan Personalities".
The reality of life is globally, the supply of heritage fruit and vegetables are being replaced by hybrids suitable for green picking and refrigeration transport. Heritage fruit and vegetable seeds are available from seed banks if people want to grow them in their back yard. The scientific data says the hybrids are just as nutritious as the heritage varieties. From my experience with the local supply of hybrids, the hybrids are tasteless, requiring the use of condiments in the cooking process to add taste.
In an era where global governments are advocating building high rise building to house residents, people may be enjoying the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet. Where is the quality of life when people are densely housed in small apartments the size of a double garage?