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Comment by doone on November 21, 2013 at 4:58pm

“Meat Mummy” Buried With Ancient Egyptians Was Lovingly Preserved

By Becky Lang | November 18, 2013 2:02 pm

Beef rib meat mummy from the tomb of Yuya and Tjuiu (1386-1349 BC). Courtesy PNAS.

There’s loving meat… And then there’s being buried with it. Scientists have known for years that ancient Egyptian tombs contained mummified meat, but now they know how these foodstuffs were preserved—in some cases, more painstakingly preserved than even human mummies.

This comes from a new analysis of some beef ribs that were buried alongside one elite Egyptian couple, just one example of embalmed food offerings ancient Egyptians added to tombs, scientists report. A chemical analysis of the mummification balm used on the beef ribs indicates that it is the highest-status balm discovered to date.

Dry-Aged Beef

Researchers from the University of Bristol and American University in Cairo tested four mummified foodstuffs from the Cairo Museum and British Museum. They compared the chemical compositions of the balms on the foodstuffs with those of known balms used on human and animal mummies, and found that preparations varied over time.

One sample they analyzed was a calf mummy from the tomb of Isetemkheb D of the 21st Dynasty, circa 1070 to 845 B.C. The mummified calf had a mixture of fatty acids on the external bandages, but none of which came into contact with the meat itself. This animal fat, therefore, likely was a balm used to preserve the mummy.

Meat Mummy

In contrast, the beef rib mummy was preserved more elaborately. The rib meat is from the tomb of Yuya and Tjuiu—the parents of Queen Tiye—who lived from 1386 to 1349 B.C. The meat was prepared as if for eating, then wrapped up and embalmed.

It’s the balm that is surprising: a mixture of fat or oil, beeswax, and Pistacia resin, a very valuable plant resin rarely found in human mummification. The resin most likely came from trees such as the mastic gum or Chios turpentine, which historically have been used for preservation. It was considered a luxury item in ancient Egypt and might have been added to food to give it a particular flavor, the researchers report today in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

So though our meat-heavy diets may be a modern innovation—our reverence for a good slab of beef apparently is not.

Comment by Neal on November 21, 2013 at 4:56pm

Right now I'm watching "Forks over Knives" so my bias is up. I stay vegetarian for the most part, but I need to give it up. I think the dairy and eggs keep me as fat and unhealthy as eating steak 3 times a day. I'm staying vegetarian until after the Thanksgiving holiday, then back to vegan for as long as I can. Every time I do it I last longer, maybe this will be the last time I switch. 

Comment by Neal on November 21, 2013 at 4:51pm

That's why you should stay away from processed foods. There are no vegetable fats that I eat that are considered trans fats. Trans fats are very uncommon in nature. Whole-food plant-based diets have no worries when it comes to the processed trans fats. I'm not sure we're talking about the same subject. Processed vegetable oils and animal products are the killers.

Are you defending an animal based diet? =)

People suffering from clogged arteries and heart problems, diabetes and other diet created diseases, can be greatly helped by making the switch to a plant based diet; it will clear those arteries in no time.

People are fat not because of overeating, it's because they eat high-caloric low-nutrition foods. The body is tricked into eating more because of the lack of nutrition. 

Comment by Davy on November 21, 2013 at 2:25pm

TRANS FATTY ACIDS FROM RUMINANTS

Most trans fats in the U.S. diet are produced industrially during the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils. However, smaller amounts are present in dairy products and in meat from cows, sheep, and other ruminants, produced by bacteria in their stomachs. The predominant trans-isomer in ruminants is vaccenic acid, from which conjugated linolenic acid (another trans fatty acid) can be formed. It is possible to change the trans fatty acid content of ruminant products to some degree by altering the animals' feed,66 although levels of trans fat in milk and meats are already relatively low (1 to 8 percent of total fats).

Here are a couple of good links that help understand fats in our diets and their adverse effects on us!

Trans Fatty Acids.

Difference between Fats and lipids.

Dietary fat and blood lipids

Comment by Neal on November 21, 2013 at 2:00pm

Even though anecdotal, when I did 6 months of eating vegan, I lost weight every week while never counting calories or worrying about the fat and sugar. Vegetable sources of fat are high in omega 3s, which are good for the body. There's not a peer reviewed study in the world that doesn't agree that a plant based diet is nutritionally superior than one overloaded in animal products.

This is an easy one, countries that ate their ethnic diet full of vegetables, grains and fruits, and only used animal products sparingly, are the healthiest in the world. As they became "westernized" they started eating much more animal sources, and cancer, heart disease, etc., became the norm.

Unsaturated vegetable fats raise the amount of "good" cholesterol while lowering the bad. The traditional Greek diet is comprised of 30% of its calories from fat, yet they had less disease than just about every other ethnic group. 

Fat is not the culprit, we need it. Saturated animal fat is what kills. Eat some, just keep it a small part of caloric intake and you'd feel much healthier. Lowering your fat intake doesn't help much, replacing your fat intake with unsaturated fats does.

It is not the amount as much as the type.

Comment by Davy on November 21, 2013 at 7:40am

It is Fats, Sugars, Starches that help cause obesity. 

Fats from plant sources are just as fattening as those from animal sources. 

Excess sugar and starches are stored in the body as fat!

Comment by Neal on November 21, 2013 at 6:54am

Obesity, and associated diseases, would be a thing of the past if we strived for a mostly plant based diet.

Comment by Chris on November 21, 2013 at 2:06am

Here's a video documentary about soil quality you might enjoy  Lester.

Comment by Lester Unega Waya on November 20, 2013 at 2:39pm

Chris.

Re;

"But alas,   I still don't think you understand my underlying statement about food quality"

The higher the quality, the less one needs for one's daily intake of nutrients.

The quality aspect is dependent on soil quality it grows in. Bad soil produces bad food.

Where I live, it's cheaper for me to buy a T bone steak at the butchers than it is to buy a big mac at McDonalds.

Comment by Chris on November 20, 2013 at 9:03am

One of my points exactly Lester. Price has nothing to do with cost - it has to do with the distribution system.

But alas,   I still don't think you understand my underlying statement about food quality. In India 'the more affluent' [meaning consumer class?] may choose to eat at Mc Donalds rather than eating a home cooked meal at home made from sustainable farming and ranching practices the less fortunate country folk may eat. 

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