Food Nazi’s of various stripes often unite in condemning modern life’s relishing of so-called junk food. They have claimed that our ancestors were much closer to nature, had more healthy diets, and thereby avoided many of our health problems. Archeologists have discovered a different version of that story.

Egyptian priests lived on junk food diet

Delicious and bountiful banquets offered to the gods and eaten by Egyptian priests and their families were laden with artery-clogging saturated fat, research shows. The evidence comes from hieroglyphic inscriptions on temple walls and the priests’ mummified remains – which bear the unmistakable signs of damaged arteries and heart disease.

Sumptuous meals of beef, wild fowl, bread, fruit, vegetables, cake, wine and beer were given up to the gods three times a day. After making their offerings at the temple, the priests would adopt a ”shame to let it go to waste” policy and take them back home to their families.

Hmmmmm…did Egyptian priests cheer ‘RA! RA! RA!” as they invented the tailgate party on the back of their chariots? (Sorry…I just couldn’t resist that!)

Professor Rosalie David, from the University of Manchester’s Faculty of Life Sciences, who led the study, said: ”There couldn’t be a more evocative message: live like a god and you will pay with your health.

”It also shows that blocked arteries caused by rich diets are not just a modern malaise – the problem goes back to ancient civilisations.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same!