If you ever sat with many elders, you will hear the same line: “In our time, we didn’t use fertiliser. Pregnant women didn’t take pills for their babies to be formed. And yet, we were strong.”
There are several reasons that this assertion.
Back then, farming was slower. People used manure, crop rotation and allowed the land to go fallow for a period. Food came mostly from far and nearby farms and gardens. Yams, beans, millet and vegetables were seasonal and local. Children grew up eating what their families planted. There were no fast-growing chemicals or imported foods in every meal.
Pregnancies were also handled differently. No folic acid, no iron tablets from the clinic. It was herbs, rest, hard work and the help of older women in the community. Many women had many children and kept going.
Today, things have changed. We use fertiliser because the population is bigger and the soil is tired. We need food faster. Doctors give prenatal pills because we now know what happens without iron or folate: anaemia, weak babies and complications that can be fatal. These pills have saved many lives.
So, are we weaker now? Not completely. Infant mortality has reduced, but lifespan is short. People are taller on average. Medicine and science have helped.
But we also move less. We eat more processed food. We depend more on hospitals and supplements.
The older generation often did physical work daily, and that built strong bones and stamina.
Part of why they “look” stronger is survival bias; we only hear from those who made it to old age. Many others died young from illnesses we can now prevent.
Still, their memory teaches us something: strength also came from simplicity, activity and closeness to nature.
Maybe the answer isn’t choosing old vs new. It’s a balance. Use fertiliser, but care for the soil. Take pills when needed, but don’t forget good food and movement. Keep the strength of the past, with the tools of today.
