The incredible research findings about Ancient Egypt just keep coming. This week I saw a report by French chemists at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France. They reported that they analyzed samples of eye makeup worn in ancient times and found- SURPRISE!- that the eye makeup actually prevented diseases!
Previous concerns that the lead contained in the makeup that both men and women wore gave rise to health problems. Instead, the researchers found, the eye makeup contained such trace amounts of lead that it presented no health issues.
Quite the opposite; the scientists found that the makeup actually prevented eye diseases such as conjunctivitis that were common in the marshy areas of Lower Egypt. The chemicals boosted the body’s production of nitrous oxide, which is known to stimulate the immune system and fight infection. Pretty amazing?
Wait, there’s even more. The researchers found that from the amount of chemicals found in the samples they tested, it would have stimulated the body’s nitric oxide levels by 240%!
What caught my attention was this… it would have taken the ancients 30 or more days of difficult preparations to get that eye makeup mixture to give those results. That, according to the scientists, indicates to them that the Egyptians knew what they were doing and intentionally concentrated the healing properties of their products.