I got into a discussion with some relatives recently about life in previous centuries before the advent of modern medicine and agricultural practices. My position was that typically we live longer and easier lives than previously in history. The opposing view was that people lives in relatively similar health to us today due to a diet filled with less sugar. I've tried to find sources to support my position, however there only seems to be commentary on the topic and not very much hard statistics.

Would anyone be able to help give me some context as to quality of life and potential for early death as well as some better sources? I was fairly sure about my knowledge of this in the past but with having trouble finding the data I feel a bit unsure.