Scientists find keys to a long life in Italy's 100 club village

The Local ^ | Sept 5, 2016

[gasport]

Scientists on Monday revealed part of the secret to why a small village in southern Italy has an unusual number of centenarians - low levels of a particular hormone that affects circulation.

Italian and US experts have spent the last six months investigating the extraordinary longevity of residents of Acciaroli, where more than one in 10 - 81 at the mayor's last count - of the village's population of 700 is over 100 years old.

[gasport]

I like rosemary and I like ...

[PLMerite]

“...where more than one in 10 - 81 at the mayor’s last count - of the village’s population of 700 is over 100 years old.”

It’s not because there’s a nursing home for really old people there, is it?

[irish guard]

And there’s this.......”Sexual activity among the elderly appears to be rampant,” Maisel said. “Maybe living long has something to do with that, it’s probably the good airand the joie de vivre.”.........so they’ve got that goin for them.......which is nice

[Maceman]

I can’t see,
I can’t pee.
I cannot chew,
I cannot screw.
My memory shrinks,
My hearing stinks.
No sense of smell,
I look like hell.
My body’s drooping,
I’ve trouble pooping.
The golden years have come at last,
The golden years can kiss my ass!

[dp0622]

LOL. Not the Italians in my family. Mom is 83. Still Drives 3 hours to visit her cousins. Uncle nunzio is 88 and walks easily 5 miles a day in Manhattan. Don’t even get me started on aunt Carmella. Maybe there’s something to that Mediterranean diet because when I moved out 20 years ago is when I started to fall apart :) ate too much garbage. Getting back to my roots now and cooking very often

[EarlT357]

Med diet; good wine; attitude and sex....you can have it all!

[I want the USA back]

Partially in the genes, and partially in the culture. Strong family bonds. Strong values. Love of one’s culture and country.

[dp0622]

just picked up three liters from the store yesterday. A Cabernet and a Pinot Noir :)
now I have to work on my attitude. And that one is self-evident from some of my posts. As for the third one, that is best left personal :)

[goodnesswins]

They eat rosemary EVERY DAY?

[elcid1970]

Along with parsley, sage, and thyme.

;^)

[CaptainK]

I think they season with it.

[sima_yi]

Med diet; good wine; attitude and sex....you can have it all!

I expand:

Mediterranean Diet: good food, good wine, good attitude, good sex. What's not to like?

[Daffynition]

People with the longest life expectancies and concurrent high quality of life are from:

• Andorra—the mountainous region between France and Spain
• Vilcamba Valley—the Andes mountains in Ecuador
• Himalayas—the Hunzas in Pakistan are the 3rd longest-living group of people
• Abkhasians and Georgians live in a mountainous region near the Black Sea in Russia
• Macau in Southern China
• Okinawa
• Japan
• Singapore
• San Marino, a nation state in Italy
• Hong Kong
• Australia
• France
• Canada
• Switzerland
• Sweden

These groups have some general commonalities concerning their diet.

Diversity

80,000 different edible species of plant foods have been identified. 3,000 have been commonly used throughout human history. 150 plant species are widely cultivated and yet just 3—corn, soy and wheat–account for 60% of the world’s food supply.

These subsidized crops are usually highly processed and refined and are contributing to the development of food allergies worldwide. We were never meant to rely on such a small range of foods and doing so puts us at severe risk both health-wise and environmentally.

Long-lived peoples eat a wide variety of foods and eat seasonally.

Japan’s recommended dietary intake is to eat 30 different varieties of food every day. Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore are some of the world’s largest seaports containing richly diverse cuisines from all over the world.

Fish

Fish is a very common staple in diets of the long-living. Whether they live in the mountains or by the sea, trade for fermented fish paste or eat brook trout, these cultures value fish in their diets. What is important to remember here is that the fish these cultures eat is, for the most part, wild-caught, not farmed.

Whole Grains

Many of these people live in isolated regions that are as yet unaffected by the expansion of the Western diet and its processed and refined grain products. Buckwheat noodles are a staple in Japan, grasses are part of the Abkhasian and Hunza diets, the Swiss eat dark breads. Pulsed, sprouted and fermented grains are part of these traditional diets.

Plant Foods

Vegetables, fruits, nuts and berries are found in abundance in these cultures’ diets. Long-living people eat natural and organic plant foods regularly that are free of pesticides and herbicides.

Animal Protein/Fats

Contrary to popular belief, longevity doesn’t belong in the vegetarian domain. These people do eat a large quantity of herbs, fruits and vegetables, but animal products play a large role in their diets. Meats, cheeses, butters, yogurts and lard are staple components in these diets. These animals are grass-fed, free-range and respected.

Dairy

Cultured dairy products are also another commonality with these groups. But the dairy products consumed are cultured by the people themselves in many cases, so they don’t consume the pasteurized and compromised products we do in the West.

Probiotics

Traditional diets all contain fermented products of some kind. Pulsed grains, fermented drinks, fish sauces, yogurt, pickled vegetables or cured meat—necessary methods of preservation–have made natural probiotics a common part of these diets.

Tea

Tea is another universal part of traditional diets. Herbal tonics and other brewed plant drinks are common to all long-lived cultures.

These cultures are also characterized by communal values and social interaction, meditative practices and moderate daily physical activity. Their nutritional choices are based on traditional wisdom—not TV. They eat what their ancestors have eaten for generations—not what commercial messages advertise as cheap and convenient.

source: https://draxe.com/the-worlds-longest-living-cultures/

[Daffynition]

Don't forget Santorini. Who wouldn't love to live on that island to an old age?

[gattaca]

I think the water they drink has more minerals since many of these areas are in volcanic areas.

[Albion Wilde]

Thank you for the link to The Local. It’s rather like a “lite” version of the DailyMail, only about the continental nations. Bookmarking.

[Verginius Rufus]

Abkhasians and Georgians live in a mountainous region near the Black Sea in the Republic of Georgia.

[Daffynition]

I recall a interview with a centenarian from that area [maybe we had a thread]. They claimed that wodka and yogurt were a staple in their diet. I thought it was interesting that there were a number of men among them.

[Daffynition]

[gattaca]

Good one!