Eating Well: Living Long

Extensive study has proven that if human beings lived up to their full physical potential that they could easily live to be 120 years old. The secret to living to this ripe old age, warding off disease and maintaining a healthy mind lies, researchers say, in what we eat. According to the U.S. surgeon general, 1.8 million of the 2.2 million deaths in America each year are diet-related. What if you could actually slow down the aging process, feel younger and prevent disease by making a few lifestyle changes? This discovery, in fact, is nothing new. Cultures around the world bear testimony to the fact that lifestyle is the strongest indicator of health and how long a person will actually live. Here is a look at two populations of people that are examples of the relationship between eating well and living long.

People of Okinawa

The Okinawan islands are a group of 161 islands that are in the East China Sea. These people suffer from Western disease less than anywhere else in the world. Elderly people are active, there is not such thing as retirement, and there exist a large number of people over 105 years of age. Heart disease, stroke and cancer are almost unheard of. Studies have been done on these people since 1975, and they almost all point exclusively to the connection between longevity and diet. Okinawans truly believe that diet is medicine and base much of their meals around staples such as sweet potatoes, leafy greens and whole grains. They also consume moderate amounts of fish, pork, rice and soy. This nutrient dense diet provides a plethora of vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants necessary to fight aging and disease. This healthy group of people consumes remarkably little sugar or refined foods of any type. In addition, Okinawans get plenty of exercise and practice stress reduction techniques.

People of Hunza

The Hunza valley lies in the mountains of northeast Pakistan and is home to about 20,000 extremely healthy people known as the Hunzakuts. The people living in this lush valley enjoy freedom from disease and long and active lives. The Hunza diet has been studied for decades by researchers who are amazed by the number of elderly Hunzakuts who not only look thirty years less their age but also act thirty years less their age. Virtually untouched by the modern world until the 1980’s the Hunzakuts ate a traditional diet of local foods. Their traditional diet is organic vegetable-based, and they consume a great deal of fruit as well as whole wheat and lentils. Meat is eaten only in small amounts and is not processed as in America. Glacier water and herbal teas are also part of the traditional diet. Unfortunately, with western infiltration, processed foods and sugar have come to the valley and with them heart disease and cancer. However, Hunzakuts that still live off of the land are healthy and live long productive lives.

While there are other factors that come into play when discussing longevity such as toxins, stress and heredity, diet appears to play a critical role in not only the length of one's life but also the quality of that life. These two extraordinary groups of people serve as inspiration to anyone seeking a longer and healthier life.

About the Author: Susan Patterson is a Biblical Health Coach and a Metabolic Typing Advisor with a keen interest in nutrition. She enjoys studying other cultures and languages and frequently writes for such websites as TransparentLanguage.