The Secret to Living Longer, Villages (part1) ........

I have been meaning to make this thread for a while and just haven’t got around to it, until today..
This thread is about certain places in the world which have a longer than normal life expectancy. This is manly due to healthy eating, exercise and fresh air. However it is entirely possible that genetics plays a crucial part.

All the villages I will be talking about in the thread seem to exhibit a sense of community, a feeling of well being, of belonging . All the villagers work together. Maybe that is the secret. Maybe they feed of each others energy, their kindness and their willingness to help each other. Maybe that’s what is missing in this world.

I am going to start with what first peaked my interest in this subject.

1. The Hunza People

Some of you may of heard of Hunza before. For those of you who have not it is located in the Northern most part of what is now Pakistan.
Map of Area

Hunza is located where the high Karakorum mountains meet the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas Hunza is actually a valley . For you Zombie fans, it is thought to be the inspiration of Shangri La,( the land of eternal youth) described by James Hilton in his novel Lost Horizon.


Due to the location, in the past Hunza was extremely isolated and extremely difficult to access. This changed somewhat in the 70s when the Karakoman Highway was built through the Hunza Valley tracing the old silk routes from Pakistan to China.

There was a lot of media interest in the area. National geographic led an expedition there. The main reason for this, apart from the natural beauty, was the people were said to live exceedingly long lives.
Unfortunately (maybe not for the villagers) there were exaggerated reports of Hunzakuts (the name of the people) living to 150 or 160 years old, these hyped reports were discredited and as a result the media lost interest in Hunza.

However Hunza is indeed a Longevity Hot Spot .Chronic disease is virtually unknown and people are vibrant and active until very old ages. According to Western physicians who have visited Hunza, digestive disorders do not exist and cancer rates are almost zero.
In 1964 US cardiologists Dr. Paul Dudley White and Dr. Edward G Toomey visited, they reported in the American Heart Journal that of 25 Hunzakut men they studied who were, between 90 and 110 years old’, None showed a single sign of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.

Most Hunzakuts expect to live at least until their 80s if not into their 90s and 100s. The people seem to stay mentally and physically active with little need to visit a doctor.

I think the main reason this village stays so healthy is due to their diet and fresh air.Almost everything the Hunzakuts feast eat it fresh,
unprocessed, and in season., Hunzakuts exercise daily, walking and working amongst their mountainous landscape. Researchers call their diet lacto-vegetarian. The majority of this diet consists of drinking glacier water, raw, unpasteurized milk, and eat leafy green or root vegetables. Their water comes from glaciers.

There was actually a study done by Nobel prize winner Dr. Henri Coanda. He determined thatit had different viscosity and surface tension with a noted high alkaline pH, high levels of active hydrogen (hydrogen with an extra electron), negative Redox potential, and a high colloidal mineral content.

We have probably all read about the benefits of eating apricot seeds, If not , the idea is they are meant to ward off and fight cancer.
The Hunzakuts love apricots. Apricot orchards are seen everywhere in Hunza and a family's economic stability is measured by the number of trees they have under cultivation.

So in conclusion , their longevity is due to a number of factors, healthy organic foods, clean air, water, apricots, genetics and a peaceful (in my opinion stress free) way of life. Well until US decides to drone them that is.

A lot more information can be found at these links

thepdi.com...
musizmaniacs.blogspot.com...

Ok if you are still with me and haven’t got bored ,yet, then we have village number 2.

2. Campodimele ,Italy

Campodimele is located on the west coast of Italy between Rome and Naples. It is a beautiful picturesque village. It has been called the village of eternity. a village that is about 1,000 years old and situated on a mountain top in the middle of the Aurunci Mountains. It's about 25 km (15 miles) from the Tyrrhenian Sea coast.



At the last count, Campodimele – whose name comes from the Latin campus mellis, or ‘field of honey’ had 840 residents, including one 104 year old, forty-eight 90 year olds and three 99 year olds. The OAPS don’t sit around like many do in the west waiting to die, they are cycling up and down the steep hills, chatting animatedly in the cobbled piazza, working the olive groves, and chasing around after their goats.
There is no doctor, hospital or pharmacy in Campodimele, apparently they don’t need one.


Researchers have found that the blood pressure and cholesterol of the older people is the same as the young. The men tend to live longer then the women, this is probably due to lack of stress (maybe their women don’t moan as much )
They eat fresh organic produce, have clean air and live active lives. They are obviously doing something right.
More info
edition.cnn.com...
www.lifeinitaly.com...

Are you still with me?? Or have you clicked the x

Continued..

Mods ,looking through the forums again I think this would be better suited in the health and wellness one, could you move please, sorry for the inconvenience

a reply to: maythetruthbeknown

Are you still with me?? Or have you clicked the x
Ok Village number 3, This place is absolutely breathtaking

3. Bama, China

Located in the southwest of China, Bama is actually an area in China and it has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.








Look at the pictures below.
Famed for centuries for its residents' unusual longevity, it now has 81 centenarians. Proportional to population, that is roughly five times China's average.

A decade ago the best-known settlement in the county , Guangxi ,re-branded itself as Longevity Village. More than 640,000 people came in the first five months of 2013, boosting the economy by 406m yuan (£41m), say officials.
An estimated 20,000 health tourists ,many times the number of native residents –,live in the surrounding district, staying for months at a time.

The truth is that the Bama people are some of the most vibrantly healthy, long-lived people in the world, with exceptionally high numbers of active, disease-free nonogenarians, centenarians and super-centenarians.

The Panyang river flows through the valley. Apparently it is rich in minerals, the locals drink and bathe in it as do the tourists that come.
Visitors are usually offered a bowl of ‘longevity soup’, made with hemp oil, an oil rich in both omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids which are crucial for perfect health. Bama people also believe their Fragrant Pig, lean and organic, and Oil Fish from the Panyang River help with their longevity
Their longevity is probably due to the breath taking views they see every day, fresh air, healthy food and clean water. My only concern is with the influx of tourists will they still be able to maintain their way of life. I would love to visit this place, it looks so beautiful.

More info

www.theguardian.com...
. www.chinaculture.org...

Ok, I think I am going to do this thread in 2 parts as this is taking longer then expected and I expect that due to it being long some people haven’t continued to read. I am going to do one more and If popular then I will make another thread in a few days.

Ok no 4
4. Montacute, England
Montacute is a small village located in Somerset England, It is a typical old fashioned English Village. It has a sense of community, a pub, a church and a square where people meet and chat.


A recent study of pension records from every postcode in the UK by an international business consultancy found that members of the 680-strong population can expect to live until at least 89 years old, which is 8 years more than in certain other parts of the UK.

Locals claim the secret to their longevity lies in their soil – a fertile, light type of soil which forms part of a stretch known as the Yeovil Sands Everyone grows their own vegetables, either in their backyard gardens or in designated allotments at the edge of the village. Potatoes, spinach, runner beans, leeks, onions, cabbages, beetroot, carrots, and herbs such as parsley and rosemary, all organic and packed with vitamins and minerals Eating them keeps villagers healthy, and digging them up keeps them fit and provides them with a sense of satisfaction and purpose.


Villagers also benefit from the pristine waters of a nearby spring which is piped into gardens where it is used for drinking and watering the plants.
Healthy eating, fresh air, exercise and a sense of community keeps the people here feeling young. I believe if you feel and act young, then you stay young.
More info

www.telegraph.co.uk...
en.wikipedia.org...

I hope you enjoyed this thread ,If you did I will make a part 2, all comments welcome, add any pictures you wish, thanks for reading
Regards

Amazing thread and a S&F from me for the effort and time you put into it. Thank you.

These places are amazing. I had only ever heard of one before your thread and never thought much about it. I think many things factor into having a long life, not the least of which is stress, happiness, and clean food/water. I think a lot of places fall into that area, but not all of them have the longevity these villages do, so the mystery remains. Continued youth and vitality will likely be something we will continue hunting down for the rest of time, as death is considered something to be avoided at all costs.

Even though none of us know for certain what awaits us, we have (most of us in western culture at any rate) been born and raised to fear death, to fight it every step of the way, to fear it so much that it's sometimes paralyzing. We are never taught to embrace it and very few of us ever do unless we are at the end of our sanity with acute pain and suffering. Only then do we consider death to be something less scary than what we are living currently.

When you think about it like that, it is strange.

I think lots of people concentrate on avoiding it so much, they forget to really live while they can.

I would like to see a second installment myself and I am sure that I'm not alone in that. This is a very interesting subject you have brought to light. I enjoyed it very much and am going to go back through all the links more in depth now.

Thank you again.

a reply to: Kangaruex4Ewe
Ok, oko, thanks for Your reply ,you have persuaded me, I have more than 1 flag. I am very popular so I will do one more….
No really its because I cant sleep

Ok no 5

5 Okinawa ,Japan
I am sure most people have heard this name

Okinawa is the largest and most populated of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands of Japan. They make up the southern part of Japan. The city of Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, is located there.



The islands have had a turbulent past, I am sure many of you are aware of. World war 2 and a staging post for Korea and Vietnam to name just a few.
Off topic …Okinawa has 32 US bases……That’s a lot

Its hard to imagine such a beautiful place during the horrors of war.


The people of the islands have one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

A Japanese doctor called Dr Suzuki came to Okinawa in 1975 to open a medical centre, he went to look for a famous centenarian woman he had heard of. The story goes that he stopped a woman, apparently around 70 years old, striding down the street and asked her if she knew where the centenarian lived. You can probably guess her reply: ‘I am her’, she said.

Dr Suzuki then went on to find 40 centenarians on the small main island and discovered that they were not only numerous but unusually healthy. AT the moment there are thirty-four centenarians per 100,000 people in Okinawa, compared with ten per 100,000 in the United States, with an uncommonly high number of people aged over 105.

Apparently the islanders have the lowest levels of cancer, stroke and heart disease on the planet.
The traditional diet of the islanders contains 30% green and yellow vegetables.T he traditional Japanese diet usually includes large quantities of rice, the traditional Okinawa diet consists of smaller quantities of rice, their staple is a purple sweet potoato . They eat fresh organic food. I just wonder whether the American influence will have a negative impact on life expectancy, only time will tell.

The Okinawans eat three servings of fish a week, on average, which obviously helps towards a longer life. Dr Suzuki and gerontologists subsequently studying old Okinawans have found them to have freakishly youthful arteries, low homocysteine levels, high levels of sex hormones, vibrant immune systems, excellent bone health, and excellent mental ability. Many elderly Okinawans claim never to have had a day’s sickness in their lives.

I am sure genetics play a role, but to me it seems fresh healthy food , beautiful area, fresh water, staying active and no modern day stresses aid these people to live a healthy long life.

Ok thats enough for today, thanks for reading

links
www.okicent.org...

www.theguardian.com...

a reply to: Kangaruex4Ewe

I see you point and its a good one. When we stop worrying about death then we will actually be able to live our lives. Fear, although sometimes necessary, most of the time holds us back from who and what we can become
That is why They (media,tptb,religion bullies etc) are always trying to use fear against us. When we learn to over come the fear, only then will we be able to truly ,live the lives we are meant to be living. One day........one day

Notice what they have in common

1 All there food is grown locally, by them, not a corporation.

2 Clean water, no chemicals added.

3 Clean air, no industrial pollution.

4 Beautiful natural environment.

Lucky people to live like this.

a reply to: LDragonFire

Yes they are lucky, sometimes due to money or availability a lot of people can not, or will not eat organic and fresh. Another thing they have in common is community, they feel part of something, they help each other and thus help themselves.
I just hope they manage to stay the way they are, the influence is now all around them. I wonder how the young people eat/spend time. Do they eat junk and play video games. I wouldn't of thought so, I hope not.

All the villages I will be talking about in the thread seem to exhibit a sense of community, a feeling of well being, of belonging . All the villagers work together. Maybe that is the secret. Maybe they feed of each others energy, their kindness and their willingness to help each other. Maybe that’s what is missing in this world.

That can't be right, self reliance, independence, not accepting help cause you are a; bad person, dumb person, irresponsible person, bad choice making person, lazy person, if you need help of any kind.

Surely the work yourself to death work ethic and personal responsibility of this world is what is going to make us live longer right?


Seriously, I would love to live in one of these communities. I would love to know what it is like to not have to constantly have to be stronger than you really are. To form relationships with your communities? I can't fathom that concept.

a reply to: maythetruthbeknown

The community aspect is huge. We waste so much time and resources trying to keep the wheels spinning on our own in america. We do not work together very frequently besides at a corporation, where you are making money for other people. To share the burden of making meals, and caring for kids, and caring for each other gives life. It gives purpose and brings joy to their lives. They actually live their lives together instead of their own separate purposes.

Organic food and clean mineral water is also very important, along with a host of other factors as you've pointed out, but even then the community activity of gardening, and eating together, and sharing their lives together multiplies the benefits of healthy food and water.

Emotional stress plays a huge role in aging, and disease. We were meant to live in villages. I personally feel it is the only way forward for our world is to return to community based living. We can get out of the rat race, we just have to do it together.

Fascinating thread! y Grandmother lived to see 101, being self sufficient her entire life. Most of my older family members have lived to late 80's at least. I do think eating habits play a huge part in long-term health.

Modern farming practices have depleted the minerals from the soil, and food preservation methods depletes nutrients even more. Our bodies effectively now run on the equivalent of a car running on 1/2 a quart of oil. No wonder we break down!

Community is also a very good point. In the past, groups of people lived in clans, governed by elders. Without lawyers and politicians, they seem to have fared much better than we do now, without all the crime we face on a daily basis.

Church seems sort of like a clan, but today's youth seem to prefer identifying with a gang. People have an innate need to unite and with the family unit/clan no longer being our basic foundation, we struggle to find our place in the world.

Water without fluoride? Can that be healthy?

Time for my flu shot; I'm running low on mercury.

a reply to: maythetruthbeknown

Malcolm Gladwell wrote about this...I forget who did the study but they showed exactly what you are saying... that a sense of community and the older folks feeling "needed" led them to live longer. He explains how at first they were looking at their diet and things like that and were totally baffled because it wasn't any better than anywhere else. To think in a way we keep each other alive.

I wonder with the world becoming more anti social due to the internet...myself included....if life expectancy could drop or will the medical advancements outweigh it? Great thread.

Somebody needs to introduce them folks in Okinawa to butter brown sugar and cinnamon on those sweet potatoes, that life expectancy will level out in no time

Seriously though, while I think having such great fresh air and water has a lot to do with it, I think the sense of community is probably the major contributing factor. I wonder what internet usage is like for these places in comparison with other places in the world with more illness. Just a thought, you got me thinking SnF!

a reply to: ValentineWiggin

I don't think you're too far off in regards to the sense of community aiding in longevity. When the entire community works together and looks out for one another, those who are nearing their late 80's and 90's are less likely to be marginalized or left out as well as neglected. They are far more likely to be looked in on regularly and to take part in things where in America for example, they would be shoved into an assisted living environment and left to themselves. The negative mental affects that imbues go a long way towards a faster decline versus the positivity and respect lent towards elders in these communities where they are living longer and doing better at more advanced ages lending itself to a better and healthier frame of mind which clearly has some affect on physical longevity, in my opinion.

a reply to: peter vlar

I would also think the older generations would be involved more with the raising and growing of the younger generations as well. Grand kids, great grand kids... have a special way of keeping the elders going I'm sure. Having them around to help with child care will ease the stress on the parents, easing the stress passed down to the children etc... trickle down effect. Not to mention more extended family.

Great thread. I find this all very interesting, and thought provoking. It makes me think about how I'd like to live in some of those places. There's no way I could do it in my current life situation though, and that makes me a little sad. It also makes me think about what I can do differently with what I do have to work with right now, and it still makes me sad. We in the U.S., or much of the U.S. I guess, are unable to get away from air and water pollution. I tried growing my own food and I am failing because I apparently have a lot to learn still. Stress is a near constant for me, again in my current life situation, and I am always *trying* to remain calm and serene.

So in short, your thread makes me yearn for a better life, and also makes me feel a bit more hopeless that I'll ever get it. I hate to sound so down.... I really do like your thread!

a reply to: rockpaperhammock

Thankyou for the reply. I have never heard of this guy before . After some research I see the research you are referring to.
It seems however it was Stewart Wolf that did the principle research. The book is called chance and circumstance by Malcolm Gladwell. book

Wolf was a physician. He studied digestion and the stomach, and taught in the medical school at the University of Oklahoma

What Wolf slowly realized was that the secret of Roseto wasn't diet or exercise or genes or the region where Roseto was situated. It had to be the Roseto itself. As Bruhn and Wolf walked around the town, they began to realize why. They looked at how the Rosetans visited each other, stopping to chat with each other in Italian on the street, or cooking for each other in their backyards. They learned about the extended family clans that underlay the town's social structure. They saw how many homes had three generations living under one roof, and how much respect grandparents commanded. They went to Mass at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church and saw the unifying and calming effect of the church. They counted twenty-two separate civic organizations in a town of just under 2000 people. They picked up on the particular egalitarian ethos of the town, that discouraged the wealthy from flaunting their success and helped the unsuccessful obscure their failures.

You can read the 1st chapter here

Seems like a fascinating read.. Thank you

What it all boils down to is what you eat. We Americans shove so much crap down our throats without a second thought. And then we wonder why we feel so bad. In most Eastern countries it's about prevention of disease. Over here its wait until something goes wrong, then take these useless pills. Your food is your medicine. Nature has a cure for every disease.

originally posted by: [post=18404594]calstorm[/post


Seriously, I would love to live in one of these communities. I would love to know what it is like to not have to constantly have to be stronger than you really are. To form relationships with your communities? I can't fathom that concept.

You don't need a village to get this feeling. Surround yourself with good people, help each other and do to others what you want done to yourself. You can have your own little community. It doesn't have to be in the foot hills of some mountain range, although obviously that will be nicer. If everyone lived by this ethos, wouldn't it be a much better world?

a reply to: zardust

Thank you for you response, I agree with everything you say. It is difficult to leave the rat race and abandon material things. I am halfway there at the moment but its difficult.Unless I win the lottery I am still going to need money.(I suppose it would help if I played the lottery also) However even with modern living there is nothing stopping us helping others, thats what is missing, thats what we need to do.