IntheCaucasusregionoftheSovietUnion,nearly50outofevery100,000peoplelivetocelebratetheir100thbirthday,andmanydon’tstopat100!Bycomparison,inAmericaonly3peoplein100,000reach100.ButtheseSovietoldpeoplea
IntheCaucasusregionoftheSovietUnion,nearly50outofevery100,000peoplelivetocelebratetheir100thbirthday,andmanydon’tstopat100!Bycomparison,inAmericaonly3peoplein100,000reach100.ButtheseSovietoldpeoplearen’talone.ThePakistaniHunzas,wholivehighintheHimalayaMountains,andtheVilacbambansoftheAndesMountainsinEcuadorseemtosharethesecretoflongtoo.
Thesepeoplesremainhealthyinbodyandspiritdespitethepassageoftime.Whilemanyolderpersonsinindustrialsocietiesbecomeweakandillintheir60sand70s,someSovietGeorgians,aged110to140,workinthefieldsbesidetheirgreat-great-grandchildren.Eventheideaofagingisforeigntothem.Whenasked,“Atwhatagedoesyouthend?”,mostoftheseoldpeoplehasnoanswer.Severalreplied,“Well,perhapsatage80.”Theveryyoungestestimatewasage60.
Whataccountsforthisabilitytosurvivetosucholdage,andtosurvivesowell?Firstofall,hardphysicalworkisawayoflifeforalloftheselong-livedpeoples.Theybegintheirlongdaysofphysicallaboraschildrenandneverseemtostop.Forexample,Mr.RustamMamedovis142yearsofage.Herememberhislifeexperiences:theGrimeanWarof1854;theTurkishWarof1878;theBolshevikRevolutionin1917.Hiswifeis116yearsold.Theyhavebeenmarriedfor90years.Mr.Mamedovhasnointentionsofretiringfromhislifeasafarmer.“Why?WhatelsewouldIdo?”heasks.Oh,hehassloweddownabit.Nowhemightquitforthedayafter6hoursinthefieldinsteadof10.
Allthesepeoplegethealthfulrewardsfromtheenvironmentinwhichtheywork.Theyallcomefrommountainousregions.Theyliveandworkatelevationsof5,000to12,000feet(1,660to4,000meters)abovesealevel.Theairhaslessoxygenandispollutionfree.Thisreduced-oxygenenvironmentmakestheheartandbloodvesselsystemstronger.
Anotherfactorthatmaycontributetothegoodhealthofthesepeopleistheirisolation.Toagreatextent,theyareseparatedfromthepressuresandworriedofindustrialsociety.
Inheritedfactorsalsoplaysomerole.Mostofthelongest-livedpeoplehadparentsandgrandparentswhoalsoreachedveryoldages.Goodfamilygenesmay,therefore,beonefactorinlivinglonger.
Finally,althoughthesethreegroupsdon’teatexact