【IntheCaucasusregionoftheSovietUnionnearly50outofevery100000peoplelivetocelebratetheir100thbirthdayandmanydon'tstopat100!BycomparisoninAmericaonly3peoplein100000reach100.ButtheseSovietold】
IntheCaucasusregionoftheSovietUnionnearly50outofevery100000peoplelivetocelebratetheir100thbirthdayandmanydon'tstopat100!BycomparisoninAmericaonly3peoplein100000reach100.ButtheseSovietoldpeoplearen'talone.ThePakistaniHunzaswholivehighintheHimalayaMountainsandtheVilacbambansoftheAndesMountainsinEcuadorseemtosharethesecretoflongtoo.
Thesepeoplesremainheathyinbodyandspiritdespitethepassageoftime.Whilemanyolderpersonsinindustrialsocietiesbecomeweakandillintheir60sand70ssomeSovietGeorgiansaged110to140workinthefieldsbesidetheirgreat--great--grandchildren.Eventheideaofagingisforeigntothem.Whenasked“Atwhatagedoesyouthend?”mostoftheseoldpeoplehasnoanswer.Severalreplied“Wellperhapsatage80.”Theveryyoungest
estimatewasage60.
Whataccountsforthisabilitytosurvivetosucholdageandtosurvivesowell?Firstofallhardphysicalworkisawayoflifeforalloftheselong-livedpeoples.Theybegintheirlongdaysofphysicallaboraschildrenandneverseemtostop.ForexampleMrRustamMamedovis142yearsofage.Heremembershislifeexperiences:theCrimeanWarof1854;theTurkishWarof1878;theBolshevikRevolutionin1917.Hiswifeis116yearsold.Theyhavebeenmarriedfor90years.MrMamedovhasnointentionsofretiringfromhislifeasafarmer.“Why?WhatelsewouldIdo?”heasks.Ohhehassloweddownabit.Nowhemightquitforthedayafter6hoursinthefieldinsteadof10.
Allthesepeoplegethealthfulrewardsfromtheenvironmentinwhichtheywork.Theyallcomefrommountainousregions.Theyliveandworkatelevationsof5000to12000feet(1660to4000meters)abovesealevel.Theairhaslessoxygenandispollutionfree.Thisreduced-oxygenenvironmentmakestheheartandbloodvesselsystemstronger.
Anotherfactorthatmaycontributetothegoodhealthofthesepeopleistheirisolation.Toagreatextenttheyareseparatedfromthepressuresandworriesofindustrialsociety.
Inheritedfactorsalsoplaysomerole.Mostofthelongest-livedpeoplehadparentsandgrandparentswhoalsoreachedveryoldages.Goodfamilygenesmaythereforebeonefactorinlivinglonger.
Finallyalthoughthesethreegroupsdon'teatexactlythe