Healthy at 100

[Sempu]

I just started reading a 2006 book of this name by the author of "Diet for a New America." I realize that longevity is not of as immediate concern to most of you as it is to me... so why do I bring it up in this forum?

Because the first part of the book covers cultures known for exceptional longevity: Abkhasia, Vilcambamba, Hunza, Okinawa. And while researchers have traditionally focused on the diets in those locations, that's not the whole secret of their health. This book points out the quality of social life and attitudes in those places, the emphasis on humor, valuing elders, and family. The health differences are stunning. 80% of coronary care units, 1/3 of cancer wards, and many nursing homes would have to close in the USA if people there lived like Okinawan elders.

More to the point, the people there by all accounts live in communities that are much more like the Na'vi or what we want from that people. The parallels are striking. I've been to Okinawa and seen this for myself.

I think the readers of this forum could draw great inspiration from those peoples and find ways to bring more of their values to western culture. I sense a revolution in attitudes brewing and I think we are the people to foment it. Check out the book and whatever else you can find out about those regions.