27.
Hunza Valley
A Shangri-La Where Death Rides A Slow Bus
How would you like to live in a land where cancer has not yet been invented? A land where an optometrist discovers to his amazement that everyone has perfect 20-20 vision? A land where cardiologists cannot find a single trace of coronary heart disease? How would you like to live in a land where no one ever gets ulcers, appendicitis or gout? A land where men of 80 and 90 father children, and there’s nothing unusual about men and women living a vigorous life at the age of 100 or 120?
In India during the 1920s, British researcher Sir Robert McCarrison conducted one of the most eye-opening experiments relative to the correlation between diet and health. Dr. McCarrison spent many years in the Himalayan Mountains including the picturesque Hunza Valley.
This magical fairytale-like place is found between the borders of China, India, Pakistan and Russia at nearly 8000 ft. The natives of this valley, the Hunzakuts, captured Dr. McCarrison’s attention because of the their excellent health and extremely long lifespan.
“In these Himalayan Mountains is Hunza; a country slightly more than a hundred miles long and perhaps just as wide, containing approximately thirty thousand inhabitants,” writes Dr. Jay F. Hoffman, the author of the book Hunza - Secrets Of The World’s Healthiest And Oldest Living People, published in 1960. Dr. Hoffman was sent to Hunza under the auspices of the National Geriatrics Society.
In India during the 1920s, British researcher Sir Robert McCarrison conducted one of the most eye-opening experiments relative to the correlation between diet and health. Dr. McCarrison spent many years in the Himalayan Mountains including the picturesque Hunza Valley.
This magical fairytale-like place is found between the borders of China, India, Pakistan and Russia at nearly 8000 ft. The natives of this valley, the Hunzakuts, captured Dr. McCarrison’s attention because of the their excellent health and extremely long lifespan.
“In these Himalayan Mountains is Hunza; a country slightly more than a hundred miles long and perhaps just as wide, containing approximately thirty thousand inhabitants,” writes Dr. Jay F. Hoffman, the author of the book Hunza - Secrets Of The World’s Healthiest And Oldest Living People, published in 1960. Dr. Hoffman was sent to Hunza under the auspices of the National Geriatrics Society.
He further writes, “Here the people lived to be 100, 110, 120, and occasionally as much as 140 years of age. Here lies the real Fountain of Youth… Hunza land is truly a Utopia if ever there was one. Just think of this! Here is a land where people do not have our common diseases, such as heart ailments, cancer, arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes, tuberculosis, hay fever, asthma, liver trouble, gall bladder trouble, constipation or many other ailments that plague the rest of the world. Moreover, there are no hospitals, no insane asylums, no drug stores, no saloons, no tobacco stores, no police, no jails, no crimes, no murders, and no beggars.”
Any westerner who stepped foot on the tiny land of this friendly nation couldn’t stop raving about their good nature, outstanding hospitality, not to mention the physical strength and stamina of their men. “My own experience provides an example of a race unsurpassed in perfection of physique and in freedom from disease in general.” Wrote Dr. McCarrison about the Hunzkuts. “Amongst these people the span of life is extraordinarily long… During the period of my association with these people I never saw a case of asthenic dyspepsia, of gastric or duodenal ulcer, of appendicitis, of mucous colitis, of cancer.” (J.I. Rodale: The Healthy Hunza. Rodale Press)
Any westerner who stepped foot on the tiny land of this friendly nation couldn’t stop raving about their good nature, outstanding hospitality, not to mention the physical strength and stamina of their men. “My own experience provides an example of a race unsurpassed in perfection of physique and in freedom from disease in general.” Wrote Dr. McCarrison about the Hunzkuts. “Amongst these people the span of life is extraordinarily long… During the period of my association with these people I never saw a case of asthenic dyspepsia, of gastric or duodenal ulcer, of appendicitis, of mucous colitis, of cancer.” (J.I. Rodale: The Healthy Hunza. Rodale Press)
Hunzas are estimated to have lived in complete isolation for at least two thousand years. A British General and a garrison of solders on horseback investigated the Hunza River Valley in the 1870s. The pass to reach Hunza from Gilgit was 13,700 feet (4176 m) high, a difficult and treacherous trail. Upon entering the valley, the British found the steep, rocky sides of the valley lined with terraced garden plots, fruit trees, and animals being raised for milk and wool.
The gardens were watered with mineral-rich glacier water carried by an aqueduct system running a distance of 50 miles (80 km) from the Ultar Glacier on the 25,550 foot (7788 m) high Mount Rakaposhi. The wooden aqueduct trough was hung from the sheer cliffs by steel nails hammered into the rock walls. Silt from the river below was carried up the side of the valley to form and replenish the terraced gardens.
The difficult trail into Hunza kept the people isolated. As late as 1950, most of the children of Hunza had never seen a wheel or a Jeep even though airplanes were landing at the airport in Gilgit only 70 miles (112 km) away.
Not only are the Hunza people immune to serious diseases, they are also spared the discomfort of commonplace conditions such as the cold or the flu.
Dr. McCarrison, who specialized in nutritional diseases, was determined to learn their secret. The opportunity arose in 1927 when he was appointed the Director of Nutrition Research in India. Along with his designation he also received a well-equipped laboratory and qualified assistants.
Dr. McCarrison, who specialized in nutritional diseases, was determined to learn their secret. The opportunity arose in 1927 when he was appointed the Director of Nutrition Research in India. Along with his designation he also received a well-equipped laboratory and qualified assistants.
Hunza food is completely natural, containing no chemical additives whatsoever. Unfortunately, that is not the case as far as most of our food is concerned. Everything is as fresh as it can possibly be, and in its original unsalted state. The only “processing” consists of drying some fresh fruits in the the sun, and making butter and cheese out of milk. No chemicals or artificial fertilizers are used in their gardens. In fact, it is against the law of Hunza to spray gardens with pesticides.
Renee Taylor, in her book Hunza health secrets ( Prentice-Hall 1964) says that the Mir,or ruler of Hunza, was recently instructed by Pakistani authorities to spray the orchards of Hunza with pesticide, to protect them from an expected invasion of insects. But the Hunzas would have none of it. They refused to use the toxic pesticide, and instead sprayed their trees with a mixture of water and ashes, which adequately protected the trees without poisoning the fruit and the entire environment. In a word, the Hunzas eat as they live - organically.
The doctor designed a whole series of experiments to determine how big of a role the Hunzakuts’ diet played in their supreme health and longevity.
Hunza meals don’t consist of pre-cooked, over-processed, and nutritionally devoid industrial chemicals - like the average modern diet. Instead, they enjoy locally grown organic fruit, vegetables, unprocessed fresh milk products, and green or whole grains.
In the first experiment 1189 albino rats were fed the Hunza diet right from birth. This consisted of whole meal flatbread with a pat of fresh butter, sprouted legumes, fresh raw carrots and cabbage, whole milk, and once a week a tiny portion of meat and bones. Plenty of water was
provided for drinking and bathing. The only thing the rats did not receive was fruit, which the Hunza people ate a great deal of.
Hunza meals don’t consist of pre-cooked, over-processed, and nutritionally devoid industrial chemicals - like the average modern diet. Instead, they enjoy locally grown organic fruit, vegetables, unprocessed fresh milk products, and green or whole grains.
In the first experiment 1189 albino rats were fed the Hunza diet right from birth. This consisted of whole meal flatbread with a pat of fresh butter, sprouted legumes, fresh raw carrots and cabbage, whole milk, and once a week a tiny portion of meat and bones. Plenty of water was
provided for drinking and bathing. The only thing the rats did not receive was fruit, which the Hunza people ate a great deal of.
No diseases, No Premature Death
The rats were fed this diet for 27 months, which would be the equivalent of approximately 45 human years. The rats were killed, and thoroughly examined at all stages leading up to 27 months. Remarkably, no trace of any disease could be found in their bodies! This astonishing consequence could best be explained through Dr. McCarrison’s words as he described his findings during a lecture at the College of Surgeons in 1931:
An ordinary Hunza day starts early - around five a.m. Actually, the Hunzas rise with the sun, and go to bed at nightfall. The reason for this is simple: they possess no artificial means of illumination - no electricity, no gas, no oil. On the other hand, they are completely in tune with nature.
Of course it would be impossible for us to live that way. But you should be aware of one important point: your deepest hours of regenerating sleep occur before midnight.
The Hunzas do not seem to worry about the future, nor are they burdened with concerns about the past. Self doubt and the fear of failure, which tend to undermine the well-being of so many people, are unknown to the Hunzas.
“During the past two and a quarter years there has been no case of illness in this ‘universe’ of albino rats, no death from natural causes in the adult stock, and, but for a few accidental deaths, no infantile mortality. Both clinically and at post-mortem examination this stock has been shown to be remarkably free from disease. It may be that some of them have cryptic disease of one kind or another, but, if so, I have failed to find either clinical or macroscopical evidence of it.”
These results were truly staggering. But sadly, they did not have any real impact on the physicians present, who, much like the doctors of today, have a greater understanding of disease than the lack thereof.
There wasn’t a sudden surge of articles and books propagating the Hunza diet and the avoidance of white rice, white flour, sugar and for the most part, meat.
As a follow up to his earlier experiment, Dr. McCarrison duplicated in his laboratory the low quality diet of a poor rural region of India. During this larger-scale experiment, 2243 rats were fed a diet deficient of vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients. The animal results matched the physical condition of the millions of people living in this region: Both groups developed diseases in every organ they possessed.
These results were truly staggering. But sadly, they did not have any real impact on the physicians present, who, much like the doctors of today, have a greater understanding of disease than the lack thereof.
There wasn’t a sudden surge of articles and books propagating the Hunza diet and the avoidance of white rice, white flour, sugar and for the most part, meat.
As a follow up to his earlier experiment, Dr. McCarrison duplicated in his laboratory the low quality diet of a poor rural region of India. During this larger-scale experiment, 2243 rats were fed a diet deficient of vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients. The animal results matched the physical condition of the millions of people living in this region: Both groups developed diseases in every organ they possessed.
The people there live long, happy, productive lives partly because they don’t concern themselves much with time and age. This frees them from the hurry and worry that comes with alternately trying to rush time and hold it back -- both most fruitless and frustrating exercises. The people of Hunza have a grace that comes from flowing with time rather than trying to control it.
Renee Taylor writes, “Time is not measured by clocks or calendars (in Hunza). Time is judged by the changing of the seasons, and each season brings the feeling of newness, not a fear that time is slipping irrevocably away.
“In the West, on the other hand, where lives are dominated by clocks and calendars, we tend to view each passing moment as a little piece of life which has cruelly slipped away from us, never to return. Each such slipping bit of time brings us closer to old age and ultimately to death.
Diet and behavior
The most disturbing discovery of Dr. McCarrison was to come. In a later experiment, he set out to learn how the rats would react to the diet of the poorer class of England.
This consisted of white bread, margarine, sweetened tea, boiled vegetables, and cheap canned meats and jams. On this diet, not only did the rats not thrive physically, but they actually developed nervous disorders before things went from bad to worse: “They were nervous,” writes the doctor, “and opt to bite their attendants; they lived unhappily together, and by the 16th day of the experiment they began to kill and eat the weaker ones amongst them.”
Shockingly, this diet of the lower-class English in the 1930s actually had a much greater nutrient value than the “food” the majority of well-to-do Americans stuff themselves with today.
This consisted of white bread, margarine, sweetened tea, boiled vegetables, and cheap canned meats and jams. On this diet, not only did the rats not thrive physically, but they actually developed nervous disorders before things went from bad to worse: “They were nervous,” writes the doctor, “and opt to bite their attendants; they lived unhappily together, and by the 16th day of the experiment they began to kill and eat the weaker ones amongst them.”
Shockingly, this diet of the lower-class English in the 1930s actually had a much greater nutrient value than the “food” the majority of well-to-do Americans stuff themselves with today.
First rule: frugality. In the west people eat too much - sometimes two or three times more than our organism actually needs. And we’re not talking about people who have a weight problem either. Try to fashion your diet according to Hunza standards: remember that these mountain people eat only two light meals a day, even though they perform extremely laborious physical work for hours at a stretch, take part in demanding forms of physical exercise, and spend hours hiking along steep mountain paths each and every day. At the same time they do not feel in the least fatigued or anemic – on the contrary, their endurance and longevity is so great it has become almost legendary.
In fact, an excellent way to regenerate your organism and give your digestive system a rest is to fast, or drink only juice, for one day a week. Every spring the Hunzas fast for a number of days.
Following in the footsteps of Dr. McCarrison, cardiologists Dr. Paul D. White and Dr. Edward G. Toomey, made a difficult trip up the mountain paths to Hunza, toting along with them a portable, battery-operated electrocardiograph.
In the American Heart Journal for December, 1964, the doctors say they used the equipment to study 25 Hunza men, who were, “on fairly good evidence, between 90 and 110 years old.” Blood pressure and cholesterol levels were also tested. They reported that not one of these men showed a single sign of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
The Hunza people did not become a household name, even though they unintentionally came to possess the mental and practical skills needed to live long, joyous and disease-free lives. Of course, most of us are not able to move to the mountains and grow our own food but we can still learn a lot from this noble, peaceful and healthy nation. We can definitely start restoring our health by modifying our food selections.
In the American Heart Journal for December, 1964, the doctors say they used the equipment to study 25 Hunza men, who were, “on fairly good evidence, between 90 and 110 years old.” Blood pressure and cholesterol levels were also tested. They reported that not one of these men showed a single sign of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
The Hunza people did not become a household name, even though they unintentionally came to possess the mental and practical skills needed to live long, joyous and disease-free lives. Of course, most of us are not able to move to the mountains and grow our own food but we can still learn a lot from this noble, peaceful and healthy nation. We can definitely start restoring our health by modifying our food selections.
Milk and cheese are important sources of animal protein. Like grains, fruits and vegetables, yogurt is also a staple of the Hunza diet. Yogurt, which replenishes intestinal flora, is extremely beneficial for the human organism. Bulgarians, who also eat a lot of yogurt, are another people who live to a ripe old age. Bulgaria boasts 1,666 centenarians per million inhabitants, while in the West the number is only 9 per million inhabitants.
No discussion of the Hunza diet would be complete without mentioning their special bread, called ‘chapatti,’ which is eaten along with every meal. Since it is used so often, it would be logical to conclude that it is a determining factor - or at least a very important one - in causing their amazing longevity. In fact, chapatti bread contains all essential elements. It can be made from wheat, millet, buckwheat or barley flour, but what is most important is that the flour is whole, i.e. it is not refined, and has not had its germ removed, a common practice everywhere. It is this part of a grain which gives it its reproductive power, as well as its brown color.
Staying away from dead processed foods and turning towards natural, fresh, organically grown fruit and vegetables as much as possible is a good rule of thumb for everyone, regardless of his state of health. If enough people started demanding quality foods the food industry would have no choice but to alter its manufacturing processes and start supplying us with truly nutritious options instead of the falsely labeled junk we’re subjected to. But since we can’t foresee that day anytime in the near future, we all need to take responsibility for our own health and educate ourselves the best we can about the importance of nutrition.
(Excerpts from a paper by Dr. Lynn Hardy, N.D., Director for the Global Institute For Alternative Medicine included here.)
(Excerpts from a paper by Dr. Lynn Hardy, N.D., Director for the Global Institute For Alternative Medicine included here.)
Another important point to understand is that the health of the Hunzas is not characterized by the simple absence of disease, although that in itself is quite an accomplishment. More than just not being affected by diseases that strike down so many of our peers in the prime of life, the Hunzas seem to possess boundless energy and enthusiasm, and at the same time are surprisingly serene. Compared to the average Hunza, a westerner of the same age - even one who is considered extremely fit - would seem sickly. And not only seem sickly, but actually be sick!
All Hunzakuts are endurance athletes who practice all day. They have to work the fields and move long distances on foot. Every other day, a runner travels over the high mountain pass from Hunza to Gilgit. He picks up the mail and runs back. The round trip is about 120 miles. Other Hunzakuts frequently walk the distance, preferring walking to riding a horse.