34.
Sardinia
An Epicenter Of Longevity
Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily) and an autonomous region of Italy. It is situated 120 miles off the coast of Italy. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate.
Of 1.6 million Sardinians, there are at least 220 who have reached 100, twice the typical ratio. Five of the world’s 40 oldest people live on the island. Sardinia shares with the Japanese island of Okinawa the highest rate of centenarians in the world. In a cluster of 17 white washed villages in island’s highland Nuoro Province, you find nearly 10 times the number of centenarians per 1000 people than you do in America.
The epicenter of longevity in Sardinia is located around the mountainous region of Barbagia and the Province of Nuoro. This is where Sardinians fled to escape the invading Barbarians in Roman times, isolating themselves from outside influences and creating a pocket of especially resilient and proud people who are some of the healthiest in the world.
Here you will find octogenarians running after sheep up steep hillsides, nonagenarians climbing nut trees and chopping wood, and calendars depicting ‘centenarian of the month’. These centenarians walk long distances their entire lives
This region has traditionally been home to shepherds, who pasture their sheep across the rugged, sun-beaten terrain. The steep, rocky terrain is not suited to wide-scale agriculture.
Sardinian women are known to complain that they are the ones who have to do the domestic drudgery and the worrying back at home whilst their men spend the day roaming around in nature and often sleep out under the stars with hardly a care in the world.
A Danish study concluded that longevity here was mainly due to lifestyle choices and environmental factors, with genetics accounting for only about a quarter of the picture.
Historically, Sardinians have made sure to maintain their way of life as a way of protecting themselves from the constant invaders coming in from the sea wanting a slice of this wild and beautiful island. This has meant that they have kept family close and honored family customs such as respecting their elders and looking out for each other.
Of 1.6 million Sardinians, there are at least 220 who have reached 100, twice the typical ratio. Five of the world’s 40 oldest people live on the island. Sardinia shares with the Japanese island of Okinawa the highest rate of centenarians in the world. In a cluster of 17 white washed villages in island’s highland Nuoro Province, you find nearly 10 times the number of centenarians per 1000 people than you do in America.
The epicenter of longevity in Sardinia is located around the mountainous region of Barbagia and the Province of Nuoro. This is where Sardinians fled to escape the invading Barbarians in Roman times, isolating themselves from outside influences and creating a pocket of especially resilient and proud people who are some of the healthiest in the world.
Here you will find octogenarians running after sheep up steep hillsides, nonagenarians climbing nut trees and chopping wood, and calendars depicting ‘centenarian of the month’. These centenarians walk long distances their entire lives
This region has traditionally been home to shepherds, who pasture their sheep across the rugged, sun-beaten terrain. The steep, rocky terrain is not suited to wide-scale agriculture.
Sardinian women are known to complain that they are the ones who have to do the domestic drudgery and the worrying back at home whilst their men spend the day roaming around in nature and often sleep out under the stars with hardly a care in the world.
A Danish study concluded that longevity here was mainly due to lifestyle choices and environmental factors, with genetics accounting for only about a quarter of the picture.
Historically, Sardinians have made sure to maintain their way of life as a way of protecting themselves from the constant invaders coming in from the sea wanting a slice of this wild and beautiful island. This has meant that they have kept family close and honored family customs such as respecting their elders and looking out for each other.
Sardinian Longevity Foods
Sardinians consume milk and cheese from goats. The goats in this region have a unique quality. They eat dwarf curry, a plant currently used in the U.S. to make anti-inflammatory drugs. The most common variety of goat’s cheese is pecorino. Sardinians also consume large quantities of fava beans and barley. This cheese made from grass-fed goats—a traditional part of the Sardinian diet—is high in omega-3 fatty acids. Goat’s milk, another staple, contains components that might help protect against inflammatory diseases of aging such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Sir Arbuthnot Lane, one of England’s distinguished surgeons, and a student of public welfare, has made this comment: (2)
Long surgical experience has proved to me conclusively that there is something radically and fundamentally wrong with the civilized mode of life, and I believe that unless the present dietetic and health customs of the White Nations are reorganized, social decay and race deterioration are inevitable.
Needless to say, the food eaten by long-lived Sardinians is plant-based, organic, and free from junk food, preservatives, or anything else that comes from outside. The classic Sardinian diet consists of whole-grain bread, beans, garden vegetables, fruits, and, in some parts of the island, mastic oil. Meat is largely reserved for special occasions. Consumption of locally made Cannonau wine is moderate. Islanders traditionally eat sugary foods sparingly, with desserts and pastries reserved for saints’ days and festivals. Herbs and infusions are part of the daily fare.
People regularly attend church. Family is revered and grandparents provide love, child care, financial help, wisdom, and motivation to perpetuate traditions and push children to succeed in their lives. In turn, elders feel a sense of belonging in their families and communities. They live at home, where they’re likely to receive better care and remain more engaged than they would in a nursing home or assisted-living facility. These grandparents help raise a healthier and better adjusted generation. They are respected as the living memories of their communities. People with strong family ties have lower rates of depression and stress.
People regularly attend church. Family is revered and grandparents provide love, child care, financial help, wisdom, and motivation to perpetuate traditions and push children to succeed in their lives. In turn, elders feel a sense of belonging in their families and communities. They live at home, where they’re likely to receive better care and remain more engaged than they would in a nursing home or assisted-living facility. These grandparents help raise a healthier and better adjusted generation. They are respected as the living memories of their communities. People with strong family ties have lower rates of depression and stress.
The World’s Oldest Family
The Melis family on the island are officially the world’s oldest with nine brothers and sisters clocking up a total of 818 years between them.
The oldest sibling, Consolata, who turned 105 recently, has nine children, 24 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.
The next oldest are Claudia (99), Maria (97), Antonio (93), Concetta (91), Adolfo (89), Vitalio (86), Vitalia (81), and Mafalda (78).
The longevity of the Melis had been recognised as a Guinness World Record. The Guinness certification followed a seven-year review around the world.
The oldest sibling, Consolata, who turned 105 recently, has nine children, 24 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.
The next oldest are Claudia (99), Maria (97), Antonio (93), Concetta (91), Adolfo (89), Vitalio (86), Vitalia (81), and Mafalda (78).
The longevity of the Melis had been recognised as a Guinness World Record. The Guinness certification followed a seven-year review around the world.
Claudina attends morning Mass every day. Her doctor has tried to give her medicine, but she has always refused, telling “I only have one illness, old age, and nobody can cure that!”
Consolata, who received little schooling and speaks in the Sardinian dialect, says, “In my time women had to wash clothes in the river. My granddaughters have washing machines and dishwashers, when I hear this new word ‘stressed,’ I just don’t understand.”
Luca Deiana, a professor of clinical biochemistry at the local university has studied some 2500 centenarians on the island since 1996 says the longevity of local inhabitants was due to various factors.
“On the one hand it is about genetics, about inherited longevity ... but there is also the bounty of the land and the local fruit, particularly pears and prunes. Minestrone soup is another suspect.”
Alfonso, 89 says, “Every free moment I have I am down at my vineyard or at the allotment where I grow beans, aubergines, peppers and potatoes.”
Consolata, who received little schooling and speaks in the Sardinian dialect, says, “In my time women had to wash clothes in the river. My granddaughters have washing machines and dishwashers, when I hear this new word ‘stressed,’ I just don’t understand.”
Luca Deiana, a professor of clinical biochemistry at the local university has studied some 2500 centenarians on the island since 1996 says the longevity of local inhabitants was due to various factors.
“On the one hand it is about genetics, about inherited longevity ... but there is also the bounty of the land and the local fruit, particularly pears and prunes. Minestrone soup is another suspect.”
Alfonso, 89 says, “Every free moment I have I am down at my vineyard or at the allotment where I grow beans, aubergines, peppers and potatoes.”