Aging and Health Care

- longevity in Abkhasia

In the 1970's the National Geographic magazine commissioned an article on the long-lived peoples around the world.

This started  a study into their longevity, in short how they live longer and healthier lives at ages of over 100 years of age which has continued to this day.

The Long-Lived Abkhasians

In Abkhasia in the former Russian Republic has an extraordinary number of healthy centenarians and several people aged well over the age of 100 !

Within their society illness is rare and many live into old age retaining their health and vigorousness - their hearing and vision often remain good too.

Due to the countryside, regular exercise is a part of their daily life and stress is unknown.

The Secret of the Long Lived People

It's an established psychological fact that a positive mental attitude can affect your health and wellbeing.

In Abkhasian society the elderly are revered - in fact, there is no word in the language for "old", rather they are called "long-lived" people.

The long-lived are celebrated in an annual holiday where the elderly are revered for age alone, social standing is irrelevant.

In fact, such is this reverence for age, that lying about one's age is likely to mean adding a few years, to gain more respect !

Whereas our modern society has demeaned age and tried to hide it, in Abkhasia it is quite the opposite way round.

Expectations & Lifestyle

The Abkhasians expect to life a long and fruitful life - as they age, the rewards are increased respect and value in society.

They celebrate life - through song and dance - there is a song for almost every routine task and special songs for death and dying.

There's a real sense of community and people take joy in their friendships.

What about Diet ?

Despite a heavy campaign by a well-known company suggesting that their longevity was based on eating yogurt.  In fact, they eat a fermented milk product.

They also eat fresh fruit and vegetables in season and preserved fruit out of season.  Nuts also feature within the diet.

Diet is based on a cornmeal porridge and fermented milk.

Only a limited amount of meat is eaten.

The diet is low in calories, less than 2000/day, which has been shown in other studies to increase life expectancy.

Further Thoughts on Abkhasian Longevity

Whilst we consider aging in the same thoughts as we consider loss of mental and physical health.

The key with the Abkhasians is that they look forward to and enjoy their old age and retained a key role within their society.

Recommended Resources

Retire Early - how you can retire early, save your health and your money

Natural health secrets book - tips for living well, naturally