With rapid developments in medicine and an overall increase in awareness when it comes to our general health, in many parts of the world people are living to an age like never before. Although many of us pay careful attention to the advice given to us by medical professionals, health and fitness magazines, and the media in general, curiously some of the healthiest and oldest people in the world rarely visit their doctor, nor do they have access to the information that we in the developed world do. Is it possible that the secret to longevity lies elsewhere?
A village in Bama Yao Autonomous County, China, is one of five locations across the globe where people are known to live far beyond the global average, with few suffering from health problems during their lifetime. Many of the inhabitants of this village live to be more than 100 years old, and despite the villagers’ environment being a tropical region where ultraviolet rays are strong, women of the area have a pale complexion and are strikingly attractive.
Just where is their secret? Scientists and researchers over the years have asked the same question, with many believing that it all has to do with the area being an ideal environment for life to flourish. For a start, there’s the breathtakingly clean air and water, the richness of the surrounding nature, and the abundant vitamins and minerals that are found naturally in the earth.
The villagers’ diets also can’t be overlooked: people in this region consume typically fewer calories than in other parts of the world, and their food contains noticeably less fat, animal proteins, salt and sugar. Their diet also contains large amounts of of carbohydrates and dietary fiber, with locals sticking religiously to notions that food should be consumed in moderation and putting an emphasis on sticking to foods that are easy on the digestive system. A diet rich in plant oil but low in animal fat is also important, as is a focus on mild-tasting food which is low in fat.
In recent years, a foodstuff that is being deemed a “super food” due to it being rich in essential fatty acids omega 3 and 6 is hemp seed, which is something that the people of Bama Yao consume a considerable amount of on a daily basis. One company named “Glory International” specializes in the sale of a hemp seed oil product, “Omega Point”, which uses hemp-seed oil taken from the same village. The president of the same company, Mr. Fujimoto, emphasizes the potential health benefits of this seed:
“The oil contained in this type of seed is actually essential for the function of a healthy body. Just to give you an example, the brain is made up of about 65 percent oil. Taking high quality oil into the body also increases levels of concentration and general well-being.”
Could hemp seed hold the secret to longevity? Perhaps, as suggested above, this alone may not be sufficient in extending your lifespan. After all, an all-round healthy lifestyle is also required, but healthy lifestyle + hemp seed may just provide the solution to the longevity that we’ve all been looking for. We can’t help but wonder!
Source: Excite News