Towns where John McCain might feel young

by Aaron Hotfelder   Feb 28th 2008 @ 9:20AM

Does eating well help you live longer? Well, duh. But does religious faith? How about inbreeding? The answers may surprise you.

The residents of three towns spanning a great distance-- Okinawa, Japan; Ovodda, Sardinia; and Loma Linda, California-- seem to have discovered the secrets to living long lives. These towns are host to the longest-living populations in the world, but each has its own explanation for the distinction.

In Okinawa, diet is the key. Residents of this Japanese island eat more tofu and soya than anyone in the world, as well as following the practice of hari hachi bu, which means to stop eating when one is about 80% full. Scientists believe that their exceptional diet causes residents to continue producing a hormone called DHEA more than normal, which slows down the aging process. About 900 of the one million people living in Okinawa are at least 100 years old, which is about four times the amount in the US.

Residents of Ovodda, Sardinia, live long lives as well, but for a more surprising reason. In Ovodda, marriage within the same few families is more common than elsewhere, and one professor believes this, in addition to their Mediterranean diet, might have something to do with their long lives: "From a genetic point of view when this happens there's a higher probability of having genetic diseases, but also of having positive results like centenarians." That seems to be because the 1,400 residents of Ovodda seem to share (more than most places) specific genes that are associated with longevity.

Finally, the town of Loma Linda, California, composed of a heavy population of Seventh Day Adventists, can credit its residents' longevity to a balanced diet and, maybe, religion. Seventh Day Adventists live about five to ten years longer than the general U.S. population, thanks in part to their religion's discouragement of drinking, smoking, eating meat, and basically anything fun. Still, the BBC article notes, "[N]ot all members do [abstain] and even they live significantly longer than average. 'It does certainly raise the question if there's something about spiritual life that also has an impact on longer life,' says Dr Gary Fraser, who is researching the community."

The doctor adds: "[T]here's been one interesting fact that's been known now for 20 or 30 years and that is that people that go to church regularly - whatever faith they have - live longer and there's no question about that."

Then again, when asked what her longevity could be attributed to, the chef Julia Child once remarked, "Red meat and gin." I'll drink to that.

More here.