Centenarian Food Secrets

Centenarians, what a fascinating bunch of people!  Imagine living for over a century, imagine all of the experiences, knowledge and wisdom that you would have. There is a lot to learn from this unique group of people. With the average life expectancy in most developed countries around 80 years how do they manage to live 20-30 years longer?!?! They must be doing something right! I know genetics would play a big part but I’m certain that lifestyle factors can also be credited for making it into the 100+ club. Being a dietitian and knowing how much food and nutrition can impact on health & wellbeing I like to think that their food choices helped them to reach a ripe old age. So what are their nutrition secrets? What is their fountain of youth, their elixir of life, their superfood? Let’s find out what these remarkable people have to say…


Besse Cooper who lived till she was 116 claims that the secret to a long life was to “Mind your own business and don’t eat junk food. Treat everyone the way you want to be treated, work hard and love what you do.” Oh bless her soul how gorgeous! What great advice.

Bonita Zigrang, (108) claims that to live a long life you must ‘Have a good appetite, lots of friends and keep busy’.

‘Stay active…even at 100. Eat in a balanced way…’ was the advice from Benjamin Goldfaden, aged 99.

According to Samuel Ball (102) you don’t even need to shun the booze… ‘Have a good wife, two scotches a night and be easy going’.

Helen Mulligan thinks it might even cure a cold… ‘Take it easy, enjoy life, what will be will be. Sleep well, have a Bailey’s irish Cream before bed if you have a cold – you will wake up fine the next monring’.

Morris Lensky (101) gives prunes the tick of approval ‘You have to be lucky, but I made the best of things when bad things happened. I also ate prunes every single day.

Apparently Jeanne Louise Calment who lived till the age of 122 ate 2 pounds of chocolate every week and was very fond of a glass of port wine. When asked what her secret to a long life was she said she drank wine, ate chocolate, and used olive oil in her food every day.

112-year-old, Salustiano Sanchez Blazquez says bananas helped him reach triple figures.

114 year old Brazilian centenerean Maria Gomes Valentim started each day with fruit, bread and coffee and would often be found enjoying Brazils national dish feijoada – a stew made of pork, beef, beans and vegetables.

So it turns out bacon may be a superfood after all! Pearl Cantrell aged 105 says her successful aging is due to eating bacon for breakfast!

Li Aizhu has a simple explanation for her longevity claiming that her secret is that she eats a lot of peanut oil….If that includes peanut butter I’m going to live till I’m 1000!!

Dr. Leila Denmark who lived to be 114, was a paediatrician who continued working till she was 103! She attributes her long life to ‘drinking only water and including a protein and two vegetables with every meal’.

Another golden oldie is Dr Shigeaki Hinohara (101). When it comes to his diet he keeps it pretty basic  “For breakfast I drink coffee, a glass of milk, and some orange juice with a tablespoon of olive oil in it. Olive oil is great for the arteries and keeps my skin healthy. Lunch is milk and a few cookies, or nothing when I am too busy to eat. I never get hungry because I focus on my work. Dinner is veggies, a bit of fish and rice, and, twice a week, 100 grams of lean meat.”

Okinawan centenarian Louis Charpentier, aged 99 says “I don’t eat very much, but I always eat a fruit, a vegetable, and a little meat, and always make sure that I get sardine and salmon at least once or twice a week.”

And who would of thought that the secret to making it to 99 is to “Try not to eat anything that’s healthy. It’s true. I eat whatever I want. The secret to longevity is ice cream.” Maybe Paul Marcus’ is on to something! I certainly wouldn’t oppose to icecream being the next superfood!

Mr David Henderson, who lived to 109, credits his old age to porridge, prunes, and never going to bed on a full stomach.

Raw eggs and plenty of sleep helped Emma Morano reach her 114th birthday. She ate 2 eggs everyday – one cooked and one raw.

Claudia who is just shy of her 100th birthday says ‘you just keep working and you eat minestrone, beans and potatoes’.

So there you have it, some insightful comments from those who have lived long and flourishing lives. As you can see they all have varied diets but the overall theme was a balanced and simple diet. Many included foods that have recently been labelled by some as ‘toxic’ or foods that should be avoided such as beans, legumes, fruit, potatoes and even icecream, chocolate and alcohol!. These prestigious people don’t count calories, they don’t avoid gluten they just eat simple, enjoyable food.

While these are quotes from a select few of the oldest living people, research into centenarians especially those living in the notorious ‘blue zone’ indicates that most enjoy a diet of fresh minimally processed food of seasonal fruits and vegetable, beans, nuts, seeds and grains.

We know food is only one aspect of a healthy lifestyle. The common factors that these long lived folk claim helped them hit 100 were: being active, keeping busy, perusing the things that they were passionate about, having a positive outlook, relaxing, not stressing, love and of course good luck!

https://thedietitianspantry.com/2015/04/29/centenarian-food-secrets/

Abkhasians - the long-living peoples (110-130 yrs) - Goat cheese, yogurt, wine, lots of garlic, mashed lima beans, NO MEAT STOCK

The Abkhasians had a way of life that is out of reach for modern man, or so it seems! One of the arguments that is often used to promote modern medical technology (vaccinations etc) is that we are living to be much older than we used to. I must point out that even with all of our advanced medical technology, we still haven’t managed to extend our lives, with most of our faculties (including sexual vigor!) still intact, as long as the Abkhasians or other long-living peoples (110-130 yrs) managed to do without any of our medical intervention.

This book (Abkhasians The Long-Living People of the Caucasus), by Sula Benet, who was born in Warsaw, Poland and later got her PhD at Columbia, is a very comprehensive anthropological study of the Abkhasians culture. I’ve been curious about centenarians ever since I wrote my first paper in Culinary School years ago. Diet, culture and community are obviously all factors in the Abkhasian’s long life, the altitude, amount of exercise and harsh conditions may also play a role. The Abkhasian’s diet fits into what Dr. Weston A. Price found with traditional cultures, although it is interesting to find that they prefer to eat salad for breakfast. Perhaps this is a way to provide enzymes. They also love to drink their matzoni (like yogurt). In line with the GAPS diet or even with a more paleo type diet, the Abkhasians also used nuts quite extensively in their meals, their carbohydrates were mostly from chestnuts, lima beans or cornmeal (which would have been a later addition). They didn’t eat refined flour, oils or sugar. (Image of Abkhasian woman harvesting tea from Sula Benet’s book)

Milk was a very sacred substance for them, and milk-siblings were children who nursed from the same woman. In fact the milk-bond was as powerful as the blood-bond. The Abkhasian society was carefully set up to minimize fighting and to promote community and support within families and tribes. Perhaps our modern world could learn a lot from the way they raise their children, with the whole family supporting and encouraging them and without punishment.

The following are some of my favorite sections from Sula Benet’s book, although there are some really interesting passages that include legends and kinship rituals that I can’t include here. A dry but interesting read.

Abkhasians The Long-Living People of the Caucasus by Sula Benet 1974

Abkhasian Diet:

The Abkhasia diet does not seem to change significantly with an increase in wealth. The daily consumption of protein is an estimated seventy-three grams per person; fat, about 476 grams; and carbohydrates, about 381 grams.

Historically, milk and vegetables make up 70 percent of the Abkhasian diet.

Refined sugar is not a part of the diet. Before retiring, people who wish to have something sweet may take a glass of water with honey. During the autumn harvest, grapes are pressed for their juice, and cornmeal is added to it. The mixture is boiled for a few minutes, allowed to cool, and eaten as a pudding. Or a string of nuts may be dipped into it and dried for dessert. Fruits are dried for the winter as are chestnuts. These are cooked in milk or water, or they may be roasted and accompanied by wine.

Matzoni (Cultured milk):
Abkhasians, young and old, drink one or two glasses of matzoni (Caspian Sea Yogurt) a day. This variety of fermented milk has been used among Caucasian people for many centuries and probably originated in this part of the world. Matzoni is made from the milk of various animals, such as cows, goats and sheep. It has nutritional and physiological value similar to other cultured milks.

Matzoni has low curd tension, which means the curd breaks up into extremely small particles which facilitates its digestion. The fermentation is usually started through the use of matzoni grains, which in appearance resemble small, spongy grains of rice. These masses consist of milk constituents and microorganisms in particular, Bacillus caucasicum and Streptococcus A.

Matzoni can also be produced by adding a few spoonfuls of the previous batch to fresh milk, either skimmed or whole. Fresh cottage cheese without preservatives will work too.

In appearance and taste, matzoni is very much like buttermilk. It has a high food value, and according to Soviet physicians, therapeutic properties as well, especially in the case of intestinal disorders.

Wild pears are cooked into a thick syrup, with no additives, until it resembles jam. This syrup is then used like honey in cooking. Pear jam is also added to hot water and given to sick people to induce sweating which they believe is curative.

Vegetables are served cooked or raw, but are most commonly pickled. A favorite dish eaten almost every day is baby lima beans, cooked slowly for hours, mashed and flavored with a sauce of onions, green peppers, coriander, garlic and pomegranate juice. For memorial rituals lima beans are cooked with crushed walnuts.

Nuts are used in large quantities, grated or crushed for cooking, or eaten whole. Almonds, pecans, walnuts, beech nuts and hazelnuts are cultivated along the coast and in the foothills. Chestnut trees grow wild and profusely, as do many other small wild nut trees. The local population collects large supplies of chestnuts for the winter. They are stored in a special place in the household where they can dry well, and then are used through the winter as needed. A particularly tasty dish, made of chestnuts, is a great favorite of the people. The chestnuts are shelled and then cooked for a long time until they resemble a thick mash. After that assorted nuts such as almonds, pecans, beechnuts, or hazelnuts are added to the mash. The mixture is then served directly upon a wooden table top. A small dent is pressed into each serving of chestnut mash and a small amount of nut oil is poured into the depression.

Toward the end of World War II, nuts were exported from the Caucasus and the people did not have enough for their own needs. Most of Abkhasian food in one way or another is flavored with nuts, never butter. They also serve nuts made in a special way along with vodka, as we would serve hors d’oeuvres.

Abkhasians eat many plants which grow wild in their region, such as the barberry (Barberis vulgaris). This they combine with damson plums and tomatoes for a delicious sauce.

Large quantities of garlic, both cooked and raw, are consumed daily, because Abkhasians like the taste and believe it has medicinal properties.

When meat is boiled, the stock is discarded, since the elders consider it harmful to the constitution. Meat is roasted in open fires on spits and skewers–either wooden or metal. Pomegranate juice is used for basting, enhancing the aroma and adding a reddish color. Though fish abound in the rivers and Black Sea, the people rarely eat them.

In general, foods are cooked without salt or spices, except for adzhika, a hot sauce made of red pepper, salt, dill, garlic, coriander, onions, nuts, damson plums, tomato and beet greens. This mixture is carefully ground on a flat surface with a round stone. The product is aromatic and bitter.

The Abkhasians usually begin breakfast with a salad of green vegetables freshly picked from the garden. During the spring, it always consists of watercress, green onion, and radishes. In summer and winter, tomatoes and cucumbers are most popular, while winter salad consists of pickled cucumber and tomatoes, radishes, cabbage, and onions. Dill and coriander may be added but no dressings are used. The salad is followed by a glass of matzoni. At all three meals the people eat their “beloved abista” (cornmeal mash), always freshly cooked and served warm with pieces of homemade goat cheese tucked into it.

Abkhasians never eat or drink until they are stuffed, for such excessiveness is considered very unbecoming. From childhood on, one learns that in eating, as in all other aspects of Abkhasian life, moderation is valued above all other virtues.

Soviet medical authorities who have examined the Abkhasians and their diet feel it may well add years to their lives. Metchnikoff, the well-known Russian biologist, has suggested that the matzoni and pickled vegetables, and probably the wine, counteract toxic effects of the accumulated products of metabolism in the body and indirectly prevent the development of arteriosclerosis. They also have remarkable hearing. (p23-26)

Milk Siblings (Atalyk):

The term atalyk is used in ethnographic literature to describe a custom once practised in the Caucasus. A boy or girl, shortly after birth, was usually given by a family of greater and social standing to one of a lesser position. However, families of equal standing could do so as well.

The child and his milk siblings (that is the children who were nursed by the same woman) were taught the same customs, skills, and manners, so that an Abkhasian peasant knew as much as a prince.

The link established between two families, one of which received the child of another, was considered sacred and even stronger than the bond of blood. Inter-marriage between the two families, their relatives, and any people of the same surname was immediately forbidden.

When the child came of age, his return home to his natural parents was celebrated by a great feast. His duty to his milk siblings and family continued for life. He protected them from any danger, and came to their assistance in time of need. In fact, all blood and ritual relationships involve lifetime obligations, and ritual kinship is not established lightly. By contrast, merely a sexual relationship, can be dissolved.

This system of milk-siblings served to cement ties between different families, to reduce the distance between social classes, to ensure uniformity of culture, and to make peace between feuding families. In the past, when a family was engaged in a feud and feared retaliation, they would sometimes kidnap a child and declare that they were going to raise it, thus automatically ending the hostilities. The parents of the child could not reclaim it and continue the feud, since the child in all probability had already been nursed, and milk is considered a sacred substance. (p57-58)

Abkhasians are known to perform the ritual with wild animals which have been annoying their homes and livestock in order to gain the goodwill of the animal. I was told that in the community of Khlou, in the region of Khodor, a wolf often attacked the cows and lambs of a shepherd in the village. In desperation, the shepherd when to search for his enemy. It turned out to be a she-wolf with a litter of cubs. He killed the she-wolf but took the little ones to his house, and when they grew up he let them go free, hoping that as their milk-father, he would be immune to wolves and that they could not possibly harm him.

It is said that the shepherd even performed the ritual, his wife sitting on a chair and permitting the cubs to touch her breasts, giving them the status of sons. Since then, the story goes, the wolves never touched his cattle and the shepherd never killed wolves. Mindful of his forest family, he always left some food in the forest for them.

The theme to milk relatives appears frequently in Abkhasian folklore. People felt that it was quite possible to make anyone a milk relative, from a wolf to a god. -p61

Childrearing:

A parent expresses disapproval by withholding praise, which is otherwise very generously dispensed. The Abkhasian concept of discipline, considered necessary and good for children, in not intertwined with the concept of punishment. Abkhasians feel taht physical punishment induces disrespect. This may be the reason for so little resentment between the generations: the Abkhasian method of discipline does not allow for the development and expression of even the mildest forms of sadistic impulse. Also, with no threat of punishment there is less attempt on the part of the child to see how far he can go. -p69

Sexuality:

The Abkhasians expect to live long and healthy lives. They feel that self-discipline is necessary to conserve their energies instead of grasping what sweetness is available to them at the moment.

The general opinion among Abkhasians is that regular sexual relations should start late in life, because abstinence will prolong sexual potency and promote wellbeing. Postponement of satisfaction is not deemed frustrating but, rather, a hopeful expectation of future enjoyment. A continuation of sex life into old age is considered as natural as maintaining a healthy appetite or sound sleep. Abkhasians do not think that there is any reason why increased years should stip them of so human a function.

Among the aged, there are no bachelors or spinsters. Celibacy is regarded to a certain extent, as abnormal, antisocial, and contrary to human nature. In one study, only one elderly spinster in the village of Shroma could be found. Very often, the old people give their good family life and late marriages as some fo the reasons for their longevity. Many of the Abkhasian aged got married between the ages of forty and fifty, which was considered quite normal in former times, and stayed married for fifty, severnty, or even eighty years. There are quite a number of instance where both husband and wife are still alive, and often the husband is older by twenty to thrity years. At present, to the consternation of the elders, young people tend to marry in their middle twenties, instead of waiting until the more “proper” age of thirty.

Despite the elaborate rules–perhaps, in part, because they are universally accepted–sex in Abkhasia is considered a good and pleasurable thing when it is strictly private. As difficult as it may be for the American mind to grasp, it is also guiltless. It is not repressed or sublimated into work, art, or religious-mystical passion. It is not an evil to be driven from one’s thoughts. It is a pleasure to be regulated for the sake of one’s health–like a good wine. -p86

https://www.helladelicious.com/blog/2011/08/diet-and-culture-of-abkhasian-centenarians/ 

Yisrael Kristal, World’s Oldest Man, 113 - pickled herring every day, and in his younger years drank wine and beer.

Yisrael Kristal, World’s Oldest Man, 113

Kristal, who was the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust, owned a candy shop in Poland before the war, and reopened one after it. His daughter credits his longevity to his love for God, a simple life, and being “someone who takes happiness in everything.” She also told the New York Times that he eats to live rather than lives to eat. That said, he has pickled herring every day, and in his younger years drank wine and beer.

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/oldest-person-in-world-food

Susannah Mushatt Jones, World’s Oldest Person Until May 2016 at 116 - Eggs and Grits

Susannah Mushatt Jones, World’s Oldest Person Until May 2016 at 116

Every day for breakfast in Brooklyn, Mushatt Jones ate four pieces of bacon (her favorite food) with eggs and grits. “I never drink or smoke,” she said, “I surround myself with love and positive energy. That’s the key to long life and happiness.”

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/oldest-person-in-world-food

Misao Okawa, Oldest Living Person Until 2015, 117 - sushi, especially mackerel on vinegar-steamed rice.

Misao Okawa, Oldest Living Person Until 2015, 117

In Japan, where there are over 65,000 centenarians, Okawa held the record for world’s oldest person until her death in 2015. She told The Guardian, “You have to learn to relax,” in order to hit those digits, but also get plenty of sleep. Her favorite food was sushi, especially mackerel on vinegar-steamed rice.

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/oldest-person-in-world-food

Dharam Pal Singh, Probably Not 119 - cows’ milk, herbal chutney and seasonal fruit. No alcohol, butter, coffee, tea

Dharam Pal Singh, Probably Not 119 But Still Very Old and a Runner

Even if he’s not 119 as the New York Times and aging experts suspect, Singh is probably still super old and he runs a lot, which is why he’s included here.

He says his long life is thanks to “cows’ milk, herbal chutney and seasonal fruit that ripened in sunshine” and avoiding “butter, fried food, sugar, tobacco, alcohol, even tea and coffee.”

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/oldest-person-in-world-food

Täo Porchon-Lynch, 98-Year-Old Yogi - only drinks tea and wine. No water.

Täo Porchon-Lynch, 98-Year-Old Yogi

Porchon-Lynch started doing yoga when she was eight in India, because her uncle told her it wasn’t ladylike. After an incredible life that includes marching with Gandhi, dancing for soldiers, and acting for MGM, she founded the American Wine Society with her husband—and only drinks tea and wine. No water. She also wears only high heels because they “elevate her consciousness,” which is a physical feat all its own.

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/oldest-person-in-world-food

Jeanne Calment, 122 - her Sunday glass of Port

Jeanne Calment, 122 (!!), World’s Oldest Person Until 1997, Longest Confirmed Lifespan

Calment’s obituary said she “used to eat more than two pounds of chocolate a week and treat her skin with olive oil, rode a bicycle until she was 100,” and had smoked nearly all her life, until her doctor made her cut that and her Sunday glass of Port at age 120. The French!

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/oldest-person-in-world-food

Agnes Fenton: Woman who drank three beers and a shot of whiskey every day for 70 years has just turned 110

Woman from New Jersey celebrates 110th birthday, says key to longevity is beer

Agnes Fenton, General Hero, 111 years

We’re including Fenton here because she made news for her remarkable key to longevity:

Beer: three Miller High Lifes and
Whisky: a shot of Johnnie Walker Blue Label a day, until last year when she had to give them up per doctor’s orders.

The New Jersey resident’s favorite foods include
chicken wings,
green beans, and
sweet potatoes.

For breakfast the supercentenarian had some grits, buttered toast, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and some bacon and sausage, which she mostly sucks at for the taste, said Doreen Holder, one of Fenton's caretakers at her Englewood home.

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/oldest-person-in-world-food

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/agnes-fenton-woman-who-drank-three-beers-and-a-shot-of-whiskey-every-day-for-70-years-has-just-10438455.html

http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2015/08/englewood_woman_turns_110_credits_3_beers_and_a_wh.html

Veganism - on Sardinian and Okinawan diets, people live long lives, live well

‎Jenya Sourgaeva‎ to Principia Carnivora

October 18 at 1:29am · 

Hi all. I am a vegan and I've been following this group for quite some time, and while having read the pinned posts, as well as the miscellaneous threads, I do have some questions. I will try and muddle them down into just two questions. Forgive me if either has been answered before; I am not an avid facebook user. (I put a tl;dr at the bottom for those who do not have time for my ramblings)

1) Vegans. I know we all come in many varieties, and as I've seen here, many of you have been vegan before, too. I consider myself a vegan for the welfare of animals. This means I am strongly opposed to factory farming; however, if I am able to catch a fish in the wild, I would gladly eat it. If I had chickens, I would eat their eggs. You get the idea.

My question here is, it is stated under Principia Carnivora that all meat is fair game (no pun intended), so long as it doesn't exceed carb counts, however, is it common on ZC to consume factory farmed animals? If so, welfare aside, how do you reconcile the health benefits of ZC with the consumption of (usually) very diseased and hormone pumped animals?

2) The second question is regarding health. I'm young myself, so give me a pardon if I sound like I'm trying to know it all... I've been studying the effects of various diets, and have given each about 6-8 months of experimentation. The diets I have done have been keto, paleo, vegetarian, pescetarian, and vegan. I was curious how each one would make me feel. Perhaps 8 months was too short a time span? I digress.

My point being, most research points to the Sardinian and Okinawan diets as being the healthiest. These are from the Mediterranean and Japanese areas, respectively. It is also not hard to believe this, as Okinawa and Sardinia have the highest rates of centenarians (people who live to be over 100 years old), so while they live long, they also live well. These two diets are primarily made up of seafood, little grain, in season vegetables and fruit, high fat, and little to no red meat.

From a ZC perspective, how would this be refuted? And I would like to make clear that I am not interested in weight loss (though I understand its importance). I am interested in longevity.

tl;dr:
1) Do you consume factory farmed products? Why or why not?
2) Why is a ZC diet superior to other diets that have proven to provide longevity and health?

Thank you for your time

***

Carly Beth Ingerson Okay, well... I personally consume both factory farmed beef and pastured beef, I only consume pastured poultry and eggs, I only eat wild caught seafood and grassfed lamb. If I do eat/drink dairy, I get grassfed or as high quality as I can. Most of that is for price reasons. Now, the second. Agriculture is recent in our evolution, so for well over 4/5ths we ate what we hunted or foraged in times of famine. This way of eating also removes plant toxins and natural chemicals from our diets, for obvious reasons. It relieves chronic constipation, cures diverticulosis(spelling?), increases bone and muscle density, strengthens teeth, repairs joints and tendons, fixes malnourished body parts, and clears the skin of blemishes. The only issue on longevity is too much methionine(muscle and fish). Glycine helps abate that(organs, cartilage, bones). You will soon find amino acids and proteins are just as potent as so called "phytonutrients", and they don't remove other nutrients like their plant counterparts.

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 · October 18 at 1:41am

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Carly Beth Ingerson Ruminants also detox those toxins on their own, so it is fairly okay to eat farmed cattle or sheep. Fish and omnivores are a different story.

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 · October 18 at 1:48am · Edited

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Jenya Sourgaeva Interesting, I'd have to research the science of that further.

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 · October 18 at 2:05am

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Carly Beth Ingerson Jenya Sourgaeva Basically they have a liver that works like ours, and cattle are large enough for it to not affect much. And if you worry about detoxing problems like I did, eat eggs. Yolks specifically.

Gregg Sheehan Hi there, Jenya. I live in New Zealand and most of the cattle here are raised on grass and are looked after their whole lives. Humans have moved to an agrarian lifestyle over the last 15,000 years or so and while there are a number of places in the world where people are still predominantly hunter gatherers, they are few and far between. We have not however changed much in our nutritional needs. We still need the nine (out of 22) essential amino acids and two essential fatty acids. The most straightforward way to get these are from animal flesh.

For most of us these days it is going to have to be a compromise. We have, as a society, moved away from living off the land. This may change in the future, but we have no way of knowing for certain. There is little doubt in my mind that the most nutrient dense way (and therefore most efficient) is to eat animals. Everything else represents a compromise as to how far one will go toward plants as food. 

One thing for certain is that our species is rapidly outgrowing the capacity of our system to provide the most nutritious food for us. We may have to take steps to reduce our population (it does seem to be slowing). We need to make sure we are managing the land in the best way and that may mean going back to the prairies of old and allowing the soil to remain healthy.

Gail Cashin The info on the Sardinia diet might be wrong as they eat a lot of pasta, pizza bread and beans. Maybe look at the Greek or Maltese diets as they would be the same as the Okinawa as in fish, veg and rice. I get a delivery direct from a farm every two weeks, I sometimes top up from a supermarket. I buy mainly for the quality and taste and yes to avoid factory farming.

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 · Reply · October 18 at 1:44am

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Leah Murphy The Okinawan diet also apparently includes more meat (mostly pork) than is generally reported.

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 · October 18 at 2:08am

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Vincent Lefebvre same thing for greek diet; they eat much more fat and animals than generally said.

Michael Frieze ZC all meat diets have not really been studied yet. If we look at cultures such as primitive Inuit, they lived very long lives without any sort of medicine. Also, they are the only known people to not suffer with tooth decay. Besides the Icelandic middle-age people who also ate carnivorous diets. 

So, we can't really compare diets right now since this way of eating is sort of lost in history.

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 · October 18 at 1:52am · Edited

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Carly Beth Ingerson Well, it is common knowledge tooth decay is caused by sugar in any form. Be it table sugar or leafy greens. Apes and most of our primate ancestors have tooth decay, yet you turn to carnivores and their teeth are perfect. Remove sugar and your teeth will stay strong.

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 · October 18 at 1:52am

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Michael Frieze Yeah, Stefansson found over 200 Inuit skulls with perfect teeth. Plus another 600 from Icelandic middle-ages.

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 · October 18 at 1:53am

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Jenya Sourgaeva The Inuit is a culture that is commonly brought up, understandably since it's one of the only ones to have been all meat based. My only concern with that one, (and this apples to any cultural diet) is that the Inuit would have adapted to consume meat differently than someone from Ghana or Italy or wherever else, since it's all they had for centuries.

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Michael Frieze Jenya Sourgaeva, there is not enough time in evolution for that to be true. We are all anatomically similar to Inuit. Slight genetic differences might allow us to be able to handle carbohydrates more so than they were, but that is about it. It is our anatomy and biology that really matters here and we are not a different species than Inuit.

Larissa Yulika As have lived in Okinawa for half of my life, there diet is based on vegetables fish and a lot of pork and goat meat. A lot of info you get these days are not accurate...

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 · October 18 at 1:51am

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Michael Frieze Thanks Larissa, I had no idea.

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 · October 18 at 1:51am

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Jenya Sourgaeva Thanks, I wasn't aware of that

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 · October 18 at 2:00am

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Dave Robertson I am half Okinawan. +1 on what Larissa has stated.

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 · October 18 at 2:25am

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Ævar Austfjörð I am not Okinawan but lucky enough to have been there to train karate with one of the great Senseis. Being the nutritional nerd that I am I did a little observation about their diet and asked around a bit. Thats when i found out exactly what Larissa stated. They do eat quite a lot of meat.

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 · October 18 at 5:31am · Edited

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Irena Kalinacova What about grains? Do they eat any and how much?

Leah Amber Moon You have misconceptions.. no one makes big money off diseases or hormone pumped meats. If you honestly researched this topic, you would know this isn't happening. 

Secondly, large scale plant farming is very detrimental to animal habitats.

Third, diets need far longer than 6 months to see how they will affect the body

Julie Redeye

How can one refute historical Asian diets? No one should try.

It's the dwarf wheat of the last 50 years which have destroyed guts and eliminated the ability to handle carbs.

I consume factory farmed meats and I raise my own chicken, rabbits.

ZC works for some because of extreme carb sensitivity.

All hormones, brain, nuerology, rely on saturated fats.

I'll drop links under this

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 · October 18 at 1:55am

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Jenya Sourgaeva I'm not convinced you read my post? This seems like a generic answer aimed at the average vegan.

I didn't say anything about money. Hormones make animals grow faster so they can be killed and sold quicker. They don't go through their natural cycles.

Large scale wheat farming is planted to feed factory farmed animals. Again, I didn't say anything about this, nor am I pushing for a vegan diet.

I already said that I may have needed longer than 8* months to learn about the diets.

Again, I didn't say anything about wheat.

Thanks.

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 · October 18 at 1:59am

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Leah Amber Moon You don't have to say anything about money. In most areas hormonal injection is actually against the law, and no farmer wants diseased animals because diseased animals will not breed, fatten and cannot be taken to market.

I also didn't say you said anything about wheat, but wheat is the major killer here and the major common denominator among the United States, Mexico, Britain, any country taking usda grain... They all use the dwarf wheat created in the 1960s by the Dow Corporation and the USDA. 

Yes, you did mention the eight months. But that doesn't negate the importance of rementioning a few months on a diet is not enough time to work.

So you can either choose to read things and educate yourself or you can choose to get defensive. In any event, vegan diets are not physically healthy and they do not save animals.

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 · October 18 at 2:04am

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Jenya Sourgaeva I am aware of the wheat problem, I don't consume wheat products myself. I just wasn't sure why it was relevant to what I said.

I wasn't promoting a vegan diet. Please re-read my post.

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 · October 18 at 2:07am

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Melvin Midlam Jenya Sourgaeva corn with soybeans (not wheat) is the main ingredients in the cattle feedlot diet.

Leah Amber Moon Vegan Truth -

The human brain, neuro system & all hormones are developed & maintained by cholesterol & saturated fats. All tribes ever found around the world have animal products in their diets. Yet all civilizations with high grain consumption & low meat consumption have more health problems, shorter life spans & rotten teeth. 

98% of plant life isn't edible by humans, yet 98% of meat is. The body works 3x as hard to digest plant proteins over meat. Most of the world doesn't have access to natural whole plant based saturated fats like avocado or coconut.. Big plant agriculture is detrimental to natural plant & animal life. Remove the ability to ship in coconuts & avocados, now what? 

Research the damage done to animal life habitats & the earth via plant based agriculture. Humans developed on meat sources because meat sources may eat the plants we don't.

Most "healthy" vegan diets are low in natural saturated fats, high in grains & plant sources which need massive human intervention to maintain. The dwarf wheat created in the 1960s has been found to be a toxic gut eating poison, yet many vegans have high grain based diets.

http://roguehealthandfitness.com/carbohydrates-not.../

"Carbohydrates are not essential nutrients. They are “powerful, psychoactive, somatotoxic drugs”, similar to alcohol or nicotine. Carbs are an “endorphin-releasing drug, not a hunger satisfying food”. 
"It took decades for doctors & patients to accept the addictive properties of nicotine. Similarly, society has yet to accept the toxic, addictive nature of carbs" says Dr Robert Cywes, one of the authors of Diabetes Unpacked.
http://foodmed.net/.../type-2-diabetes-addicts-athletes.../

From keto female past vegans

"I was vegan for 11mths & while I felt great at first, I gained & gained more weight due to the carb overloading to remain full. We all have a choice & my choice now is keto"
"I gained a LOT of weight as a vegan. I have also lost weight as a vegan. Problem is, when eating refined carbs, I don't have an "off" switch."

"I stopped being vegan because I felt awful. I started being vegan because I felt bad & I was fatter than I wanted to be. I would have horrible egg farts, meat felt sluggish stomach & I thought it gave me heart burn. I couldn't run after eating, etc. so much info out there supported it. I thought it was the meat. It was what I ate with the meat. I felt better with some animal products. So back to vegetarian with eggs & dairy. Then went GF. Felt better. Went grain free. Felt better. Craved meat. Ate meat. Felt better. Went paleo. Tried W30. Got rid of sugar & seed oils. Discovered animal fats. Fats. Went Keto. Gained 8lb in my first week, but shrunk. Tried PSMF for fat loss. Ate a ton of protein. Warped my mind for fat. Tried ZC. Easy. True love.️"

"I read "The Vegetarian Myth", she is an ex vegan or vegetarian. She gives many good arguments against the things she used to believe in. Trying to grow her own organic vegetables without harming any animals was an eye-opener (gophers, rabbits, deer, slugs, insects, organisms in the soil). She talked about how the American Plains were wiped clean of their eco-system in order to grow grains: Buffalo, antelopes, prairie dogs, coyotes, bobcats, all kind of birds, etc. (On the other hand, grazing livestock co-exists with the environment.) Looking at the pictures in "Nutrition & Physical Degeneration" by Weston Price was terrifying. In the end, she went to some guy who "reads auras", he said she was very sick, had "no aura", she needed to eat meat. She reluctantly got a can of tuna & it was "like waking from a coma". Her body NEEDED it so badly. She cried for two weeks straight realizing that she destroyed her health with her own hands, in an effort to be healthy."

"I was literally dying from a LCLF vegan. (Yes I was a fat-phonic vegan then) My heart rate was slowing, hand-eye coordination became terrible, I could no longer walk or bend down to pick up anything that I've dropped. 

I had pitting edema & my bgl or anxiety never improved. Sure I was losing weight but I was also dying. My dietician & doctor had to intervene & pretty much made me go full carnivore."

-"I regret every moment of it. I made myself very ill. I was admitted to a psych hosptial, diabetic, autoimmune disease, using a cane, my husband put my shoes on me. I was 42 planning my disability, not planning my retirement. Now 10 mths in keto, eating clean, eating the majority of calories in meat, even being sure to include some internal organs, a few animal based supplements, I'm down 35lbs. I started a pastured pork operation. I no longer have that brain fog & constant hunger that went along with a carb based diet. 

I was even a good vegan, not a junk food vegan, everything home grown organic & home cooked. For crying out loud I even harvested my own yeast & ground my own wheat. I wish I had been able to see the bigger picture but I couldnt, I come from a medical family, we diligently removed meats, salt & fat from our diets when I was a kid. 33 years later I finally feel like I had some eureka moment. I am finally on a healing path. 

My biggest fault is that I was what they call a "complier". I did exactly as I was told, got sicker & sicker & sicker. I mean they are doctors after all, we pay them to tell us what to do, well not anymore.

In fact, I will adamantly defend not only is eating meat better suited for our biology but true sustainability is dependent on eating ruminant animals, as it maintains a healthier habitat. Ruminants are a keystone species. We can't just remove them from the grasslands & feedlot without consequences. I firmly believe we need a food revolution where people go back to producing their own food." #longlivebacon
#julieredeye

This may help fight the vegan dogma ://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Myth-Food.../dp/B003PJ7JXY

"I was vegan for 10 years & loved it but I nearly killed myself with "healthy" carbs. My fasting blood sugar was 387-518, AIC 14.4. Cholesterol panel had astronomical numbers & I was struggling with obesity. After 6 mths of eating LCHF/Keto my fasting blood sugar ranges between 95-102, A1C 5.3, cholesterol panel all within normal range. I've lost 88lbs. This way of eating has saved my life! " -AG Pearson

Dr. Nora Gedgaudas The Holy Grail of Primal Health - high fat diets
https://youtu.be/qamxC3fV870

Carbivore to Carnivore Taming the Carb Craving Monster Nora Gedgaudas - also discusses menopause, food sensitivities, parasites, more here

https://youtu.be/lUen3G4J7U4

://www.dietdoctor.com/demonization-deception-research...

Carbohydrates, Not Saturated Fat, Are Correlated with Cardiovascular Disease -…

ROGUEHEALTHANDFITNESS.COM

Davide Pattibiomed Hi Jenya, as a scientist I am fascinated about your experimental attitude. I did as well, I am not 100% carnivore. I wanted to correct just one sentence as I am southern Italian. Sardinians have always consumed primarily lamb amongst their meat dishes, which is red.

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 · October 18 at 2:16am · Edited

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Jenya Sourgaeva Hi Davide, thank you for correcting me. Is lamb all that was available?

It would be a very long message to say how each affected me, with all the details. But I can certainly give an overview:

First, I am Russian, and I think my background is important, because I think genetics are important when talking about diet. Anyway, I found the best diet for me was a pescetarian diet. I ate mostly fish (salmon, as I am from the west coast), rice, and green vegetables. I would eat berries when in season, as well. 

I decided to try veganism after that, but boy was that a mistake. I became very anemic and needed infusions. Later, though, it turned out that I just was unable to process gluten, and because of that, it was causing me to not absorb nutrients, hence, anemia. Once I took gluten out, I was pretty okay, but maintaining the vegan diet gave me regular brain fog. I'm an engineering student, and this was very bad for my exam season.

As a timeline, I went from the SAD (Standard American Diet), to paleo, to vegetarian, to keto, to pescetarian, to vegan. I have been vegan for 4-5 years, or so, and so I have the most experience with it. 

Keto was okay for the first few months, but I soon started noticing that I had sallow skin, my fingerails broke very easily, my hair was thinning, and I started to ... sweat, with a bad odour. I also had 3 yeast infections in the time I was doing keto, I'm not sure if that was related somehow, but I wrote that down anyway. I had blood tests done and there was nothing out of the ordinary. I decided to ease up on the meat, kept the fish, and reintroduced vegetables, and all my problems solved themselves. 

Maybe TMI, but I was the most regular on a pescetarian diet. 

Let me know if I missed anything?

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 · October 18 at 2:22am

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Irena Kalinacova Thank you for sharing some of your experiences Jenya. I work in natural therapies and have observed over the many years that different people do well on different diets. The problem is that no matter the approach, most of them still eat a lot of "junk food", be it omnivorous or vegan diet and anything in between. You seem to eliminate such poor food choices. I would love to read more about the experiences you have with your different ways of eating, if you want to share them, as well as if you have/had some pre-existing medical conditions you were/are trying to control. 
Either way, thank you for initiating this conversation and for your clear and logical reasoning.

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 · Yesterday at 4:29am · Edited

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Dan Giovanni Jenya Sourgaeva [Keto was okay...sallow skin, my fingerails broke very easily, my hair was thinning, and...sweat, with a bad odour.]
My experience is just the opposite on keto. Sounds like not enough protein and perhaps too much or the wrong type of fat.
Doing better on fish suggests a higher intake of omega-3 was better for you.

Ann Singh Marshall I eat steak and bacon only. I do not eat other animals...I find no need and have no desire. I was a vegetarian for 25 years, ethics was my motivation. I do not purchase factory farmed steaks. I sleep well at night knowing that I'm serving my body well while still being as compassionate as I am able to be while living this way. I do not plan on returning to a plant based diet again. Ever. It cost me my health. It is not sustainable for me, long term. I should have accepted that decades ago. 
I wish you the best of luck. I know first hand about the soul searching required.

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 · October 18 at 2:24am · Edited

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Jenya Sourgaeva Thank you, I appreciate your response.

Amber St John Goss I'm with the crowd on the death/pain thing. Not to mention the animals that die and lose habitat to farmland. 

As far as the blue zones go, I think an unspoken truth in many of them is that these were very poor areas with low food intake, mimicking fasting, which probably contributed to their longevity moreso than diet content per se. I am far more interested in the dietary habits of regions that are not living on a starvation basis and still manage to achieve longevity. Thanks to refined carbohydrates, it is exceptionally easy in the industrialized world to be a fat vegetarian. I speak from experience. If you have a chance to read The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung, he explains his analysis of animal foods versus vegetables and it just comes down to it is easier to maintain a healthy weight eating high-fat which is easier to obtain from meat. I appreciate that you're not currently interested in losing weight but the sad fact is many young vegans and vegetarians have not been on that diet long enough to cause the gradual insulin resistance that they will see in 10 to 20 years. There is a reason why they call it the middle-age spread. It is an insidious process that does not develop overnight.
I am like you and I am a member of this group but not presently following a zero carb diet. I have determined that I need some dietary carbohydrates for Phase 2 liver detox due to some liver damage that happened during an infection after my second pregnancy. I am also very open to the idea that plants are primarily nutritious in a medicinal sense. If it were culturally easier to pull off in this country, I would be comfortable eating very little and it would be fine with me if it was mostly vegetables. Wherever I am in my dietary habits, I'm am at that place primarily for health benefits and I am totally open to the idea that those benefits may change over the course of Life due to health issues and / or that society may be wrong about health benefits or I may be. Zero carb was easy to pull off culturally. Fasting is harder. Eating very little is harder. Vegetarianism may be easier some places but not where I live lol. Healthy vegetarianism around here requires making your own grain foods if you want whole grains (necessary if you have insulin issues) and careful choosing of restaurants for veggies. It's plain freaking hard. 
This is such an interesting thread that triggers so many thoughts for me. One thing I've noticed is that many PubMed articles concluding red meat is inversely related to longevity have been conducted in Asia, and that by red meat they mean exclusive pork. Which of course here in the US we eat less of than beef, and we don't even think of as red meat. This group clued me in to issues humans have with digesting pork, proven by science, and tbh most of the headlines about red meat are based on something totally different than what vegetarians here are for the most part abstaining from. The more I dig into studies that form the bases for dietary advise the more I realize that science doesn't know what it doesn't know, and that my personal assessment of inflammation and health issues is far more reliable than any generalities made with studies that start off with carb based rat chow being the control.

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 · October 18 at 2:27am

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Jenya Sourgaeva This is a beautiful answer, thanks for the well thought out response. Fasting is not something I considered in those areas.

Eric Osselborn The real history of the Okinawan diet has been hijacked. The traditional Okinawa diet consisted of large amounts of pork and every single part of the animal was used. I would also argue that the real history of the Sardinian diet has been misrepresented as well as they have been known to enjoy large amounts of pecorino romano cheese, olive oil, and fatty fish.

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 · October 18 at 3:56am

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Jenya Sourgaeva Hi Eric, I said specifically that the Sardinian diet is a high fat, fish diet. Thanks for your input on the Okinawan diet.

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 · October 18 at 3:58am

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Eric Osselborn I think it's cool that your a vegan because you believe in animal welfare. It's just that it's a choice that certainly is not for everyone. I tried it a long time ago and my testosterone dropped almost 400 points and my joints felt like I was 90 years old. It was not until I focused on the teachings of Dr. Weston Price and A. Vonderplanitz that I regained my health.

Rachel Cobb Chamness I do not buy from CAFO farms, just can't stomach the idea.

Please know people also live longer in places that get good clean fresh air and close to the water- on islands like Okinawa and Sardinia, these things are a HUGE factor. There's also a town in Greece where people are very laid back, mostly fisherman and spend a lot of time out in the sea, and they live very long. I think the less toxic your environment, the better off you are no matter what you eat. Also, less stress.

I think ZC is superior because it is what our ancestors ate, what we are made to eat. I tried every type of diet and ZC smoked every single other one I tried (esp raw vegan). If you didn't read this article someone posted earlier, I ask you to- it's pretty awesome. http://www.doctor-natasha.com/feeding-versus-cleansing.php

We are hunters. Do you feel bad for the bird if the cat catches it to eat it? We are supposed to hunt meat and eat it- buy from local farms or hunt yourself, but eat meat for your health.

Feeding Versus Cleansing - Dr Natasha

A 21 year old Helen was brought to my clinic by her worried aunt. Helen was dangerously underweight and…

DOCTOR-NATASHA.COM

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 · October 18 at 5:28am · Edited

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Elena Carter Stress is a huge factor. I tend to stress over everything. ZC has helped, but didn't heal my tendency to find stress everywhere. Once I started raising my own animals, they have become a real therapy for me. No matter how stressed I may be, I walk out ...See More

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 · October 18 at 5:37am

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Rachel Cobb Chamness Island living- there is a reason we all love to vacation on islands!

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 · October 18 at 5:39am

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Sammy Sedky For those like myself working a traditional 9 to 5 we simply don't get enough sunlight. We are constantly under fluorescent energy efficient blue lighting that is detrimental to our health. The EMF produced by wireless technology, 4G/5G cell towers, and wireless routers is also not good for us, but unless you live somewhere like in the NRQZ it's impossible to avoid completely. The only doctor I know of that talks about light as a nutrient and these sort of things is Dr. Jack Kruse. It's tough knowing knowledge about these things and being stuck in something you know sucks. https://www.facebook.com/drjackkruse/

Dr. Jack Kruse

4.9star

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Doctor·Always Open

New Orleans LA

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 · Reply · October 18 at 7:35am

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Ævar Austfjörð 1) I live in Iceland and we don't have factory farms here...yet. And rather strict on importing raw meat. I eat only meat. More than 95% is red meat, grassfed free range lamb. Grassfed beef and horse.
2) I have no evidence zc is superior to any other diet. But according to my blood tests it is the best diet for me. And I've tried a lot. Never tried vegan or vegetarian though cos plants just don't ring my bell.

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 · October 18 at 5:39am

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Ævar Austfjörð Yes we have very high life expectancy here. Been eating mostly lamb and fish through the centuries

Julie Redeye I was vegetarian/vegan for 33 years, just made me sick. I raise as much of my own meat as possible now.

Leah Amber Moon "Carbohydrates are not essential nutrients. They are “powerful, psychoactive, somatotoxic drugs”, similar to alcohol or nicotine. Carbs are an “endorphin-releasing drug, not a hunger satisfying food”. 

"It took decades for doctors and patients to acce...See More

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