Meat and Longevity
Nutrition for Longevity
by Dr. Farid Alakbarov
"Longevity is the cherished dream of every human being. What, one may ask, is the actual age limitation for human beings? Are there limits? Is it possible to secure an active, creative life for 100 years? Of course. But what about 150 years? Again, the answer is "yes".
Azerbaijan has one of the highest rates of longevity in the world. In the 1981 census, Azerbaijan recorded 14,486 people aged 100 or older. In other words, 48.3 people per 100,000 inhabitants.
Even though longevity is mostly determined by heredity, diet definitely plays a role in achieving this goal. What do centenarians eat in Azerbaijan? Does their diet correlate with what modern science knows about health and longevity?
Contemporary dietitians would cry out: "They eat too much animal fat!" Indeed, many Azerbaijanis are fond of lamb, mutton and sheep fat, but in rural areas where most of these long-lived people reside, meat is eaten no more often than once or twice a week. The main source of animal fat in rural diets is not derived from meat but rather from dairy products.
The typical diet of Azerbaijani villagers consists primarily of eggs, cheese, butter, yogurt, milk, curds (shor), sour cream, bread, various vegetables, fruits and herbs. They are used to eating soup made of yogurt and greens (dovgha) along with various soups made with beans, peas and grains. In the olden days, people who enjoyed longevity did not eat very much bread or products made of flour.
Animal Fat Consumption
Historically, Azerbaijanis eat fairly large amounts of animal fat, which is considered by modern scientists to be the "No. 1 Killer." Why then has this slayer not visited upon the centenarians from villages of the Lerik district in Azerbaijan, where quite a number of residents live beyond 120 years old?
Animal fat is fairly harmless to Azerbaijanis because they follow nutritional guidelines set forth by the physicians of medieval Azerbaijan who insisted that there is no such thing as completely healthy or unhealthy foodstuffs. Rather, these properties are determined a great deal by the quantity that is consumed and the way food is combined.
For example, according to the "Book of Medicine" (Tibbnama, 1712) you can consume animal fat, but you shouldn't overdo it, and you must counter the effects of fat by eating fresh vegetables and greens like spinach, celery, dill, onions, spring onions, coriander, mint, basil, tarragon and parsley. Modern scientists confirm that the food fibers contained in green vegetables and herbs decrease the assimilation
of fats in the stomach.
According to modern scientific medicine, animal fat, in fact, must be consumed (though in moderation), as it is necessary for creating hormones and promoting the normal functioning of the liver, heart and brain. If we examine the teeth of a human being, we notice that they contain features typical to both carnivorous and herbivorous beings.
This fact proves that our early ancestors ate meat, and that the human organism is historically adapted to the consumption of animal fat. However, along with meat, early humans ate large amounts of vegetables and fruits. Medieval Azerbaijani physicians proposed the same approach: Don't eat just meat. Don't eat just vegetables. Eat both and combine them correctly! As opposed to one-sided theories of the modern day, such as vegetarianism, the medieval approach is based on their observation of the biological nature of the human being.
A high level of animal fat consumption is not just limited to longevity in Azerbaijan. Fifteen years ago, correspondents from the Russian magazine "Vokrug Sveta" (Around the World) interviewed elderly people in Abkhazia and questioned them about their diet. It turned out that most of the centenarians enjoyed fatty meat, preferably lamb. As distinct from Azerbaijanis, Georgians drank wine even at the age of 100. However, most people who enjoy longevity in the Caucasus don't eat very much meat in the first place, and they habitually consume large amounts of yogurt as well as vegetables and fruits to neutralize the negative effects of animal fat.
Most people in Azerbaijan who enjoy the benefits of longevity actually know nothing about cholesterol, carbohydrates or vegetarianism. They simply maintain the nutritional practices of their fathers and grandfathers, who lived to be more than 100 years old. This reality would seem to prove that Azerbaijan's traditional diet, which has been tried and tested over centuries and millennia, is at least equal to modern theories of healthy nutrition, and may even be superior."
You can read the rest of the article at:
http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/83_folder/83_articles/83_longevity.html
Nutrition for Longevity
by Dr. Farid Alakbarov
"Longevity is the cherished dream of every human being. What, one may ask, is the actual age limitation for human beings? Are there limits? Is it possible to secure an active, creative life for 100 years? Of course. But what about 150 years? Again, the answer is "yes".
Azerbaijan has one of the highest rates of longevity in the world. In the 1981 census, Azerbaijan recorded 14,486 people aged 100 or older. In other words, 48.3 people per 100,000 inhabitants.
Even though longevity is mostly determined by heredity, diet definitely plays a role in achieving this goal. What do centenarians eat in Azerbaijan? Does their diet correlate with what modern science knows about health and longevity?
Contemporary dietitians would cry out: "They eat too much animal fat!" Indeed, many Azerbaijanis are fond of lamb, mutton and sheep fat, but in rural areas where most of these long-lived people reside, meat is eaten no more often than once or twice a week. The main source of animal fat in rural diets is not derived from meat but rather from dairy products.
The typical diet of Azerbaijani villagers consists primarily of eggs, cheese, butter, yogurt, milk, curds (shor), sour cream, bread, various vegetables, fruits and herbs. They are used to eating soup made of yogurt and greens (dovgha) along with various soups made with beans, peas and grains. In the olden days, people who enjoyed longevity did not eat very much bread or products made of flour.
Animal Fat Consumption
Historically, Azerbaijanis eat fairly large amounts of animal fat, which is considered by modern scientists to be the "No. 1 Killer." Why then has this slayer not visited upon the centenarians from villages of the Lerik district in Azerbaijan, where quite a number of residents live beyond 120 years old?
Animal fat is fairly harmless to Azerbaijanis because they follow nutritional guidelines set forth by the physicians of medieval Azerbaijan who insisted that there is no such thing as completely healthy or unhealthy foodstuffs. Rather, these properties are determined a great deal by the quantity that is consumed and the way food is combined.
For example, according to the "Book of Medicine" (Tibbnama, 1712) you can consume animal fat, but you shouldn't overdo it, and you must counter the effects of fat by eating fresh vegetables and greens like spinach, celery, dill, onions, spring onions, coriander, mint, basil, tarragon and parsley. Modern scientists confirm that the food fibers contained in green vegetables and herbs decrease the assimilation
of fats in the stomach.
According to modern scientific medicine, animal fat, in fact, must be consumed (though in moderation), as it is necessary for creating hormones and promoting the normal functioning of the liver, heart and brain. If we examine the teeth of a human being, we notice that they contain features typical to both carnivorous and herbivorous beings.
This fact proves that our early ancestors ate meat, and that the human organism is historically adapted to the consumption of animal fat. However, along with meat, early humans ate large amounts of vegetables and fruits. Medieval Azerbaijani physicians proposed the same approach: Don't eat just meat. Don't eat just vegetables. Eat both and combine them correctly! As opposed to one-sided theories of the modern day, such as vegetarianism, the medieval approach is based on their observation of the biological nature of the human being.
A high level of animal fat consumption is not just limited to longevity in Azerbaijan. Fifteen years ago, correspondents from the Russian magazine "Vokrug Sveta" (Around the World) interviewed elderly people in Abkhazia and questioned them about their diet. It turned out that most of the centenarians enjoyed fatty meat, preferably lamb. As distinct from Azerbaijanis, Georgians drank wine even at the age of 100. However, most people who enjoy longevity in the Caucasus don't eat very much meat in the first place, and they habitually consume large amounts of yogurt as well as vegetables and fruits to neutralize the negative effects of animal fat.
Most people in Azerbaijan who enjoy the benefits of longevity actually know nothing about cholesterol, carbohydrates or vegetarianism. They simply maintain the nutritional practices of their fathers and grandfathers, who lived to be more than 100 years old. This reality would seem to prove that Azerbaijan's traditional diet, which has been tried and tested over centuries and millennia, is at least equal to modern theories of healthy nutrition, and may even be superior."
You can read the rest of the article at:
http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/83_folder/83_articles/83_longevity.html