I have always been interested in longevity, so it is not surprising that very early in my quest for rejuvenation and healthy living, the fame of the flourishing centenarians of Vilcabamba reached my awareness.
I heard rumours about the extraordinary life span of these humble elderly people who live in the Sacred Valley, or Vilcabamba, in the rugged Andean mountains in Southern Ecuador, in South America. So, very early in my explorations I wanted to find out if they existed at all, and - if that was the case, who really they were?
It would be utterly impossible to say everything there is to say about the Vilcabambas in a single article. So, it is my intention to come back to talk about them in subsequent posts.
In the story I’m going to share with you, you won’t hear any recommendation from the Vilcabambas about healthy eating, or juicing, special diets or a particular fitness program, a food supplement or anything like that.
In fact, the inhabitants of the Sacred Valley don’t even know about the things most people in our modern society have. They are stripped down to the very basics selves. Moreover, to our own living standards, their conditions can be considered even deplorable, and utterly anti-hygienic.
But amazingly, by living and interacting with their own environment, these ultracentenarians have developed a kind of immunity to certain bacteria and known diseases, and came to be known as the longest living people in the Western hemisphere.
To hear that Gabriel Erazo, Manuel Carpio, Gabriel Sanchez, Manuel Ramon and Micaela Quezada were 132, 127, 113, 110 and 104 respectively is not uncommon in the Sacred Valley. And all this seems to be “proved” by their baptismal records, according to the doctors in Ecuador.
My knowledge of the Vilcabambas mostly come from reading the work of American researcher and journalist Grace Halsell, who documented her findings on this extraordinary people in her book “Los Viejos.”
It has been said that success always leave clues. And this still holds true with the Vilcabambas. From her experience living among them, Halsell saw patterns emerging like a blueprint that can be emulated by anybody who want to have a longer and more fulfilling life.
The Vilcabambas truly know the secrets to prolong youth. But the curious thing is that they don’t know that they know it, if that makes any sense. They don’t have a conscious knowledge or a preset of principles that they observe in their daily life that will determine their general good health and longevity.
In analyzing the lifestyle of the Vilcabambas, I would like to focus in 8 areas, namely:
· Genetics,
· Exercise,
· Environment,
· Economics,
· Diet,
· Lifestyle
· Stress.
We will focus our attention in these 8 specific areas, one at a time starting today, and draw our own conclusions.
Genetics
For a long time, scientist yearned to discover if the people of Vilcabamba have a simple “secret” for longevity, for, as far as science is concerned, there’s no a gene for longevity. From research and debates all we can see is that the subject remains a matter of conjecture.
Still, it was only reasonable to conclude that they must be doing something right, in contrast to our own way of living.
Some pointed out that the reason the Vilcabambas seem to be protected from the diseases common to the western world such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, is due to the isolation of their unique environment from the modern world.
In fact, just as it happens with tribal groups that lived for centuries in the deep rain-forest and were totally free from the “white man” diseases; if somebody born in the Sacred Valley left that environment to settle somewhere else, what would have happened?
Do you think that if a person born in Vilcabamba emigrated to one of our fast-paced cities or towns, cluttered and polluted with traffic and noise would have stayed healthy and afford such a proverbial age?
Vilcabambas didn’t take food supplements of vitamins because they didn’t need them. Their diet was remarkably plain and wholesome, consisting mainly of fresh fruit and vegetables from their own plots, and fresh milk and butter from their own cows. Their space was large, and the air they breathed was clean.
In contrast, we constantly breathe a noxious air polluted with poisonous gases ejected by the exhausts of the millions of cars on our roads. We commute to go to work, and in this urban environment we are constantly assailed with nerve-wreaking continuous noisy clamors.
We are stressed out; we can’t get proper rest, and in order to get some relieve we take drugs or become habitual alcohol drinkers, or even worst, we smoke. Our diet is mainly composed of white bread, white sugar and sugary pies and cakes and all sorts of bad food, which is filled with additives and preservatives.
With that kind of lifestyle, even if genes had a part to play in longevity, we would be forfeiting years off our potential life span.
But the fact that there is no gene of longevity shouldn’t make us conclude that genetics don’t play a part in leading a healthy life in view o starting and continuing a process of rejuvenation. Far from it!
There have been studies made on the life expectancy which indicated the advantage of children with long-lived parents over those with short-lived parents. But the researchers concluded: “The advantage is a modest one.”
The above longevity study was based upon life insurance records and were carried out by Dr. L.I.Dublin. His investigation found “children of long-lived parents had a life expectancy at age 20 that probably don’t exceed three years the expectance of a similarly aged group whose parents were short-lived.” That was the maximal statistical advantage that could be attributed to heredity according to this study.
Many other studies have been made on the subject of human longevity, and although some of them conclude “genetic factors do affect longevity,” it must be added that these results are all statistical and based on average.
As I wrote in a previous post, there is no doubt that we do live longer as a generation, and that is due largely to a reduced infant mortality, as well as better sanitation, improved nutrition for the savvy, and better control of infectious diseases.
And if nature didn’t give us a good start as it were with long-lived parents - as to choose them was totally out of our control – maybe we can nurture what we’ve got and do something good with it.
And that is actually a good thing, because if longevity were purely a matter of genetics, there would have been very little anybody could do to alter it – not even doctors. But as it is, we can actually influence our genes by our personal choices.
As it is evident in the case of the Vilcabambas, one thing emerge very clearly: living a long life, reasonably healthy and fit is, in essence, a do-it-yourself proposition.
The ancient Greek aphorism “Know Thyself” holds still true, and its application on the subject of keeping us healthy in view of a long and happy life can be rendered “Be your own best doctor.”
There aren’t tablets or pills, organs transplant or any other magic medical wand that will give you a healthy old age. Get to know you and your body and how it reacts to the food and the environment. Doing so will help you to deal with your own health problems.
Interestingly, in Vilcabamba there weren’t any doctors. So the people there didn’t have anywhere to go in the hope that somebody else would have cured them. That is why they never dwell on their aches, pains and troubles. You would never hered anybody in the Sacred Valley talking about his or her stiff joints, bad hearts, headaches, etc.
They seemed to have the natural intuition that the more you talk about your difficulties – of health or otherwise - the more you imprint in your subconsciousness the perpetuation of what troubles you. It is like a self-fulfilling prophesy.
In Vilcabamba, there aren’t any doctors to visit; therefore, the people there do not have maladies to be cured of.
So, if you are now in a stage in your life in which you feel you need to take charge of your health issues, please be optimistic to a new whole range of things you can do.
If you start today a do-it-yourself program for the extension of your life, there is plenty you can do that most definitely will show results.
So, to finish this post, I encourage you to stay positive and keep educating yourself on healthy living and healthy eating. Do not exaggerate any illness or pain you may have, and start adopting some of the suggestions you find in this blog or in other places.
In my next post, I will be writing about the Vilcabambas and exercise. But don’t worry, it is not the type of exercise will require you to join a Gym or to hire a fitness coach.
Until next time!
A lot of people are not aware, but health juices have amazing healing powers and offers a lot of health benefits. In fact, these juices are a natural cure for many illnesses.
You may ask, "Why not just eat fruits and vegetables instead?". The answer is simple; it may take 2 to 3 hours for solid foods to pass through the digestive tract of the body that requires a healthy digestive system. 
