According to a new, extensive study published in Lancet magazine, the members of a South American tribe have the healthiest hearts on the planet, their risk of developing coronary atherosclerosis being close to zero. Researchers believe that the tribe’s game-based diet and intense physical activity helps in preventing vascular ageing.
The Tsimane Eat Healthy and Exercise Daily
The Bolivian Amazon is home to the Tsimane tribe – a small population of forager-horticulturalist people that live their lives in the dense forest, hunting for their meals and constantly repairing their huts. This natural diet combined with intense daily physical activity has helped them develop strong hearts, free of vascular ageing or other deadly heart illnesses.
Professor Hillard Kaplan, lead author of the study, believes that the overall health of the Tsimane people is due to their subsistence diet and regular physical activity. According to him, modern humans suffer from heart disease mainly due to high blood pressure and cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity, and physical inactivity.
Seeing as the South American tribespeople only eat non-processed fiber-rich carbohydrates, unsaturated fats, plenty of fish and game, and they don’t smoke, it’s easy to comprehend why they are considered the healthiest people in the world. Moreover, their daily lives require intense physical activity – such as fishing, hunting, building – keeping them healthier and more fit than the majority of Americans.
We Could Learn a Thing or Two from Them
While it is impossible to mimic the exact lifestyle of the Tsimane, their healthy habits could be transferred and adapted to modern life, thus naturally reducing heart disease risks.
The first thing that researchers are recommending is an increase in physical activity levels. Sedentariness kills millions of people each year as it is the underlying cause of a variety of deadly diseases. By exercising more, Americans could considerably improve their blood pressure, cholesterol, and mental health.
Next on the list is a healthier diet consisting in fiber-rich carbohydrates such as plantain, rice, corn, manioc, fruits, and nuts. Most of the proteins should come in the form of fish, red meat falling in the “rare treat” category. Smoking should also be eliminated completely.
The Tsimane are considered the healthiest people in the world because they adhere to a more natural lifestyle, hunting for their meals and eating enough to stay alive. The study comes to prove that the hearts of humans are not as flawed as statistics say, a little bit of care decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease more than five times.
Image Source: Pixabay
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