Secret of Longevity: Bolivian Man Dies at Age 123

(TRFW News) A Bolivian man believed to be 123 years old has recently died, and naturally, it raises the question of what he did in order to live such a long life (1).

While Carmelo Flores, an Aymara Indian, had a baptism certificate showing that his birthday was in July 1890, it wasn’t until the 1940s that Bolivia began issuing official birth certificates, so his exact birth date can’t be confirmed. Still, the aged man may be able to provide insight for those of us in other parts of the world who have much lower life expectancy. In the United States, for example, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the average life span is about 78.7 years (2).

So, what was this man’s secret? In a nutshell: healthy eating and living simple.
Healthy diet and slower-paced lifestyle linked to longevity

Flores Sr. not only lived in a straw hut and apparently hunted by himself in order to survive local wars, but he ate plenty of superfoods. Riverside mushrooms and quinoa seeds were some of his common food choices, and chewing on coca leaves was habitual. It’s said that the last few years of his life were spent resting and wearing shoes that were made of recycled tires.

The link between longevity and such a lifestyle is not unfamiliar in other areas.

In the book by John Robbins, Healthy at 100, it’s explained that many traditional views are put by the wayside including celebrating, rather than fearing, old age. Additionally, many other cultures live simply, like the Abkhasian people of Russia who structure their day based not on alarms and hurried demands, but rather, their biological rhythms. In fact, no word exists in their culture for “deadline.”

Another culture, the Hunzans of Pakistan, have been known to quickly scale rocks that are virtually perpendicular, an ability attributed to their daily physical routine of walking great distances to and from various communities.

Looking at these other cultures may allow other peoples to make slight changes to their own lifestyle so they too, can live longer and happier.