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The secrets of long life

A long healthy life is no accident. It begins with good genes, but it also depends on good _________. So what’s the formula for success? In a recent study, scientists have focused on groups living in several regions where exceptional longevity is the normal: Sardinia, Italy, Loma Linda, California, and the islands of Okinawa, Japan.

Sardinians

Why do they live so long? _______ is part of the answer. By 11 a.m. Tonino has already milked four cows, chopped wood and walked four miles with his sheep. Now, taking the day’s first break, he gathers his grown children, grandson, around the kitchen table. Giovanna, his wife, unties a handkerchief containing a paper-thin flatbread called carta da musica, pours some red wine, and cut slices of homemade cheese.

These Sardinians also benefit from their _______ history. According to Paolo Francalacci of the University of Sassari, 80 percent of them are _______the first Sardinians, who arrived in the area 11,000 years ago. Genetic traits made stronger over generations may favor longevity.   _______, too, is a factor. The Sardinians diet is loaded with fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, fish and wine. Most of these items are homegrown.

Adventists

The study found that the Adventists’ habit of consuming beans, soy milk, tomatoes, and other fruits _______their risk of developing certain cancers. It also suggested that eating whole wheat bread, drinking five glasses of water a day, and, most _______, consuming four servings of nuts a week reduced their risk of heart disease. And it found that not eating red meat had been helpful in avoiding both cancer and heart disease.

Okinawans

The first thing you notice about Ushi Okushima is her _______. It fills the room with pure joy. This rainy afternoon she sits comfortably wrapped in a blue kimono. Her thick hair is combed back from her suntanned face, revealing alert green eyes. Not long ago, she started wearing perfume. When asked about the perfume, she _______that she has a new boyfriend. ________behavior for a young woman, perhaps, but Ushi is 103.

With an average life expectancy of 78 years for men and 86 years for women, Okinawans are among the world’s longest lived people. This is undoubtedly due in part to Okinawans warm and ________ climate and scenic beauty. Senior citizens living in these islands tend to enjoy years ________disabilities. Okinawans have very low rates of cancer and heart disease compared to American seniors.

A lean diet of food grown on the island and a philosophy of ________— may also be a factor. “eat until your stomach is 80 percent full.” may also be factors. Ironically, this healthy way of eating was born of ________. Ushi Okushima grew up barefoot and poor, her family grew sweet potatoes, which formed the core of every meal. During World War II, when the men of the island joined the army, Ushi and her friend Setsuko fled to the center of the island with their children. “We ________ terrible hunger,” Setsuko recalls.