Island where people live longer than anyone on earth | 60 Minutes Australia

[Music] [Applause] there's something about a Korea yes it has the same picture-postcard beauty years other Greek islands but there's something else going on here perhaps it's the food perhaps it's the wine so Cheers shoot and welcome thank you I'm feel younger already [Music] whether it's the very old you are very fast on your feet oh the very young there's an extraordinary vitality here [Music] way of life where people start dancing when they're children and don't stop having a good time even when they reach 100 which on Korea is very often oh yeah they went down I think he's still flirting at the age of a hundred [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] this island has a secret what is it about this place that means the inhabitants live longer and better than the rest of us scientists say the people of Korea live at least ten years longer and with radically lower rates of serious illness like heart disease and dementia right now a team of scientists is trying to find the answer and what they discover might change the way we all live dr. Kristina Chris who is a cardiologist who's been tracking the health of Korea's older residents in a landmark all year study it's normal it's more than even for my age which means that there's no there's no severe effects karateka disease what she colleagues are finding is simply astounding okay okay they're seeing patients up to 100 years old whose hearts are in much better shape medical science can explain this vascular agent is a young tubercular to humanity's age how much younger about 20 years dr. Krista who and her fellow scientists are now taking DNA samples to discover if there's a genetic component to this mystery there is something special something special humans people on Korea don't just live longer they're much more likely to arrive at old age with all their faculties in most astoundingly we found almost no sign of dementia so these people are not only living a long healthy life they're reaching the end and they're very sharp and that at the end of the day is what you want Dan Buettner is the best-selling author who first identified so-called blue zones those places in the world where people have the highest life expectancy and the greatest chance of reaching 100 e Korea is the most shining example yet discovered the maximum life expectancy for our species right now is about 92 the Acadians are reaching that better than any other population in the world it seems to me effortless for the e Koreans far more than the rest of us to reach 100 none of these 98 100 year-olds ever tried to live to be a hundred longevity happened to one hundred year old grigory's tas house is out for his daily coffee in the town square and still as sharp as he says that you should come and stay in that village and you will have even reserved years these days Gregorius is not exactly a poster boy for good living but between lighting up a ciggy and downing a bowl of ice cream he's happy to share his recipe for long life so tell me what what is for secret tsunamis - one horrible day he says the red wine makes you stronger the ik Aryans have lived on this rocky mountainous island for at least nine thousand years it's about as far away from mainland Greece as you can get just fifty kilometres of the coast of Turkey and that remoteness is common to all Blue Zones from Sardinia in Italy to Okinawa in Japan they're all isolated in some way untouched by Western civilization or the American food culture they were dependent upon each other because there is no one else to rely upon yes our kind of incessant reaching for more comfort may not really be the best route for longevity or indeed even happiness that a little bit of hardship I think tempers human life [Music] the rugged terrain of Korea has bred tough resilient people walk and climb Hills every day because they have to men like Krista doulas poorest who at the age of 95 is still as agile as his goats and recommends a hard bed not too much of the good life as secrets to a long life for Teri Garr he beans vegetables eggs from the nature after Univera then there's ninety nine year old Evangeline kunafa reeling off the family stories of a century ago as if there were yesterday as if she was still a 20 year old beauty and like every good a carrion the banj allah has her own unique take on the Fountain of Youth everyone has a theory for some it's the high levels of naturally occurring radioactive elements such as radium for others it's the herbs that grow wild all over the island and end up in just about everything there Koreans eat and drink I read of a magical tea such a thing we have a lot of herbs here we have many different teas here and they have been analyzed and they have been shown to contain properties that are much stronger here in acharya thea perico's was born and raised in america like many sickened generation Aquarians she's come to the island her parents left in search of a quite a more meaningful way of life we call this combo Horto and it's used specifically for her chest for asthma for colds it's definitely one of the many ingredients for a long life any cardio today a sphere has her own restaurant and her traditional akarin recipes I will be the Bible for healthy eating now this this is interesting this is this are different these are a variety of wild greens and olive oil is essential if you don't have olive oil in your house you can't cook if you want to cook you have to have olive oil oregano garlic lemon these are the basics so how many more use will I get if I eat this dish another team would you eat persist food at all no when you make a chicken soup you have chicken rice lemon salt and pepper that's all you need and you don't need to go to the supermarket for that no you kill a chicken most to Koreans eat very little meat of any description the diet is almost entirely plant-based Korea has the most extreme version of the Mediterranean diet but there are a few variations for example potatoes figure much more prominently in the akkadian diet interestingly you'd think fish but where it Koreans lived were the the centenarians of today they mostly lived inland which was a day's journey from the sea so it would take two days to get fish so it was much easier for them to focus on a plant-based diet which they indeed did and then of course there's the wine this is your own yes ok this is essential yes this is a basic necessity well we know that drinkers outlived non-drinkers which isn't to say if you're not drinking now that you should necessarily take it up but we know that people will drink in two to three glasses a day are probably drinking the optimal amount [Music] these pastors are held regularly all over the island and in the interests of accuracy I have to report that people were drinking slightly more than two or three glasses and something else to it might just be the Aquarian socialite that holds the key to their longevity we don't have a table for the younger children and then the table for the adults there's no lines of separation between the generations and this is very nice because nobody feels out is that the key to what we're talking about longevity I think this is a very important part because nobody feels useless and nobody is left alone even the scientists admit it may be the answer that eluded all of their tests they are useful in the community till the very end and no one's left out this is the secret not only living up to advanced age but also have a good quality of life which means good mental stress without depression it in order to have that you must have a purpose in your life till the very end it seems to be working for the people of a Korea so perhaps it can work for the rest of us too how has it changed your life then I mostly plant-based diet and families a lot more important to me than career was I look pretty good for 104 don't I and if all it takes is good food good wine and good company [Music] [Applause] hello I'm Liz Hayes thanks for watching to keep up with the latest from 60 minutes Australia make sure you subscribe to our channel you can also download the 9 now app for full episodes and other exclusives 60 minutes content

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 1,670,907

Rating: 4.882185 out of 5

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley, Tara Brown, Liam Bartlett, Allison Langdon, Tom Steinfort, Ellen Fanning, Peter Overton, Karl Stefanovic, Ray Martin, Peter Stefanovic, Jana Wendt, Jeff McMullen, Jennifer Byrne, Mike Munro, Richard Carleton, Tracey Curro, Paul Barry, Peter Harvey, Michael Usher, Ross Coulthart, George Negus, Ian Leslie, Gerald Stone, Sarah Abo, greek island, Ikaria, youth, ageing, fountain of youth

Id: BIWibXSOfNg

Length: 12min 51sec (771 seconds)

Published: Wed May 15 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

I live in one of these blue zones.. but I spend most of my time alone on my computer eating ramen so I think I'm just as screwed as the rest of you.