The Secret Diet for Great Physical Health (Even in Old Age)

Hispanics in the U.S., live on average over two years longer than whites, and over seven years longer than blacks.

A recent government report contains the strongest evidence yet of what some call the "Hispanic paradox" -- remarkable longevity in a population with many poor and undereducated members. One theory holds that

Hispanics who immigrate to the U.S. tend to be among the healthiest from their countries.
According to the Chicago Tribune:

"A Hispanic born in 2006 could expect to live about 80 years and seven months, the government estimates. Life expectancy for a white is about 78, and for a black, just shy of 73 years."

Sources:

  Chicago Tribune October 13, 2010

Want to Live Longer? Eat Natural Foods!

The concept of "native diets" being superior to the processed diets of the modern, Western world goes back nearly 100 years.
Dr. Weston A. Price was a dentist and dental researcher around 1900 who went on an investigation that spanned the globe to determine why native populations, who ate traditional foods, exhibited perfect physical health well into old age.

What he discovered, and wrote about in depth in his classic book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, was that as populations adopted industrially processed foods, veering away from natural fare, their health started to decline.
Modern food processing  actually began in the early part of 1800, when vacuum bottling was invented, followed by tinning and canning technology in 1810. Back then, lead-containing cans wrought health problems on those who consumed it.
In 1862, pasteurization was discovered, and with it came the destruction of one of Earth's most nutritious food groups – raw dairy. The major shift toward a diet consisting of more processed food occurred in the 1920's, right around the time Dr. Price published his book.
Price's research took him to remote tribal communities -- Swiss, Eskimos, Polynesians, Africans, New Zealanders, and more -- and what he discovered made him one of the foremost authorities on the role of foods in their natural form, and the development of degenerative illnesses as a result of processed foods. (For more information about Price and details of his research, please see this link.)
Clearly, the Western diet has deteriorated significantly since then. More denaturing and harmful food processing methods have followed, and we're seeing the ramifications of this unnatural food culture in our skyrocketing disease statistics.

The Healthy Ingredients of Native Diets

What makes Dr. Price's work so incredible is that even though it was written in 1930, it is still equally valid today. That is one of the signs of a health truth: it lasts for many years. If it was true in 1930 it should still hold true when 2020 rolls around.
Dr. Price noticed some similarities between the native diets that allowed the people to thrive.

Among them:

• The foods were natural, unprocessed, and organic (and contained no sugar except for the occasional bit of honey or maple syrup).
• The people ate foods that grew in their native environment. In other words, they ate locally grown, seasonal foods.
• Many of the cultures ate unpasteurized dairy products, and all of them ate fermented foods.
• The people ate a significant portion of their food raw.
• All of the cultures ate animal products, including animal fat and, often, full-fat butter and organ meats.

When he analyzed his findings, he found that the native diets contained ten times the amount of fat-soluble vitamins, and at least four times the amount of calcium, other minerals, and water-soluble vitamins as that of Western diets at that time.
Their diets were also rich in enzymes because they ate fermented and raw foods (enzymes help you to digest cooked foods), and their intake of omega-3 fats was at least ten times higher than in today's diet.

How to Survive in a Diseased Health Paradigm

Even though we live lives that are far different from those of our ancestors, you can still benefit from their traditional diets by using them as dependable roadmaps to good health.
By implementing the native dietary patterns listed above, you too can improve or maintain optimal health. However, modern life has also removed us from many other natural, health-promoting lifestyle patterns that need to be addressed.
Here is a summary of the most important and most effective dietary and lifestyle measures I know of:

• Determine your nutritional type, and eat accordingly. This will tell you which foods are ideal for your unique biochemistry. This will also help you optimize your insulin and leptin levels, which are paramount for good health. Additionally, eating the right foods for your chemical makeup will help you maintain a healthy weight
• Eat at least one-third of your food raw
• Avoid processed foods and all artificial flavorings, colorings, and artificial sweeteners. Instead, seek out locally grown foods that are in-season
• Enjoy fermented foods like kefir and cultured veggies
• Make sure you eat enough healthy fats, including those from animal sources like omega-3 fat, and reduce your intake of omega-6 from vegetable oils
• Drink plenty of pure, clean water
• Manage your stress levels
• Exercise regularly. For optimal health benefits and longevity, make sure you incorporate high-intensity, sprint-type exercises, such as Peak 8
• Optimize your vitamin D levels, ideally through appropriate exposure to sunshine. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a vast array of diseases, and has been shown to increase your risk of death from any cause by 150 percent!
• Limit your exposure to toxins
• Get plenty of good sleep

Following these guidelines is a powerful way to avoid premature aging and disease of all kinds, so that you can far exceed the U.S. national average life expectancy, regardless of your financial- and educational status, or your racial heritage.