The Abkhasia: Russian Longevity Legends

The Abkhasia are a people living in the Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia. They have a reputation for extremely long and healthy lives. In the 1960s and 1970s, claims were made for lifespans of 150, marriages at 110 and claims of fatherhood at 136. The greatest claim, made by the propaganda-obsessed Soviets, was that one man, Shirali Muslimov, was 168 years old. The Soviets honored him with a postage stamp.

Simply put, no. There was a lot of hype built around the legends of the Abkhasia. The culture rewarded age, so people exaggerated. But who cares? Even if the self-proclaimed 164 years olds were really 90, they were still running up and down the mountains, laughing and dancing. Regardless of how long the Abkhasia lived, it is evident that they had almost none of the chronic illness that we have today.

The Abkhasia lived in the mountains and spent every day going up and down, and up and down in the thin mountain air. This constant activity has kept the older members of the Abkhasia fit without resorting to fitness programs or formal exercising.

They followed a mostly plant-based diet, emphasizing fresh (as in "picked-it-this-morning" fresh) foods, whole grains and nuts. The day typically starts with a fresh salad of raw greens harvested from their garden. Nuts are typically served at every meal, bringing in antioxidant value.

This is perhaps one of the biggest lessons, as their average diet contained well below 2000 calories per day. The Abkhasia not only ate wholesome foods but did not eat very much of them. Limiting calories has been shown to increase life expectancy in laboratory situations.

If you take one lesson from the Abkhasia, let it be this -- they liked being old. They looked forward to aging. Age gave them status in the community, respect and a sense of place. They never retired and remained active participants in life.