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These peoples remain healthy in body and spirit despite the passage of time. While many older persons in industrial societies become weak and ill in their 60s and 70s, some Soviet Georgians, aged 110 to 140, work in the fields beside their great greatgrandchildren. Even the idea of aging is foreign to them. When asked, “At what age does youth end?” most of these old people had no answer. Several replied, “Well, perhaps at age 80.” The very youngest estimate was age 60.
What accounts for this ability to survive to such old age, and to survive so well? First of all, hard physical work is a way of life for all of these long lived peoples. They begin their long days of physical labor as children and never seem to stop. For example, Mr. Rustam Mamedov is 142 years of age. He remembers his life experiences the Crimean War of 1854; the Turkish War of 1878; the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. His wife is 116 years old. They have been married for 90 years. Mr. Mamedov has no intentions of retiring from his life as a farmer. “Why? What else would I do?” he asks. Oh, hes slowed down a bit. Now he might quit for the day after 6 hours in the field instead of 10.
All these people get healthful rewards from the environment in which they work. They all come from mountainous regions. They live and work at elevations of 5,000 to 12,000 feet (1,660 to 4,000 meters) above sea level. The air has less oxygen and is pollutionfree. This reducedoxygen environment makes the heart and blood vessel system stronger.
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