Book describes the typical lifestyle of the 20,000 people of Georgia (at that time part of the USSR) who are over 90, including some over 130 years of age.
Benet deduces from ethnographies and anthropological studies that reasons for longevity include a non-stress lifestyle with no sudden changes, extended family who hold old folk in high esteem and are constant company, fresh air blowing directly off the Black Sea or the mountains, adequate food from their own garden plots, and work suited to their capacity at all stages of life.
Those who live a long time don't change work habits -- they stay in the same mostly physical jobs, all their lives, and they tend not to be competitive except in leisure activities such as sports or music.
The old folk are included in kin groups and community activities all their lives. They vote. The eldest person in the family is always listed as its head, without reference to contribution or capacity. It is not assumed that physical or mental capacity will deteriorate with age.
Women live longer than men. Women who have had children live longer than single women. Women who have children into their forties live longer than other women. The men who live into old age are usually in better physical shape than women of the same age. The men are sexually active into their 80s.
The Georgians don't try non-traditional foods and don't overeat.
If food is the key to happy old age, Benet's final chapter should be a best-seller. The content is recipes, several of which include beans and nuts and lots of garlic and fresh meat and fresh veg.
Comments by Edna Toth