The power of the human body and mind has amazed us throughout history. What we can achieve and do with our bodies is truly correlative to the power and state of mind we have. For some reason, I have always been intrigued with the secrets and myths of segregated communities in our modern world. It is almost astonishing to believe that there are people who have never seen a TV or had access to internet in their whole lives.

Recently I stumbled with a facebook post about a community of individuals who called themselves the Hunzas that live in the peaks of the Himalayan Mountains. You might think, who are these people? what is so special about them? who cares about them? There is a deep myth that is even considered celestial about this people. It is said that the people from this community never get sick, have perfect health and living conditions for an average of 140 years. WHAT?, how is this possible?

The Hunzas live in the roof the world, in the extreme border point of India with borders of coverage between Kashmir, China, and Afghanistan. This people live in an inaccessible valley at 3000 meters above sea level. They are completely unaware of the outside world. These are the most astonishing theories about their perfect health. The Hunzas are characterized by the absence of any kind of disease. They posses endless energy and enthusiasm. There life expectancy is about 135 to 145 years old, incredible compared to the average Westerner’s life expectancy which is 70 years old. It is common for 90 year old men of the Hunzas to procreate children. The average 80 year old Hunza female looks like a 40 year old female westerner.

When I first read all this stories about the Hunzas I questioned myself how could this be achieved, and as I researched I found that their “fountain of youth” or elixir of life is all based on their nutrition.Sir Robert McCarrison was the firs ever to go and study this community and document them. He discovered their incredible secrets in nutrition. The first rule of this people could easily be translated into the common phrase” You are what you eat “

The basic components of the Hunza diet are:

• Fruits and vegetables (mostly raw): especially potatoes, string beans, peas, carrots, turnips, squash, spinach, lettuce, apples, pears, peaches, apricots, cherries, and blackberries.
• Nuts: walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, beechnuts, and plenty of almonds, consumed whole or processed into an oil using a technique passed down through the generations.
• Animal protein: especially milk, cheese, and chicken. The Hunzas are not strictly vegetarian, but they consume very little meat.
• Yogurt: crucial for the health of intestinal flora.
• Grains: especially barley, millet, buckwheat, and wheat, mostly in the form of bread called chapatti, which the Hunzas eat with every meal (and to which some attribute the amazing potency of Hunza men, in part due to the high vitamin E content of the whole, natural grains).
• On any regular day, their daily food averages 1900 calories, including 50 grams of protein, 36 grams fat, and 365 grams of carbohydrates.

The Hunza people also have great physical conditions due to physical exercise. Beside all the labor they do in their village, they usually take daily hikes of about 20 kilometers in the mountains giving them really good physical conditions in such extreme weathers. They also practice the art of relaxation and yoga breathing which enables them to have complete relaxation and live a life without any source of stress. Happiness is crucial in the lifestyle of the Hunzas. They maintain and community really tied up to their cultural beliefs. The families are really functional and harmony in between the members of the community is crucial. It is really amazing how the simple things in life can gives the virtue to live longer in a world so corrupted.