In the Caucasus are the largest number of long-living people in the world; men and women who live to be 90 commonly, often 100 and more (cases have been scientifically recorded of people as old as 160). These are not bedridden "senior citizens", but healthy, functioning people who work, make love, have roles of consequence in their communities.
For the first time, an anthropologist who is the world expert in this field has recorded in lively detail the results of years of research, actually living with the people from Georgia, Abkhasia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Daghestan. Dr. Benet has been permitted what no other foreigner ever has: complete and intimate access to the homes, family life, and records of the people as well as to the scientific data accumulated by world-tamed gerontologists. She is the first to record the biographical methods by which the authentic ages are scientifically documented.
Focusing on all the significant factors affecting longevity - climate, geography, diet (dozens of tested recipes are included), folk, medicine, recreation, plus much medical data - Dr. Benet balances both hereditary and environmental influences. The Caucasian people differ from one another in such things as religion and diet, yet Dr. Benet concludes that it is their similar pattern of life, their ongoing routines, that may be the most important factor in their longevity, and she shows us what we can learn from them.
And equally important, this is also the only existing study of a people and a culture in a remote, beautiful land.
Author(s): Sula Benet
Edition: 1
Publisher: The Dial Press
Year: 1976
Language: English
Pages: 201
City: New York
INTRODUCTION 1
1) An anthropologist goes to the Caucasus 13
2) The land and its people 21 (Who are the Caucasians? 21; Historical Beginnings 22; Flora and Fauna 23; Ethnic Groups 24; Physical Types 26; Languages 26; Resettlement 29; Housing 32; Industrialization 34; The Mountain Jews 34)
3) Are they really that old? The demography of longevity 39 (The Concept of Old Age 39; Methods of Age Verification 42; Ecological Zones 49; Sex Differences in Longevity 51; The Genetics of Longevity: Is Aging Genetically Programmed? 52; Demography of Longevity and Health Standards 53; Longevity and Family Size 55; The Growth and Reproduction Cycle 57; Index of Maximum Longevity IML 62; Longevity Quotient 63)
4) How to be a proper host and guest: hospitality and etiquette 65
5) Folk Medicine 79
6) Do the all eat yogurt? Nutrition and Longevity 91 (The Diet 91; The Rules of Diet 93; The Family Hearth 95; Meats 95; Beans 96; Spices and Herbs 97; Nuts 98; Fruits and Vegetables 99; Honey and Sweets 100; Teeth 100; Milk Products and Spring Water 100; Food Preparation and Preservation 101; Tea 102; Changes in Nutrition and Diet During the Soviet Period 103; Arteriosclerosis, Cholesterol 204; Exercise 108)
7) Sex: Joy in privacy, shame in public 111 (Sex and Longevity 117)
8) The Family: The extended family of the past, the small units of today 121 (Family Commitment 125; Avoidance Patterns 130; Position of Women 133; The Caucasian Wedding 138; The Wedding of my friend Gacan from the village of Khaikhi 139; The Relationship Between Generations 143; Children 145; Atalyk 147; Stress and Child-rearing 153; Repression and Self-control 155; Blood Feuds 156)
9) Life's Rhythm: Conclusions about longevity 159 (Continuity 159; Continuity in Wok Patterns 160; Continuity in Diet 160; Health Care 160; Realistic Life Goals 160; Role of Aged in Community and Family 161; Exercise 161; Self-image and the Expectation of Long Life 163)
10) Some recipes from the long-living people of the Caucasus 165 (Soups 166; Meat Dishes 166; Fish Dishes 176; Vegetable Dishes 177; Sauces 185; Desserts 187)
BIBLIOGRAPHY 189
INDEX 195
Photographs following page 48
