Lifestyle of Amazonian Tribe May Hold Key to Slowing Down Aging
May 26, 2021 MADELINE REYES
Members of the Tsimane tribe in the Bolivian Amazon have the healthiest cardiovascular systems of any recorded population, which in turn increases their brains’ resilience to aging and atrophy.
A Tsimane child in a canoe. (Photo courtesy Chapman University)
(CN) — New evidence shows that a group of Indigenous people from the Bolivian Amazon known as the Tsimane experience a 70% slower decrease in brain volume over the course of their lives than adults in Western populations, shedding new light on dementia and neurological health in industrialized regions of the world.
In a new study, published Wednesday in the Journal of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, a group of international scientists performed CT scans on hundreds of adult Tsimane participants and found their elevated cardiovascular health keeps their brains healthy for much longer than those in more modernized nations.
The Tsimane people in Bolivia have recently been recognized by the scientific community as a highly active Indigenous group with above average heart health, and as such they have been looked to for clues on how other populations can lower their chances of developing heart disease. In fact, a similar study published in 2017 in the Lancet found that the Tsimane have the lowest levels of coronary atherosclerosis, or coronary artery disease, of any population ever recorded.
But despite their cardiovascular health, the life expectancy of the Tsimane is just 53 years due to their lack of access to modern health care. They often suffer from disease and infection, especially since they are without plumbing, abundant fresh water and electricity. However, they are approximately five times less likely to develop heart disease thanks to their high-fiber diet of fish, lean meat and vegetables obtained by dedicated fishing, hunting, and foraging.
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