
'Healthiest hearts in the world' found - keithpeter
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39292389
======
0xcde4c3db
It seems questionable to me that genes aren't even mentioned in passing when
summarizing possible reasons for a specific physiological difference observed
in a small, insular population. Especially considering that there are well-
documented cases of both genes that accelerate atherosclerosis and specific
families with extremely low rates of heart disease that don't seem to be
explained by lifestyle factors. If it were all about macros and staying
active, why _this_ population and not dozens scattered throughout the world?

~~~
ginko
I agree. The most interesting thing to check would be to try finding some
Tsimane that left to work in the city and check their heart values.

~~~
0xcde4c3db
That would be interesting, but part of the complexity of this is that "healthy
lifestyle" may be as much about fitting together with genetic factors as
approaching some universal ideal. I think it would be really interesting
(albeit unrealistic) if there were a baby exchange among various populations
with high longevity in general or low CVD in particular, and see if there's
any significant pattern. Would people with Tsimane ancestry thrive in Okinawa?
Would people with Ryukyuan ancestry get a heart attack at 40 living on
Sardinia?

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TulliusCicero
Seems like the biggest takeaway is their high levels of activity, like walking
and biking. Developed countries are unlikely to get rid of 'screen time'
anytime soon, but we could surely orient our cities around walking and biking
more (particularly in the US).

~~~
nojvek
As a developer, I sometimes ask myself how I can get more exercise. My commute
is 1.5 hrs each way. So 8+3= 11 hours of sitting related to work.

By the time I get home I am almost super tired and hungry to anything else.

Averaging 16,000 steps is very impressive. Feels like a distant dream.

~~~
pm90
As a kinda lazy developer myself here are the things that motivate me to
workout:

1\. Being more attractive. This is probably the no.1 reason, as facetious as
it may sound...helps that I am single. I have certainly noticed people of the
gender I like begin to notice me more, and that is an implicit but powerful
motivation to stay in shape. Don't worry about looking like models from Men's
Health: you just have to look/feel like you take care of your body.

2\. Having workout possibilities close at hand. I live in a residential
neighborhood and my gym is far away, so I got into outdoors running. So after
work, I put in my bluetooth headphones, play some tunes and just run. I'm too
lazy to go to my gym regularly, but since I can just step out of my house and
start running, it reduces the barrier to doing that. I'm planning on moving to
an apartment complex that has an in house gym because of the very same reason.

3\. Eating healthy and mindfully. Your diet can have an out sized impact on
your ability to work out. Personally, I found that I need to wait for a couple
of hours after my last meal before I start an active workout; otherwise, my
tummy is full and busy digesting food. Also, perhaps the food digests by that
time because I feel a surge of energy...which brings to my last point:

4\. Point 2 is useful because there will be peaks and troughs in your day,
energy wise. You might get up at midnight and feel full of energy, or may have
a planned workout at 7pm and feel completely exhausted. Having the ability to
run/workout closeby helps here, because you can then use your body's natural
inclinations in your favor.

Anyways, full disclosure: completely personal experience, I am not a certified
anything. Hope you find something that works! It may be a personal thing, but
I find my productivity and creativity peaks when I live a healthy lifestyle.

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tcbawo
It's interesting that the article points to a high carbohydrate diet as being
one of the takeaways. I suspect some people will glom onto this data point
(see, sugar isn't bad!) despite their largely unprocessed diet and constant
physical activity into old age.

~~~
mrfusion
What kind of carbs though? Beans actually have a lot of carbs even after
subtracting fiber but I don't think anyone thinks they're unhealthy.

~~~
tedd4u
Exactly, I didn't see it in the article but I think it's a good guess their
carb intake has somewhere near zero processed/simple sugars and processed
carbs. They are eating "whole foods."

One thing I'm interested in is other than animal sources, what what fat
sources do they have in their diet. Nuts is one thing that was mentioned. I
wonder if they extract any oils for cooking from vegetable sources.

~~~
undersuit
Do they need more fat in their diet? They aren't buying 15% fat ground beef
and nicely trimmed steaks and they probably aren't discarding the skin of the
fish they catch.

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brudgers
A small sample population is likely to produce the highest rate of occurrence
of a randomly distributed feature. A small sample population is also likely to
produce the lowest rate of occurrence.

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keithpeter
_" They also live in small communities, life is very social and they maintain
a positive outlook."_

Quote from one of the researchers.

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AngeloAnolin
The article did not point out to other details of their research like: 1\. Do
the Tsimane people consume or have access to processed foods? 2\.
Vaccinations? 3\. Any access to pharmaceutical products?

It also mentioned on the article:

"The scientists scanned 705 people's hearts in a CT scanner after teaming up
with a research group scanning mummified bodies."

If they performed the test on mummified bodies, how were they able to
determine the amount of CAC at the age of 45 and again at the age of 75?

I wonder if they also performed some tests for those people who are still
alive?

~~~
JohnJamesRambo
They scanned live people, they just teamed up with a group that was scanning
mummies.

I'm trying to deduce a physiological way a vaccine could induce coronary
artery problems and I can't see any way.

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sireat
What is their longevity though? I could not find it anywhere in the BBC
article.

Healthy heart is nice and does bring quality of life, but what is their life
expectancy?

~~~
defen
"Average life expectancy at birth was 43 years between 1950-89 and increased
to about 50 during the period 1990-2002. Half the population is under 15 years
of age."

[http://www.philosophy.dept.shef.ac.uk/culture&mind/people/gu...](http://www.philosophy.dept.shef.ac.uk/culture&mind/people/gurvenm/)
(that is the site of one of the anthropologists quoted in the BBC article)

They also have very high parasite load, which was kind of mentioned in the
article; may influence fertility as well as heart health and overall
longevity:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3529658/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3529658/)

~~~
danielhooper
It's difficult to get a good sense of 'longevity' with life expectancy stats,
especially when in this case they only take an average. I can imagine that
this group of people does not have modern tools and techniques for child
delivery. Obviously that is concerning and worth keeping in the picture, but
any higher than usual child mortality rates will really skew the life
expectancy stat, making it appear as though people just drop dead in their 40s
and 50s.

Edit: I probably don't need to point that out to the typical HN reader, but
its something I personally wouldn't have picked up on a few years ago

~~~
defen
The second link I posted has survival curves. Child mortality is high but not
the whole story - lots of people dying at all ages due to infectious diseases.

~~~
keithpeter
Yes, the intestine parasites don't exactly enthuse one to adopt the lifestyle.
A simple clinic with antibiotics could sort a lot of the mortality though.

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Nomentatus
Very strange that the deleterious effects of artificial light extending the
day aren't even mentioned. The evidence keeps mounting, we now know that pRGCs
exist, but the old assumptions persist. One isolated tribe in New Zealand I
believe it was had wonderful health - until a hydro damn was sited there, and
they were given free electricity. Diet matters, but light affects appetite, so
what you eat will change as your light exposure changes.

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haffi112
> One idea is that intestinal worms - which dampen immune reactions - could be
> more common and this may help protect the heart.

In case you are interested in this point, then have a look at helminthic
therapy
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy)).

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amelius
So what is _their_ number one health risk? And life expectancy after reaching
adulthood?

~~~
dominotw
loneliness and pessimism .

~~~
dualogy
Ahh, all a matter of adaptation..

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known
High Blood Pressure Medications [http://www.everydayhealth.com/high-blood-
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