Slow food & slow life
The extraordinary longevity of the Sardinians has been confirmed by science. The secret? Sun, authentic food, a simple life and a genetic predisposition
The extremely high concentration of long-living people, especially in certain areas of Sardinia, has attracted the attention of the international scientific community. Research carried out by various scholars tends to demonstrate the correlation between lifestyles, diet and longevity: along with genetic predisposition, the combination of environmental, anthropological and cultural factors that characterize Sardinia are the key to ‘successful aging’. People live better and longer on the Island, compared to the Italian and European average. It is no coincidence that the territory of Ogliastra is one of the world's five 'blue zones', areas in which the percentage of centenarians and ninety-year-olds in good health and still active is higher than in the bordering territories.
The food and agriculture products and dishes of Sardinia are the basis of the ‘centenarians’ diet’. Local foods, nutritionally rich, often produced autonomously by the consumers themselves, combined with a rhythm of life that includes serene rest and healthy physical activity, are the secrets of the elixir of long life. On the island today, you can still enjoy the flavours of specialities, often inherited by generations and generations and prepared like they were many centuries ago.
Goat's and sheep's milk, and their by-products, contribute to successful aging, because of their high digestibility. Then there is the famous pane carasau bread, also rich in protein but extremely light, due to its very low gluten content, making it a powerful ally against the onset of diabetes. Barley, which is widespread all over the Island, is also used, especially in the winter, in the preparation of first course soup dishes. Then there are the vegetables: tomatoes, artichokes and fennel, full of vitamins, and especially legumes like broad beans and chickpeas are, according to the major studies, responsible for longevity.
The authentic products of the land, like meat, cheeses, seasonal fruit and vegetables, are the basis of the Island's culinary tradition, which must be accompanied by a good glass of cannonau (or two), the Sardinian wine par excellence that, because of its beneficial properties (anti-oxidants), is described as the nectar of long life. It is undoubtedly one of the symbols of ‘successful aging’ of the Sardinians.
