THE oldest person in the world says a diet of quinoa, mushrooms and coca have kept him alive for 123 years.
Bolivian indigenous farmer Carmelo Flores, who turned 123 a month ago, attributes his longevity to the traditional Andean diet.
Mr Flores told Reuters he has lived so long by eating quinoa grains, riverside mushrooms and constantly chewing coca leaves.
"Potatoes with quinoa are delicious," Flores said.
To what else does Mr Flores, who has long herded cattle and sheep, owe his longevity?
"I walk a lot, that's all. I go out with the animals,'' he told Associated Press.
"I don't eat noodles or rice, only barley. I used to grow potatoes, beans, oca (an Andean tuber)."
The water Mr Flores drinks streams down from the snow-capped peak of Illampu, one of Bolivia's highest mountains.
the rest:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/quinoa-mushrooms-and-coca-kept-me-alive-for-...
Reminds me of Moraitis of Ikaria.
If you pay careful attention to the way Ikarians have lived their lives, it appears that a dozen subtly powerful, mutually enhancing and pervasive factors are at work. It’s easy to get enough rest if no one else wakes up early and the village goes dead during afternoon naptime. It helps that the cheapest, most accessible foods are also the most healthful — and that your ancestors have spent centuries developing ways to make them taste good. It’s hard to get through the day in Ikaria without walking up 20 hills. You’re not likely to ever feel the existential pain of not belonging or even the simple stress of arriving late. Your community makes sure you’ll always have something to eat, but peer pressure will get you to contribute something too. You’re going to grow a garden, because that’s what your parents did, and that’s what your neighbors are doing. You’re less likely to be a victim of crime because everyone at once is a busybody and feels as if he’s being watched. At day’s end, you’ll share a cup of the seasonal herbal tea with your neighbor because that’s what he’s serving. Several glasses of wine may follow the tea, but you’ll drink them in the company of good friends. On Sunday, you’ll attend church, and you’ll fast before Orthodox feast days. Even if you’re antisocial, you’ll never be entirely alone. Your neighbors will cajole you out of your house for the village festival to eat your portion of goat meat.