It sounds like basic, common-sense advice: living actively with a focus on natural diet is the secret to a longer, healthier life. But researchers were still surprised to discover that an indigenous group in the Amazon that practices these concepts manages to stave off some of the effects of aging.
The roughly 16,000 Tsimané live electricity-free in the lowland rainforests of Bolivia. They avoid most contact with the outside world and still largely adhere to a traditional way of life, hunting game and catching fish. They practice a basic form of agriculture and gather other food from the rainforest around them. Their economy isn’t based on money in the traditional sense.
Hillard Kaplan, a professor of health economics and anthropology at Chapman University, has worked with the Tsimané for nearly 20 years. The average lifespan of the Tsimané was in the early 50s — a low number compared to Americans, who typically live to their late 70s on average.
