Bama – the abode of the centenarians in China

“To live to be a hundred years old!”, – this phrase has long been steadily associated rather with some, not the most thoughtful, feast toasts than with reality. Nevertheless, the theme of longevity has always excited minds and hearts. Centennial old people have always been revered and respected, trying to adopt their lifestyle in the hope of getting an equally long century. But above all, the reason for such a reverent attitude towards centenarians has always been the exceptional rarity of this phenomenon.

Bama – the abode of the centenarians in China
That is why one place on earth is so amazing, where centennial centenarians are, if not commonplace, then certainly not a sensation. The name of this place is the Bama Yao Autonomous County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. For simplicity, we will call these places simply Bama, especially since the capital of the county is called that.

Centenarians Bama
So, according to the latest census, more than 200 thousand people live in the county. There are more than 70 centenarians who have crossed the 100-year milestone. The exact number is unknown, but the order is that. And this ratio – more than 30 people aged 100 or more per 100 thousand people – is an absolute world record that exceeds the world average by five (!) Times.

A characteristic feature of local residents is that they practically do not suffer from diseases that are constant companions of most older people in the rest of the world.

But the most striking thing is the fact that people who came to these places and stayed here to live, over time, noted a significant improvement in health and a surge of vitality. By themselves, the illnesses that tormented them for many years pass.

From this began the world fame of Bam. And with this glory in the world, the number of people who suddenly needed a visa to China has sharply increased. Now in the county there are already about 20 thousand foreigners who have settled here in the hope of gaining health and longevity. I must say, they have every chance of it, and we will tell you why.

What’s the secret?
For decades, both Chinese and foreign researchers have tried to unravel the mystery of the health and longevity of Bam residents. It was expected that no “Holy Grail” was found, and scientists were forced to agree that the reason for the abnormal longevity of the locals was a combination of a variety of factors: clean mountain air, features of natural sunlight, the special composition of water, presumably magnetic anomalies, nutrition , lifestyle and mentality of the local.

Ecology
The role of the local ecology is obvious – clean mountain air, water saturated with rare minerals, and nature full of life – all this, if not an elixir of immortality, then certainly contributes to good health.

Local air, by the way, is not just clean. It is saturated with negatively charged ions, which makes it doubly special. Residents of city apartments often buy air ionizers for a lot of money in order to at least somehow protect themselves from adverse external factors. For centuries, the inhabitants of Bama have been receiving all this for free in unlimited quantities. It is negatively charged ions that are effective fighters against free radicals – a serious factor in cell aging and the onset of cancer.

Separate words deserve the composition of the soil in the county. Researchers note in it an increased content of manganese, zinc, copper and cadmium. Scientists also attribute this fact to the probable components of the secret of longevity of local residents.

Society and mentality

An important point is the psychological atmosphere in which the old Bama live. They are surrounded by the care of relatives, universal respect and respect. The centenarians themselves have always been distinguished by their good-natured disposition and total positiveness even in the most difficult times.

Bad habits

Two-thirds of the oldest local old-timers never smoked tobacco or drank alcohol. Here the correlation is not so clear, since smokers and lovers from time to time indulge in alcohol among the centenarians after all, a whole third, and this is a lot.

Labor and active lifestyle

All their lives, the locals are engaged in physical labor, and even having exceeded one hundred years, none of the old people is going to sit on the mound for weeks. Until the end of their days, old-timers work in the fields, work around the house, and do all kinds of different jobs. In the end, even a daily trip for water to a nearby mountain is a very good workout and free fitness.

Nutrition

The diet of centenarians of Bama has become almost the “number one” in the research of gerontologists. In the course of the research, experts revealed the following.

Locals eat twice a day – in the morning and in the evening. They feed mainly on cereals from barley, rice and wheat flour. In general, for the most part, residents of the county rarely eat meat, but the reasons here are rather not in convictions, but in habit – total poverty on the verge of survival for many centuries has left its mark on dietary preferences.