Ancient Greeks
Health Secrets of the Aegean
Oh to be Greek and living on the island of Ikaria, where people live to be 100, laughing, dancing, and, um, still having sex. The New York Times reports today on a study of Ikarian men between 65 and 100, noting that "80 percent of them claimed to have sex regularly, and a quarter of that self-reported group said they were doing so with “good duration” and “achievement.”
The dude in the picture is Evangelos Koutis, age 99. To paraphrase When Harry Met Sally, "I'll have what he's having."
Bravo or bravado, and, regardless, what's their secret? Well, it may be lot's of napping, or the fresh air and sun, or the disregard of all form of clocks. Or, it could be dietary. Another study found that Ikarians "consumed about six times as many beans a day as Americans, ate fish twice a week and meat five times a month, drank on average two to three cups of coffee a day and took in about a quarter as much refined sugar — the elderly did not like soda." Also, the study found that its subjects "were consuming high levels of olive oil along with two to four glasses of wine a day."
My thought: Ikaria don't need no stinking Eurozone handout! Must learn from our elders.
Photo Credit:
Andrea Frazzetta/LUZphoto for The New York Times
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