Truth is indeed stranger than fiction
 

Truth is indeed sometimes stranger than fiction.

Consider the family mentioned below (on ABC News).........

Also, who can add their own medical mystery about someone who did all the wrong things, but still lived well and healthily to a ripe old age?

Below is indeed food for thought, plus goes against everything we've always heard about cousins marrying cousins.......

""In the foothills of the Italian Alps is a tiny village that may hold a clue to a medical mystery that has challenged researchers for centuries.

Despite indulging in an artery-clogging diet that could make even an Italian grandmother cringe, the 400 or so residents of tiny Stoccareddo, Italy, have virtually no heart disease or diabetes, and often live into their 90s.

While at first glance nothing seems to be unusual about the town, a closer look reveals almost everyone is related and shares the same last name of Bau (pronounced Bow-ooh).

According to Amerigo Bau, the unofficial town historian, the first Bau family arrived in Stoccareddo from Denmark about 800 years ago and ever since, Baus have been marrying Baus.

"It happened because the town was in the mountains," explains Amerigo Bau. "It was isolated, and so the likelihood of marrying another Bau was quite strong."

Most Baus tended to marry more distant relatives and not first cousins, which can cause genetic defects. """

An Unusual Claim to Fame

Recently, the claim to fame for the residents of Stoccareddo has come to rest with their mysterious good health. Dr. Uros Hladnik, a genetic researcher at the Baschirotto Institute for Rare Diseases (B.I.R.D Foundation) in Vincenza, Italy is studying why the Baus of Stoccareddo seem to be able to eat fatty meats, cheeses and cream sauces without suffering the most serious consequences.

Preliminary results have found cholesterol levels of LDL -- the so-called "bad" cholesterol -- that are much lower than those of most Italians, and HDL levels -- the so-called "good" cholesterol -- that are much higher.

"They seem to be protected," Hladnik said. "Maybe the Baus have something that allows them to eat cholesterol."

But their good health may ultimately have less to do with their genetic code and more to do with their zip code. The air and water in Stoccaredoo are clean, and even today the town is still relatively isolated from many of the pressures and stresses of the outside world.

"Apart from the research that's going on, we believe that we have two genes that contribute to a better life: the good air that we breathe and the happiness that you breathe in the town," Amerigo Bau said.

Bringing Their Good Health to America

Not all the Baus have remained in Stoccareddo. It's estimated there ten thousand worldwide, including the family of Ron and Jerry Bau, whose grandfather settled in the hills surrounding Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania near the turn of the century. Unlike their Italian relatives, they have not been marrying within their surname.

But the Pennsylvania Baus may eventually have their DNA tested and compared with their Italian kin, whose mysterious good health has got them thinking.

"I definitely have some hope that it will offer protection for our family, but even perhaps more importantly is somewhere down the line this genetic research might lead to something that would help all humanity," said Ron Bau, a hope shared by his brother Jerry.

But, until the research is completed, the Stoccareddo Baus' unlikely good health remains a medical mystery.''''


　


　








　

Very interesting! I have read similar studies done on the Japanese, who even though they live in a first world country still have a very traditional diet based on rice and fish. People like to do studies on the Japanese because their society is very pure genetically, not like we Americans that are from everywhere. It turns out that the Japanese have much lower rates of western diseases like heart disease and certain cancers. Yet, when Japanese emigrate to the United States they develop these diseases at the same rate as other Americans by the second generation. So, many vegetarians and vegans (I am a vegan) point to the American diet as the cause. But we have to be careful. Their is a difference between something being "connective" and something being "causative". We can say that our diet is different from a Japanese diet, so their is a connection between the diets and health, but that doesn't mean that is the cause of the health differences. We can also say that their is more heart disease in countries that have more telephone poles. But that doesn't prove causation.

I think you nailed it with the above (highlighted) statement. But then you spoil it with your remarks below. How much proof do you need? What more could you ask for? Especially due to the fact that there are other vegan/vegitarian studies like the Seventh Day Adventists that seem to back up the lifestyle idea.

It certainly is interesting. It reminds me of a story in the news about 20 or so years ago. It was about a small town in Italy where the people seemed to be "immune" to heart disease. But I don't remember the name of the town. Other small towns have been mentioned though. I think it was Sardinia that was mentioned in the book, "Blue Zone".

My grandparents came from small towns in Sicily and none of them or their offspring have ever had heart disease. And and the same can be said for some friends of my parents even though their diets were not totally healthy.

However, having said that, there can be offsetting factors that would enable people to live reasonably long. And you did mention some of those factors.
Many, when they were younger, had to work very hard, so the excess fat calories were burned. It's not a good idea to consume excess fat calories but it's better to burn it off than not. Also, some Italians I have known, who were overweight, liked to work well into retirement and liked healthy vegetables. So, it reminds me of some Okinawans who lived long healthy lives even though they smoked cigarettes. Their exemplary diet, loaded with antioxidants, offset the harm from smoking.

And there was a french woman, Jeanne Calment, who smoked until she was 100. After she quit smoking at age 100, she lived to age 122. Actually, on her 122 birthday, she claimed that she only smoked 2 cigarettes per day.

All of the above information doesn't mean that we can or should try to follow their example, as far as eating lots of high-fat animal products and smoking. The chances are we would end up duplicating mostly the bad parts of their lifestyle and not the good.

Genes alone cannot be relied upon. Past generations of Italians in my family lived to be very old. The oldest lived to be 106. Some lived to 100 and my grandfather lived to 97. But my parents, aunts and uncles never made it to 90. Two aunts made it to 89. My brother died in his early 80s. Two of my cousins died at 60.

Jeanne Calment, mentioned above, had a daughter who only lived to about age 35. It's more reason to believe that you can't rely on genes.
I have read many times in the newspaper about women and men who have outlived all of their children. (Thumbs down to genes.)