Some modern cities are usually famous for people who live a very long time.

There are several places in the world that are famous for people who live for a very long time. Theses places are usually mountainous areas, far away from modern cities. Doctors, scientists and public health experts often travel to these regions to solve a mysterious long healthy life; the experts hope to bring to the modern world the secrets of longevity.
    Hunza is high in the Hymalayan Mountains of Asia. There, many people over one hundred years of age are still in physical health. Men of ninety are new fathers, and women of fifty still have babies. What are the reasons for this good health? Scientists believe that the people of Hunza have these three benefits: first, physical work, usually in the fields or with animals; second, a health environment with clean air and water; and what’s more, a simple diet high in vitamins and nutrition but low in fat, cholesterol, sugar and chemicals.
    People in the Caucasus Mountain in Russia are also famous for their longevity. In this area, there are amazing examples of very long-lived people. Birth records are not usually available, but a woman called Tsurba probably lived until age 160; a man called Shirali probably lived until 168. His widow was 120 years old. In general, people not only live a long time, but they also live well. They are almost never sick, and when they die, they have not only their own teeth but also a full head of hair and good eyesight.
    Vilcabamba, Ecuador, is another area famous for the longevity of its habit-ants. This region—like Hunza and the Caucasus—is also in high mountains, far away from cities. In Vilcabamba, too, there is very little disease. One reason for the good health of the people might be the clean, beautiful environment: the temperature is about 70 Fahrenheit all year long; the wind always comes from the same direction; and the region is rich in flowers, fruits, vegetables and wildlife.
    In some ways, the diets of the habitants in the three regions are quite different. Hunzukuts eat mainly raw vegetables, fruit (especially apricots), and chapattis—a kind of pancake; they eat meat only a few times a year. The Caucasian diet consists mainly of milk, cheese, vegetables, fruit and meat; most people there drink the local red wine daily. In Vilcabamba, people eat a small amount of meat each week, but the diet consists largely of grain, coins, beans, potatoes and fruit.
    Experts find one surprising fact in the mountains of Ecuador. Most people there, even the very old, consume a lot of coffee, drink a large amount of alcohol, and smoke forty to sixty cigarettes daily.
    However, the diets are similar in two general ways: first, the fruits and vegetables that the inhabitants of the three areas eat are all natural; that is, they contain no chemicals and second, the people consume fewer calories than people do in the other parts of the world. A typical North American takes in an average of 3, 300 calories every day; a typical inhabitant of these mountainous areas between 1, 700 and 2, 000 calories.
    Inhabitants in the three regions have more in common calories, natural food, their mountains and their distance from modern cities, because these people live in countryside and are mostly farmers, their lives are physically hard. Thus, they do not need to go to health clubs because they get a lot of exercise in their daily work. In addition, although, their lives are hard, the people do not seem to have the worries of city people. Their lives are quiet. Consequently, some experts believe that physical exercise and freedom from worry might be the two most important secrets of longevity.