Researchers have discovered that despite meat-heavy diets, low levels of good cholesterol and high levels of inflammation, an indigenous South American tribe has the healthiest hearts ever examined — and it might have something to do with parasites in the gut.
Something to keep in mind is that while these hunters have excellent cardiovascular health, they are constantly ill with gastrointestinal disorders. I suspect that we would find the same thing to be true in other hunter-gatherer tribes that exhibit this paradox. Some readers may be aware that some parasites in Africa have been shown to have a beneficial modulating effect on the immune system. This is clearly an example of how adaptable the human body is. However, outlier groups like this are the exception that proves the rule not the exception that proves the rule is wrong.￼￼￼ I’m going to stick to my guns here. Every single one of the advanced pre-modern medical systems I have studied puts a premium on digestive health. Modern research on the role of the microbiome strongly supports this emphasis. ￼
The author of the article above ends with the following statement:
￼“For the average Tsimane who makes it to age 15, the modal age of death is 70,” Trumble said. “They’re living just as long as we are,” but their rates of heart disease are far, far lower.
However, upon further research, I discovered that the model age of death in the United States plateaued at 80 years in the middle of the 20th century and has gone up steadily since then. So, while the group discussed in this article has excellent cardiovascular health. They are not living nearly as long as Americans who practice the five good habits describe here.￼￼