The village of Pioppi is a small fishing community in southern Italy where the average lifespan is 90 years.
Pioppi (poplars, in English) is in the Campania region of Italy, south of Naples, a favorite destination of international travelers.
More people on the island of Sardinia than anywhere else in the world live to the age of 100. The scientist responsible for popularizing the "Mediterranean diet," Ancel Keys, went to Pioppi to find out why.
Keys' research on saturated fats led to a focus on low fat diets, now in dispute.
Meanwhile, the mystery of why there are so many centenarians in that area of the world remains, with recent research placing emphasis on factors other than diet.
Another scientist, Dr. Aseem Malhotra, has documented life in the town of Pioppi with a team of filmmakers to show that it's the entire lifestyle, not just the diet, that leads to longevity. The New York Times reports that "The Pioppi Protocol" will be released in June.
Promoted as "the village where people forget to die," the documentary is being funded with a Kickstarter campaign.
The phenomenon of longevity has long fascinated scientists and the public. An aging Western population has even more reason to seek the fountain of youth.
A village where the predominant industry is fishing, Pioppi has beaches and is surrounded by mountains. Its economy is hardly typical.
Dr. Keys, who also invented the U.S. Army's K-rations, was so impressed he left America to make Pioppi his home for 28 years.
Although in Italian cities this may be waning, food generally plays a huge role in Italian culture, as the focal point for one's day. Meals are an opportunity for gathering with friends and enjoying each other's company, not something to be rushed through to get on to the next activity. Italians are known for eating slowly and really taking pleasure in their meals, including the food itself, as well as the social interactions with friends and family.
It’s well known from social psychology research that socializing in general is necessary for life. Babies with minimal human contact actually die. Humans are social creatures.
Residents of places such as Pioppi are also quite active, spending a lot of time walking, biking and being outside in conjunction with socializing and eating whole foods, rather than the processed foods that are so common in Western diets.
Instead of pre-packaged salad dressings, they use vinegar and olive oil. They eat a lot of vegetables and fruits and little sugar, unlike Americans.
Dr. Malhotra's movie calls the focus on diet as the answer: "a big FAT hoax."
In any case, socializing, savoring your meals and being active are all things that bring pleasure to life.
Whatever happened to Dr. Keys of the Mediterranean diet? He died in 2004, at the age of 100.