The Village of Long Life

Based on the ABC News report by Bill Sardi

Every morning, Hiroshi Sakamoto from the Yuzuri Hara village in Japan, wakes up and farms his field, usually for about four or five hours a day. He has worked in the sun for 50 years, never once using sun block or skin cream, and yet his skin is soft and smooth and unblemished. He rarely visits the doctor, and like most of his fellow villagers, has never suffered any chronic disease. Oh, and by the way, Sakamoto, is 86 years old.

But his age, by no means, makes him the elder statesman of his village, nor is a daily routine like his uncommon among his peers. More than 10% of the population of his village is 85 or older - 10 times the American norm. The residents of Yuzuri Hara are not only living longer, but they are hardly affected by degenerative conditions such as cancer, diabetes or Alzheimer’s. Many have even managed to keep their skin from showing signs of aging.

Some medical researchers believe that Yuzuri Hara, known as “The Village of Long Life,” and its residents may hold the key to anti-aging secrets - a local diet that is particularly high in a substance called hyaluronic acid (HA). Unlike other regions of Japan that grow rice, Yuzuri Hara’s hilly terrain is better suited to harvesting starch-rich root vegetables.

Dr. Toyosuke Komori, the town doctor has studied and written books on longevity in Yuzuri Hara. He believes these locally grown starches help stimulate the body’s natural creation of a substance called hyaluronic acid, or HA, which aging bodies typically lose. This may ward off the aging process by helping the cells of the body thrive and retain moisture, keeping joints lubricated, protecting the retina in eyes and keeping skin smooth and elastic.

“I have never seen anyone suffer from skin cancer here,” he says. “I have seen a woman in her 90s with spotless skin.”

One of Japan’s leading pharmaceutical companies began researching and developing a pill supplement containing hyaluronic acid. The company tested the pills on 1,000 people, and said roughly half reported smoother skin, less fatigue and better eyesight.

In the US, hyaluronic acid has been used for years in eye surgery to protect the retina, and is proven to help lubricate joints. However, many Western experts are sceptical that swallowing HA in a pill could actually help prolong one’s life. “The only way it acts, as far as I can see” says Dr. Raphael, a N.Y. orthopaedist “is because if you’re not limping, your joints feel better, you feel younger.”

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