If Pasta Is So Bad, Why Do Italians Live So Long? Italian Lifestyle & Longevity – Dr.Berg

Is pasta really that bad? Here’s what you need to know.

Timestamps
0:00 If pasta is bad, why do Italians live so long?
0:10 Looking at Liguria and Sardinia
0:40 Estrogen as a factor
1:30 What’s different about the pasta in Europe
3:30 Pasta and blood sugar
4:08 My interview with a woman from Sardinia
8:45 Looking at what many people eat in Sardinia

Have you ever wondered if pasta is bad, why do Italians live so long? Do Italians know the secret to longevity? In this video, I’m going to share with you why this is. You’re also going to see an interview I did with a woman from Sardinia. We’re going to talk about what exactly Sardinians eat. 

In Liguria, Italians live longer than any other region in Europe. 

In Sardinia, Italians are tied with Japan as living the longest. 

Out of 1091 residents aged over 105 years old, 951 of them are female. This is because of estrogen. Estrogen can act as an antioxidant and will slow down the free radical exposure and damage to the DNA. 

What’s so different about the pasta in Europe? 

• There is no glyphosate.
• It’s not enriched with iron and synthetic vitamins.

A few more points about pasta:

• The type of wheat that’s used for pasta is durum wheat, which is higher in protein and digests very slowly. 
• Pasta will not spike your blood sugars initially, but it will spike your blood sugars within a few hours. 
• It has a glycemic index of 45-50 compared to bread which is 70

I am not recommending pasta. I’m just saying that the quality of pasta is better in Italy than in America. 

The typical Italian diet in Sardinia: 

• Meat - (pork)
• Fish 
• Shellfish
• Vegetables (lots of artichokes)
• Olive oil 
• Mirto (digestive) 
• Not much sugar
• Not much pasta
• Some bread
• Some wine
• Some beer

She also believes a secret behind Sardinian’s longevity is the low-stress lifestyle and walking. 

Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:
Dr. Berg, age 56, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan, and is the Director of Dr. Berg’s Nutritionals. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.

Disclaimer:
Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients so he can focus on educating people as a full time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, and prescription or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Thanks for watching! I hope this helps you better understand how pasta is different in Italy, and why Italians may live a long time even though they eat pasta.

[bruttosporcoecattivo]

Sardinian here, born and raised in the island.
Now, about centenerians and their diet, you have to understand a couple of things : life in Sardinia, let's say in 1920 or even earlier, was very very different from what it is today. Sardinia was a very poor, remote place (expecially those villages in the mountains where people live the longest). Child mortality was very high back then (in Italy not only Sardinia) and people didn't have access to stuff like antibiotics or vaccines, so the ones who grew up, grew up to be strong.They used to walk/work a lot in the countryside (see physical activity). The food? It's defenetly true that Sardinians weren't vegeterians/vegan at all, but they couldn't afford to eat animal products everyday. They do ate pecorino cheese (99% of them were shepards), but not even remotely the amounts of what they do today. Meat was consumed maybe once a month, and it was mainly pork or lamb. Fish/sea food? Not really. Sardinians centenarians are expecially concentrated in a region called Ogliastra, but let's say in most of the inland. This is a mountain region, near the sea (of course it's an island). None of them were fishermen, only shepards. When talking about Sardinian centenerians, we're talking about people who for the first 30-40 years of their lives at least, ate very few calories. They used to consume way more vegetables and wild herbs (pumpkin, zucchini, celery, potatoes, carrots, beans, lentils, cauliflower, wild fennel etc.) than what they do today. One staple dish was minestrone ( vegetables and legumes soup, sometimes with the addition of small chunks of lard or pork skin) and some olive oil. They ate some bread everyday (sour dough and not refined), some cheese (almost everyday) and small amounts of fruits (apples, figs, pears, oranges). Pasta back then in Sardinia wasn't eaten very often and homemade "sweets" or "dessert" were only eaten during holydays or special occasions (eg. weddings), so maybe 4-5 times a year.
What the lady says it's true : sardinians now consume a lot of beer, even too much, but back then there was no beer, only homemade red wine, and centenarians drank it everyday in small amounts, with dinner, ; and that "digestive" she was talking about it's called "mirto", wich is a liqueur made by the myrtle plant, not a berry eaten in it's natural form. Today, shepards don't walk nearly as much as they grandfathers or grand grand fathers used to, because of the cars, and they eat way more cheese and meat, expecially lots of cured meat (salami, prosciutto, pancetta, lard ect) forgetting to eat their vegetables and legumes. As a matter of fact, in those same villages, you can now see some very fat people too. Cancer has increased too, and Sardinia has lots of cases of different autoimmune diseases (probably not related to diet though). I guess this generation of centenarians and the next, would be probably the last, not only because of their modified eating habits, but also because Sardinia is a very polluted area.
In a nutshell, Sardinians/centenarians, ate way more vegetables and healthy carbs compared to today, they never ate a ketogenic diet, but they defenetly did experience some prolonged fasting times, due to poverty and lack of abundance of food, expecially in their younger years... ;-)

[garrygreen]

Its your American work life that's killing you all. Working weekends, 1 week a year holiday. Easy access to fast food. I lived in Houston, now I live in Italy. Chronic stress is a killer.

[Katarina-jgvo]

My grandfather died last winter in age 105. He was in good health till 103, lived alone, cooked by himself, was able even to fix furnirure in the house till 100 years. He ate a lot of white bread every day, red meet and pasta, fish, one grappa in the morning, one glass of red wine for lunch and dinner and a lot of olive oil. But always ate breakfast in the morning in the same time and lunch ALWAYS at 1 p.m and NEVER ate fast food in his life.. He lived in Dubrovnik, Croatia

[danielepompei]

Italian here. There's a bunch of "secrets" that need to be shared. We don't attend fast foods, we cook at home instead or go to eat where people cook (restaurants, families or friends). We don't buy processed food, we buy unlabelled food (veggies, fruits, whole fishes, meat..). We don't drink sodas, we drink water and wine. We vary our foods A LOT and follow the vegetables calendar. We have a lot of extra virgin olive oil and blame other vegetable/seeds oils. We use winegar instead of dressings. We have universal healthcare, for everyone. We'd walk/bike half a mile to a shop/friend rather than drive there. We have a different approach to life and culture (e.g. lots of paid days off, paid maternity leave, some of the best universities are public and all of this makes your stress levels lower). We (still) have lovely and fair weather with temperate winters and long/warm springs and summers, we are low in rain and it all makes us spend much time in open air. Better food, good habits, great lifestyle and lovely weather. That's Italy (and most of the mediterranean area).

[peterbartley]

I met an old man, he told me he was 93 years old, I said I wouldn't like to live to be 93, he said ' you would if you were 92!

[Rawdil]

Avoid C.R.A.P.
Carbonated soft drinks
Refined sugar
Artificial foods and
Processed foods.

[Hawtload]

I'm Texan, and my great grandma was well over 100 when she died.
Even in her late 90s she would ride several miles a day on her exercise bike.
Not being sedentary, not polluting your body, and low stress are three of the biggest keys to longevity.

[debsholly]

Last fall, I spent 6 weeks in Italy, traveling. I ate pizza/pasta every day, and had dessert and coffee every night. It was my 3rd trip to Italy and I was not going to miss out on the delicious food. When I got home, I had lost 4 pounds. I had guessed that I was probably gaining weight, but no.
I think it is the quality of the food. No GMO. Also, we moved more, sightseeing and just enjoying life. I think the passaggiare (stroll) every night after dinner was key.

[donnasinger]

Bread is made by slow fermentation in most villages in Italy, some starters are very old, wine is made at home so it is fermented, they ferment eggplant and pack it in olive oil, olives are preserved in the same way along with many other foods, they forage for wild dandelions many different varieties and rapini. They make there own dried meats from pork and the dried stuff is fermented from 6 months a year or longer, pasta sauce is made by using different cuts of meat with the bone on... the meat is slow-braised cooked in onion and garlic when fully cooked the sauce is added and simmered again, you get the goodness of the bone and marrow. The Italians are passionate about life, food, and family... they love their mamma, and nonna, because they are the cornerstone of the family always cooking good food, love and passion reduce stress. Just some thoughts from an Italian

[elementalsuite]

I wish companies would be held liable for polluting the food we eat.

[krrich]

I was lucky enough to live in Sardinia for about 6 months in 1982 to 1983 when my exhusband was stationed at Decimomannu which used to be a NATO base at that time. We lived in Uta on the top floor of an artichoke farmer's house. People have mentioned how slow the lifestyle was but I don't recall anyone mentioning how in the afternoons it was siesta time and all the shops were literally closed down. In the evening, the restaurants were booming at 8 and 9 oclock in the evening and the lambrusco wine flowed . We frequented a wood fired pizza place that was always jampacked. And the owner had a huge pizza pan on the wall that if anyone could eat the whole pizza they did not have to pay for it. It was well used. Another item that we frequently ate were the mussels which were fresh from the sea and you could buy a 5 kg net for super cheap. The landowner and his family would visit and he always brought his homemade wine which you would drink in a little jelly glass. Good memories.

[scottmatthews]

I spent 10 days in Italy with my daughter in June. The pizza crust and pastas were made with Semolina flour without the wheat being grown with the toxic chemicals. My nose never ran when I was in Italy. When I eat bread or anything wheat based in the United States, my nose runs within minutes.

[peaceandwealthseeker]

I do believe stress, fresh air and open spaces and good weather are nearly as important as diet and excericse

[theslaughterdjdistortion]

I'm Spanish and our lifestyle is pretty similar. Food is medicine and stress is a killer, take it easy and eat well!

[vangelissavvidis]

The low stress is by far the most important factor. In Icaria island, in Greece, also people live longer because of that. There, the vegetables and most food (even meat) are home grown, purely organic. Personally the stress I believe makes the biggest difference which affect the cortisol. Also being loved and involved in a community, with not too much to be expected from an individual, like the big cities and the fast paced lifestyle, can lead to less percentage of depressed people and you will see more happiness overall. Happiness, balance, along with quality food are the other factors that contribute.

[ad]

I've been eating a ketogenic diet for almost a year. I was recently on vacation in France and I ate bread and pastries every single day I was there. I had lost one pound when I got home. It's important to note that in France it is illegal for food producers to put chemicals in their food. So when you look at the labels you only see actual food ingredients. Food allergies are almost unheard of in France. I didn't see a single obese person the entire time I was there. Their wheat flour is also different than ours.

[aruvielevenstar]

I am Dutch and live in the Netherlands, I am 50 and my grandmother still lives she is 97 and my other grandmother died three years ago aged 97.
We cycle a lot and eat lots of vegetables, Little bit of meat and fish and not a lot of junk food. We are used to cook ourselves. Although live is changing here and youth is getting overweight and stress levels increases because of economy and jobs.
I live in the countryside and life is slow and No stress at all. Neighbours help each other and we garden a lot and we are surrounded by nature and the sea.

[goodtimes]

i would think it's a combination of all of it: low-stress life, eating natural food, light exercise, and having good friends and family

[magafett]

I lived in Europe for 6 years. Totally different lifestyle than here in the US. Food is so much higher quality, serving size is much less. Meals are a social event that last a lot longer at restaurants (but you aren’t eating more). You can tell stress levels are far less there. I went to Italy many times because it was my favorite country. I noticed they eat a lot of seafood and don’t have much red meat. Pork and seafood are much cheaper and accessible there. If I ever go back, I probably wont be coming back to America.

[Abelieverintruth]

Being Italian, many of my relatives live to near 100 years old.
Their daily diet includes: red wine, cofee, organic pasta, homemade bread, homemade tomatoe sauce on many dishes, garden fresh organic vegetables and fruits. Dandelions fresh out of the front yard, Wine Acetic acid based vinegar and real pure olive oil Daily. We also eat little beef pork, fish Mediterranean styled recipes.