One of the healthiest diets in the world? Forget the Paleo diet, the Okinawa diet, and low calorie diets for longevity. A group of scientists analyzed the diet of the Tsimani , a population of Bolivia who seems free from the risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems. In particular, the anthropologists Thomas Kraft and Michael Gurven spent some time in the company of the Tsimani, for the project promoted by the American National Institute of Health ” Tsimane Health and Life History Project “.

The Tsimani , the researchers say, have the healthiest hearts in the world : their natural diet, with very few industrial products from nearby markets, makes the difference in their health, according to the two scientists.

Tsimani seem immune to modern human diseases , but their health is not related to the environment.
Neighboring populations with different diets do not show the same health parameters.
But what characterizes what anthropologists call one of the healthiest diets in the world?
Hold fast.

Lots of calories and lots of especially complex carbohydrates (apart from fruit), but low in fat.

Tsimani consume an average of 2400 to over 2800 calories per day. Of these calories, most come from complex carbohydrates such as rice and plantains. They eat carbohydrates for 64% of their diet, protein for 21% (a little more than our Mediterranean diet) and fat for only 15%, which is less than half of the recommended fats in our diet. They have high values ​​of selenium, magnesium and potassium.
In addition to the carbohydrates mentioned, the Tsimani consume fruit, vegetables, fish, little game, cassava.

These calories and this amount of carbohydrates allow them to naturally keep themselves active. In fact, on average, the Tsimani take 17 thousand steps a day. Unfortunately, their lifestyle is about to change: transport improvements have made it easier for Tsimani to buy from nearby supermarkets. This is significantly altering their diets, for the worse, and experts imagine that eating new industrial products will soon lead them to have the same health risks as Westerners.