Daniel Honeychurch
The Tsimane people are a tribe living in Bolivia’s Amazon Rainforest who hunt or grow all of their food. While the men of the tribe fish and hunt in the rainforest, the women are responsible for farming and caring for the children. Everyone tends to be physically active for 4 to 8 hours each day, with men averaging 17,000 steps and women averaging 16,000 steps (Thompson 2017). In comparison, the average number of steps per day by Americans is 3,000 to 4,000 (Rieck 2020). Along with the active lifestyle, the Tsimane people eat a diet low in fat, mostly of rice, corn, fruit, plantains, nuts, fish, and game. Smoking is also a rarity in the tribe, although cigarettes are often used to fight off flies (Thompson 2017). These practices provide researchers a model of natural living to compare with modern industrialized lifestyles of the West. Despite a higher access to healthcare, how is our sedentary living and processed diets harming our health?
In a recent study, researchers had 746 adults from the tribe travel to the closest Bolivian town with equipment for CT scans. The journey involved a two-day trek on roads and rivers to arrive in Trinidad, Bolivia. The researchers compared brain volume between middle aged and older Tsimane adults and found that the tribe has a 70% smaller difference than the same comparison between populations in the U.S. and Europe. This study suggests that brain atrophy is less common in the Tsimane people compared to western adults, which implies that the tribe likely has less risk of dementia. These health benefits are prevalent even when this tribe lacks access to healthcare (Miller 2021).
The study also challenges previous beliefs about the role of inflammation in brain atrophy. In western society, brain atrophy was linked to higher inflammation. However, the Tsimane adults displayed high inflammation, mostly caused by parasitic infections, despite their pronounced reduction in brain atrophy. In comparison, inflammation in Westerners is frequently the result of obesity (Miller 2021).
In a 2017 study, researchers using CT scans showed that the Tsimane people also have a lower risk for heart disease. In the tribe, 85% have no arterial atherosclerosis, meaning they have no risk for heart disease and resemble the health of a typical 20-year-old. Only 3% of the tribe was classified as having moderate to high risk for the disease. However, only 14% of U.S. residents have no risk and half have moderate to high risk for heart disease (Thompson 2017).
Understanding the health of the Tsimane people is important for understanding our own health. There are many lessons that we can learn to improve our diets and exercise routines to prevent brain atrophy, heart disease, and other diseases. As Dr. Kim Williams, Rush University Medical Center’s head of cardiology, states in regard to heart disease: “We’ve been mopping up the floor rather than turning off the faucet.” In other words, our society has focused on reactive treatment such as surgeries and medication to treat strokes and heart attacks, instead of putting more emphasis on preventative medicine (Thompson 2017).
Although we cannot model our lives exactly based on the Tsimane tribe, we can each work to improve our own diet and exercise daily. The rare looks into the life and health of the Tsimane people have provided researchers with valuable data to study our own behavior. As a society, we should rethink our consumption of processed foods which may reduce the prevalence of brain atrophy, heart disease, and other health conditions. Improving one’s health in the near future will have a great impact in reducing the rate of deadly diseases as we all age.
References
Miller, Jenesse. “Amazon Indigenous Group's Lifestyle May Hold a Key to Slowing down Aging.” USC News, University of Southern California, 26 May 2021,
news.usc.edu/187075/tsimane-amazon-indigenous-people-healthy-brain-aging-usc-study/.
Rieck, Thom. “10,000 Steps a Day: Too Low? Too High?” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23 Mar. 2020, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/10000-steps/art-20317391.
Thompson, Dennis. “Why This Amazon Tribe May Have the World's Healthiest Hearts.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 20 Mar. 2017, www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-tsimane-tribe diet-lifestyle-habits-healthy-hearts/.
Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/technology-computer-head-health-7089020/
In a recent study, researchers had 746 adults from the tribe travel to the closest Bolivian town with equipment for CT scans. The journey involved a two-day trek on roads and rivers to arrive in Trinidad, Bolivia. The researchers compared brain volume between middle aged and older Tsimane adults and found that the tribe has a 70% smaller difference than the same comparison between populations in the U.S. and Europe. This study suggests that brain atrophy is less common in the Tsimane people compared to western adults, which implies that the tribe likely has less risk of dementia. These health benefits are prevalent even when this tribe lacks access to healthcare (Miller 2021).
The study also challenges previous beliefs about the role of inflammation in brain atrophy. In western society, brain atrophy was linked to higher inflammation. However, the Tsimane adults displayed high inflammation, mostly caused by parasitic infections, despite their pronounced reduction in brain atrophy. In comparison, inflammation in Westerners is frequently the result of obesity (Miller 2021).
In a 2017 study, researchers using CT scans showed that the Tsimane people also have a lower risk for heart disease. In the tribe, 85% have no arterial atherosclerosis, meaning they have no risk for heart disease and resemble the health of a typical 20-year-old. Only 3% of the tribe was classified as having moderate to high risk for the disease. However, only 14% of U.S. residents have no risk and half have moderate to high risk for heart disease (Thompson 2017).
Understanding the health of the Tsimane people is important for understanding our own health. There are many lessons that we can learn to improve our diets and exercise routines to prevent brain atrophy, heart disease, and other diseases. As Dr. Kim Williams, Rush University Medical Center’s head of cardiology, states in regard to heart disease: “We’ve been mopping up the floor rather than turning off the faucet.” In other words, our society has focused on reactive treatment such as surgeries and medication to treat strokes and heart attacks, instead of putting more emphasis on preventative medicine (Thompson 2017).
Although we cannot model our lives exactly based on the Tsimane tribe, we can each work to improve our own diet and exercise daily. The rare looks into the life and health of the Tsimane people have provided researchers with valuable data to study our own behavior. As a society, we should rethink our consumption of processed foods which may reduce the prevalence of brain atrophy, heart disease, and other health conditions. Improving one’s health in the near future will have a great impact in reducing the rate of deadly diseases as we all age.
References
Miller, Jenesse. “Amazon Indigenous Group's Lifestyle May Hold a Key to Slowing down Aging.” USC News, University of Southern California, 26 May 2021,
news.usc.edu/187075/tsimane-amazon-indigenous-people-healthy-brain-aging-usc-study/.
Rieck, Thom. “10,000 Steps a Day: Too Low? Too High?” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23 Mar. 2020, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/10000-steps/art-20317391.
Thompson, Dennis. “Why This Amazon Tribe May Have the World's Healthiest Hearts.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 20 Mar. 2017, www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-tsimane-tribe diet-lifestyle-habits-healthy-hearts/.
Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/technology-computer-head-health-7089020/
