Hunza People of Northern Pakistan

The people of the Hunza valley drink alkaline and ionized water that naturally occurs

Hunza Valley is located at 7,999' in

northern Pakistan and is the home of the longest lived people on the planet. The high mountain
valley is surrounded by the Himalayan mountains with the mountain in the photo to the left rising to
25,551'. Northern Pakistan is blessed with the greatest mass of high mountains on earth where the
Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir's, and Hindukush all meet!
As much as the valley is famous for its beauty, the people of Hunza are noted for their friendliness
and hospitality. The local language is Brushuski but most people understand Urdu and English. The
literacy rate of the Hunza valley is believed to be above 90%, virtually every child of the new
generation studies up to at least high school. Many pursue higher studies from prestigious colleges
and Universities of Pakistan and abroad.
 The Hunza People are uniquely healthy and free of
disease. Many studies have been done and it is believed that their simple healthy diet of carefully
grown organic food and the glacial, living water is their secret to health and long life. Hunza drink
directly from glacial streams in the high Himalayas. It is fresh, invigorating, life enhancing, free
radical scavenging and delicious.
The Hunza have the longest lifespan in the world and this has been traced as related to the water
that they drink and their natural diet. Hunza water is an example of perfect natural water. Hunza has
people who routinely live to 120-140 years, in good health with virtually no cancer, degenerative
disease, dental caries or bone decay. Hunza people remain robust and strong and are also able to
bear children even in old age. Research has proven conclusively that the major common
denominator of the healthy long-living people is their local water.

Dr. Henri Coanda, the Romanian father of fluid

dynamics and a Nobel Prize winner at 78 yrs old, spent six decades studying the Hunza water trying
to determine what it was in this water that caused such beneficial effects for the body. He
discovered that it had a different viscosity and surface tension. Dr. Patrick Flanagan and others
continued the research. They found Hunza water had a high alkaline pH and an extraordinary
amount of active hydrogen (hydrogen with an extra electron), with a negative Redox Potential and a
high colloidal mineral content. The water is living and provides health benefits that other types of
drinking water cannot. Similar natural water properties and longevity are found in other remote
unpolluted places such as the Shin-Chan areas of China, the Caucasus in Azerbaijan, and in the
Andes Mountains.
 What kind of exotic, ill-tasting grub do these Hunza
people eat, you are wondering. Strange as it may sound, virtually everything the Hunzakut eat is
delectable to the western palate, and is readily available in the United States - at least if your
shopping horizons do not begin and end at the supermarket.
Not only is the Hunza diet not exotic, but there's really nothing terribly mysterious about its health-
promoting qualities, Everything we know about food and health, gathered both from clinical studies
and the observation of scientists who have traveled throughout the world observing dietary practices
and their relationship to health, tells us that it is to be expected that the Hunza diet will go a long
way towards improving the total health of anyone, anywhere. The Hunza story is only on of the
more dramatic examples of the miraculous health produced by a diet of fresh, natural unprocessed
and unadulterated food.
 Maybe you're wondering: are the Hunzas really all that
healthy? That was the question on the mind of cardiologists Dr. Paul D. White and Dr. Edward G.
Toomey, who made the difficult trip up the mountain paths to Hunza, toting along with them a
portable, battery-operated electrocardiograph. In the American Heart Journal for December, 1964,
the doctors say they used the equipment to study 25 Hunza men, who were, "on fairly good
evidence, between 90 and 110 years old." Blood pressure and cholesterol levels were also tested. He
reported that not one of these men showed a single sign of coronary heart disease, high blood
pressure or high cholesterol.
An optometrist, Dr. Allen E. Banik, also made the journey to Hunza to see for himself if the people
were as healthy as they were reputed to be, and published his report in Hunza Land (Whitehorn
Publishing Co., 1960). "It wasn't long before I discovered that everything that I had read about
perpetual life and health in this tiny country is true," Dr. Banik declared. "I examined the eyes of
some of Hunza's oldest citizens and found them to be perfect."
 Beyond more freedom from disease, many observers
have been startled by the positive side of Hunza health. Dr. Banik, for example, relates that "many
Hunza people are so strong that in the winter they exercise by breaking holes in the ice-covered
streams and take a swim down under the ice." Other intrepid visitors who have been there report
their amazement at seeing men 80, 90, and 100 years old repairing the always-crumbling rocky
roads, and lifting large stones and boulders to repair the retaining walls around their terrace gardens.
The oldsters think nothing of playing a competitive game of volleyball in the hot sun against men
50 years their junior, and even take part in wild games of polo that are so violent they would make
an ice hockey fan shudder.
Apricots Are Hunza Gold

Of all their organically-grown food, perhaps their favorite, and

one of their dietary mainstays, is the apricot. Apricot orchards are seen everywhere in Hunza, and a
family's economic stability is measured by the number of trees they have under cultivation.
They eat their apricots fresh in season, and dry a great deal more in the sun for eating throughout
the long cold winter. They puree the dried apricots and mix them with snow to make ice cream.
Like their apricot jam, this ice cream needs no sugar because the apricots are so sweet naturally.
But that is only the beginning. The Hunza cut the pits from the fruits, crack them, and remove the
almond-like nuts. The women hand grind these kernels with stone mortars, then squeeze the meal
between a hand stone and a flat rock to express the oil. The oil is used in cooking, for fuel, as a
salad dressing on fresh garden greens, and even as a facial lotion ( Renee Taylor says Hunza women
have beautiful complexions).
Besides apricots, the Hunzakut also grow and enjoy apples, pears, peaches, mulberries, black and
red cherries, and grapes. From these fruits, the Hunzakut get all the vitamin C they need, as well as
the other nutritional richness of fresh fruit, including energy from the fruit sugars. From the grapes,
they also make a light red wine that helps make their simple fare into more of a real "meal".
Observe the apricots drying in the sun in the photo to the right.

Hunza Chapatti Bread typically is made fresh each day

from stone ground grains, primarily, wheat, barley, buckwheat and millet. These delicious flat
unleavened breads are an important part of a nutritious diet of grains, fruits, dried fruits, and
veggies. They drink substantial amounts of "Glacial Milk" which is milky colored water fresh
melted from base of glaciers, rich in rock flour and minerals.
Another great Hunza health secret concerns the considerable amount of time each day devoted to
physical exercise. Most exercise is done outdoors in order to take advantage of the pure mountain
air, which in itself has a beneficial effect on health. Although a large part of their day is spent
outdoors, working the fields, the Hunzakut do a lot more than that.

For one thing, they take regular walks and a

15 or 20 kilometer hike is considered quite normal. Of course they dont walk that distance every
day, but doing so does not require any special effort.
You should also keep in mind that hiking along mountain trails is a lot more demanding than
walking over flat terrain.Of course were not suggesting that you move to the mountains and
become a farmer to stay fit and add years to your life! You dont have to change your way of life
completely in order to stay healthy and live longer. But one thing the Hunza life-style does prove is
that exercise is very important for health and longevity.
Walking for an hour each day, something most people can manage, is excellent for both your body
and your mind. In fact, walking is the simplest, least costly and most accessible form of exercise
there is. And contrary to what you may think, it also provides you with a complete workout. So get
in step with the Hunzakut and start walking!