Shirali Mislimov of Azerbaidzhan, U.S.S.R allegedly lived to be 168 years old and died in 1973. In researching his life, I found some interesting things. Now, I’m not interested in living that long but I do try to live as healthy as I can while I live. Yes, there are some things that have happened to me beyond what I could prevent like head and neck trauma that most likely caused my brain tumor and needing a neck fusion. But we can learn from people who live to ripe old ages such as this man and was even working hard on the day he died!

What were some of his secrets to longevity and health?

He worked hard. “He had worked all day every day until age 165, he said, grazing sheep, riding horseback, chopping wood, and tending the fruit garden he had begun over a century earlier.” God created us to work and not sit all day like most of us do. All generations before us had to work hard to survive and there are some jobs that demand a lot of hard work. Hard work never killed anyone. It’s good for us! The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied (Proverbs 13:4).

If you are home full time, make sure you get outside as often as possible with your children. They need a lot of movement and fresh air. Most children today sit in front of some type of screen all day and this is why our nation is becoming more and more unhealthy. Take long walks or hikes. Find hobbies that you enjoy doing outside. Get away to somewhere quiet and unpolluted once in a while like the ocean or mountains. It’s good for health and the soul. We live in a noisy and polluted world. I remember hearing that noise pollution is the hardest on the body! Have quiet times without distractions. I love peace and quiet.

He lived a “unhurried pace of life.” We live under way too much stress today. Turn off the news! I can only handle a little bit of it and then I turn it off since there’s nothing I can do about it except to pray any ways. Learn to eat slowly and enjoy your food. Learn to appreciate boredom, if you get to have it. Use this time to read another chapter in the Bible, read an inspirational book, or cook something good for dinner.

He lived a moderate life like we are instructed to do. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things (1 Corinthians 9:25). “Mislimov often told scientists who came to interview him that he had lived as long as he had largely by not smoking, drinking, napping during the day, or in any way losing control of his appetites.” If we are believers in Christ Jesus, we are filled with the Spirit and one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control. Therefore, we can be controlled with all of our appetites and live moderate lives! Believe it to be so and discipline your body by making it your slave instead of allowing it to control you.

He “did not smoke or drink, but ate fruits, vegetables, wholemeal bread, chicken broth, low-fat cheese and yogurt.” He ate a simple diet and was most likely content on it, unlike most of us. “The longevity of Muslimov was linked to a diet of dairy, and yogurt in particular.” Yogurt is a fermented food and full of probiotics. Many studies have proven the effectiveness of probiotics for good gut health since good health begins and ends in the gut as Hippocrates claimed. Drugs, processed foods, and sugar destroy probiotics so it’s best to give them up!

Most mornings, I have the yogurt pictured above with blueberries, walnuts, and stevia or organic raw honey for breakfast, then I add the sauerkraut in my salad for lunch. He also lived on chicken broth which is associated with strong bone health due to the gelatin in it. I make all of my soups with bone broth and it makes everything so flavorful.

Did you notice he didn’t eat any sugar or desserts? I just read an article this past week that if you want a good sex life to give up sugar! Your health will greatly improve just giving this up. It may even help those of you who struggle with infertility. Also, one woman is reading a book about moods and depression in the chat room and has found that caffeine and alcohol are serotonin killers and a huge cause of depression and mood swings. Alcohol is another thing that is good to give up because most grapes are the most sprayed crop on the planet so one glass of wine is a cocktail of toxic chemicals.

It doesn’t sound like there were any vaccinations or drugs either. If the people in this area were loading up on all of these foods to create good gut health, it makes sense. “Infectious diseases are rare in Azerbaidzhan and heart ailments are all but unknown.” They most likely didn’t run to the doctor for every little cough, flu, rash, and fever but allowed their bodies to heal themselves with fresh air, good food, and rest.

Sounds like great recommendations to live a long and healthy life if the Lord so blesses you!

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1 Corinthians 6:19