All language subtitles for How.to.Live.To.100.2017.1080p.WEBRip.x265-RARBG3_English

♪ Happy Birthday to you

♪ Happy Birthday to you

- [Michela] Welcome to a rare
and unusual Birthday party

♪ Happy Birthday dear Doris

♪ Happy Birthday
- [Michela] Doris Griffiths.

Born in Neath in
1910, is 105 today.

- Thank you all very
much, thank you all.

("Little Ditty")

- [Michela] Doris is one
of more than 600 people

over 100 years old living
across Wales in 2015.

The highest number
ever recorded.

What I wanna know,
what's the magic?

What's the secret?

- I have what I want to eat,
and my favorite breakfast

is a nice bit of toast.

(laughing)

- [Michela] But while
Doris is living proof

that a growing minority

of people in Wales are living
healthier, longer lives,

what can I do, to help
guarantee the same

for me and my young family.

Is part of being a
mum that you want

to give them the best
possibilities in life right

from the minute they're born.

Especially when
an alarming number

of us are already
struggling at an early age.

- I could have a
heart attack any day.

I just feel like I could be
a bit of a ticking time bomb.

- [Michela] So what
is it about Welsh life

and Welsh lifestyles

that's got Doris Griffiths
to the grand old age of 105,

while 31 year old
Lee Tandem fears

that everyday could be his last.

I'm Michela Chiappa and
I'm a proud Welsh woman

with strong Italian
roots, and I'm hoping

to use those roots to
try and solve the secrets

to a long and healthy life.

It's a journey that will take me

across the Valleys
of South Wales.

How does it feel to be
Merthyr's only centenarian?

That's a pretty
cool achievement.

And then on to
Sardinia and the valley

with the highest percentage
of 100 year olds in Europe.

(speaking Italian)

- I just asked, what's
the secret of living

until he's 100, and he said,
it's not to die before.

(laughing)

So what is the answer?

Have we any choice in
avoiding an early grave?

Well I've traveled
from South wales

to Sardinia to search for the
secret of living a long life,

and a happy one.

So stay with me in the
hope of answering a life

and death question, how
can we live to a hundred.

("Little Ditty")

("The Morning Mist")

Merthyr.

In the South Wales valleys.

The town where I
was born and raised,

and where much of my
family still live today.

Although as my surname
Chiappa probably suggests,

Merthyr is not where we
originally came from.

My family moved
from Italy to Wales

to set up this business here

in Merthyr over 50 years
ago, and the one thing

they all talk about is
how similar the Welsh

and the Italians are.

We all love food,
family and community.

But one thing has
definitely changed,

and that it, how long we live.

During my lifetime life
expectancy in Italy

has risen by an
average of 15 years.

And while the same is true
of the more prosperous parts

of Wales, in many towns and
valleys throughout South Wales,

life expectancy is among the
lowest in western Europe.

For example, people
from my home town

of Merthyr will live on
average 10 years less

than someone living in the
affluent areas of Cardiff.

So what's going on?

While we've all heard the stats,

Wales is the most
overweight nation in Europe,

with the highest rates
of diabetes, cancer

and heart disease.

So, I'm going to begin my
quest to discover the secrets

to a longer life by
looking at the human face

of the problems that
prevent us living one.

("Dawn Droplets")

So this is Lee and Leanne
Tandem, with Lee's son Adam

and six month old Maisy.

They live near Pontypridd
in the Rhondda Valley.

Lee works full time
and Leanne is currently

on maternity leave.

Both are in their 30's,

and both are worried
about their health.

Just like the majority of
us, they try to eat well.

But the combination of a
hard working busy lifestyle

and temptations of takeaway's

and convenience
foods are strong.

- Dinner.

Me and Leanne met
in slimming world.

We were both doing
really, really well.

I'd lost about two stone;
Leanne had lost three.

And then we got together,
and we got comfy.

And the cozy nights
in with takeaways

and chocolate in front of films.

Well, for me I've put
on all of it and more.

We're both to blame really.

We'd both be slim now if
we hadn't met I expect.

- Giddy up, we're
homeward bound.

You know how it is.

You start feeling a bit
comfortable with each other.

We started eating
more takeaways,

and not really sticking to plan.

And it kind of escalated
from there really.

Our lifestyle isn't very good.

To be fair we could probably
do with a bit more exercise.

I've got a very bad
relationship with food.

Food is something
I enjoy very much.

Maybe too much from
quite a young age.

I suppose food
was my first love.

(laughing)

- [Michela] It's not that
the Tandem's can't cook.

They can.

And they do rustle up
whole meals from scratch.

It's just that,
like so many of us,

they regularly fall back
on the easier options.

- We eat a lot of
processed food,

that's brown not proud of it.

Turkey drummers.

Magnums.

I like processed food,
don't get me wrong,

but it's not good,
and I know I do,

but I don't like
giving it to the kids.

I like to, hang on a second,
I'm a bit out of breath now.

See, that's from us just
from bending over there

and wrestling with that.

It's not good, not good is it.

- We've got a few health
problems in the family.

My father's side of the
family, there's diabetes.

- My mum's had two heart
attacks over the last ten years.

My dad then, he
suffers with angina

on top of a ton of other things.

I just feel like I could be
a bit of a ticking time bomb.

I could have a heart
attack any day,

and I really need to do
something to make sure I don't.

So, my lifestyle has to change.

("Dawn Droplets")

- So Leanne and Lee can cook,

but like many of us, life
often gets in the way

of a healthy diet.

But, their story has
definitely spurred me

on my journey of discovery.

In particular, is the answer
to a longer healthier life

really just a matter of
cutting out takeaways,

processed foods
and sugary treats?

Well, if you're doing it
to excess, then absolutely.

But buy the same token,
I'm currently far

from convinced that
a life of mung beans

and salad is a sure fire
recipe for reaching 100.

My family for instance have
always indulged in a little of

'La Dolce Vita'.

And it's never done us any harm.

Cakes, cream, mascarpone,
wine, pasta, cheese.

We've never overdone it, but
we've always indulged a little,

and regularly.

And reaching our 80's and 90's

is a common feature
with us Chiappa's.

So, I believe that a little
bit of what you fancy,

is definitely one of the
ingredients in the recipe.

Although, I guess
the only way to begin

to work out the
secrets of longevity is

to go straight to the
source, as it were.

Here in Wales there are
cruelty 679 centenarian's,

as life is too short
to visit them all,

I'm going to visit
just three of them.

Starting with an invite
to a birthday party.

I'm going to a birthday party
later on of a lady who's 105.

Doris in Neath, and for her
I'm gonna make my grandmother,

my Nona's very special
crostata recipe.

It's basically a jam tart,

but is a dish that my Nona

always used to have
in her kitchen.

It was like magic.

The minute that
last slice would go,

another one would appear.

And it was something she
always had there on the side

for anybody.

The kids, the adults.

A sweet treat with a cup of tea.

My Nona's house was never
without a tart or a cake.

It was always home
baked, never shop bought,

with homemade jams from
well-worn family recipes,

that I'll be handing
down to my children,

as they were handed down to me.

(speaking Italian)

And as I bring my Crostata

to Doris Griffiths
105th birthday party,

it wouldn't surprise me to
find, that just like my Nona,

Doris has always
enjoyed a regular slice
of something sweet.

♪ Happy Birthday to you

♪ Happy Birthday to you

♪ Happy Birthday dear Doris

♪ Happy Birthday to you

- Thank you all very much.

Thank you all.

Go on, blow them out.

Thank you all very much.

It's been a big surprise for me,

and it makes a difference
when you're on your own

to see all these people.

I say I don't know where an
earth they've all come from.

- [Michela] So watching
Doris lively, spritely,

engaged in her surroundings,

I wondered if longevity
is simply pre-destined,

written in our genes.

("Gwahoddiad")

So, I was surprised
to learn that Doris,

born in Neath in 1910, was
the only one of five children

to survive even an infant
death or a miscarriage.

Educated at Nol's
School in Neath,

she entered domestic
service at the age of 14,

and spent the next 51
years working as a cleaner,

a receptionist and in the
kitchens back at her old school.

She married Ivory at
21 and had the first

of her four children at 25,

and outside of work and
family, life revolved

around the chapel where
she sang in the choir

and became a Sunday
school teacher.

After Ivory passed away
38 years ago in 1976,

Doris continued to
live in their home

right up until last year.

In every particular, her
life, her upbringing.

Her story is echoed in
any home in any town,

in any of the Welsh valleys.

So what made Doris the
rare exception that made it

to this incredible age.

What I wanna know
is, what's the magic?

What's the secret?

- Well, I don't know
if there's any secret.

I live quite cheap and easy.

I have what I want to eat
and my favorite breakfast

is a nice bit of toast.

Sometimes I have a bit of
cheese with it, or an egg.

You never know.

(laughing)

Anything goes with me.

I eat quite a bit,
always on the meal times.

- [Michela] Okay,
three times a day?

- I don't eat between
meals at all, very rare.

It's just ordinary
living sort of thing.

- And your support networks,
your family, your friends.

Having people that can help
you, you can depend on.

Do you think that's
an important thing?

- Oh yes, I mean, if you've
got your family with you,

you've got some
backbone haven't you.

Living is easy if
you're willing to do it.

- [Michela] So
positive mind maybe?

- Because I need to
say life, I don't know,

sometimes people talk as
life is awful to live,

awful hard to live.

I don't think so.

It's what you make it.

And I mean if you want
to make it a good life,

well it's up to you.

But if you want to upset it,

well that's your
fault too isn't it?

So I need to say, it's you,

you are the important
person all the time.

And it's you that's got
to make it, nobody else.

- What an extraordinary woman.

Wise, funny, straight talking,

but what did I learn from Doris,

while diet wise, eat
whatever you want seems

to been her motto,
but keep it simple.

Don't over indulge, common
dietary sense really.

Although she did confess
to having a littlesoft spot

for some cheese, which
goes with my a little bit

of what you fancy theory.

She did also make it
very clear how important

a strong network of
family and friends is,

which was also something
I was expecting to hear.

But what really struck
me about me about Doris

was her absolute belief that
it's your responsibility

to be true to yourself
and your own life.

I suppose it's
what we call having

a positive mental attitude.

But surely you can't just
will yourself to 100.

Although there
must be an element

of this in the next
person I'm going to meet,

because he really is unique.

Not only is he the
sole centenarian male

or female in my
hometown of Merthyr,

but he's outlived the
average male life expectancy

for the area by 30 years.

And his name is
Eric Antwerp Jones.

So Eric, how does it feel to
be Merthyr's only centenarian?

That's a pretty
cool achievement.

- Well, I don't know.

I feel great myself.

- [Michela] What do you
think are the secrets

to your success?

- Well I don't think
there's anything secret

about it at all.

I just done what I wanted to
do, when I felt like doing it.

You know, I've enjoyed
every minute of it.

- And do you think it's
about being healthy,

do you think it's about having
a tipple every now and again?

Or is it just purely enjoying
life and being positive?

- I have a tipple every
now and again yes.

- In terms of
living a long life.

Do you think it's
important to work hard.

You've clearly worked very
hard trough your life.

- Well I've always worked.

Never been without a job.

At 14 years of age
I started work.

Underground, down the pit.

(whistle blowing)

- [Michela] In 1928, just
like tens of thousands

of valley boys of
his generation,

Eric left school one Friday
and was working down the pit

by Monday.

His escape from that dirty dark

and dangerous world
came five years later,

when he joined the Welsh Guards.

- [Eric] 1935 I think it is.

- [Michela] Gosh, very smart.

- [Eric] I'm over
there somewhere.

- [Michela] Serving
with distinction

throughout World War Two,

he rose to the rank of sergeant.

On the domestic front Eric

married his sweetheart
Enna in 1940.

And they went on to have two
children, Lynda and Hywel.

After the war Eric become
a Merthyr police officer.

Retiring in 1966 and taking
up further working stints

as a hospital porter,
and a factory worker,

before finally putting up
his feet after 54 years

of solid work in 1982.

Enna died just short of their
golden wedding anniversary

in 1990, and now Eric
lives with his son Hywel

in Merthyr, the town he
has never left in spite

of a number of opportunities.

They say there's
something about Merthyr.

It brings people back and
people don't wanna leave.

- I didn't want
to leave Merthyr.

- A Merthyr boy
through and through.

- Oh yes, I've never
been anywhere else.

- [Michela] I was
born in Merthyr

and my family ran
the station cafe.

- Yeah?

- Yeah, Tony and
Franky Viersanni.

Tony, good god.

Tony Viersanni.

- Yeah, he was my dad's uncle.

- Tony, good god ey,
I knew Tony well.

- And my grandmother
was Louisa his sister.

- Yeah.

- [Michela] 'Cause that
was a real center community

wasn't it, the station caff?

- Oh yes, oh yes, when
everything went quiet

at night in Merthyr,
everybody seemed

to gather at Viersanni's.

- [Michela] It was a big
family enterprise wasn't it?

- Oh yes, oh yes.

- So, I'm gonna put
you on the spot now.

If you had to pick three things,

I want three pieces of advice
for living a long life,

what would they be?

- Oh dear.

Well, one thing, if
you're interested

in a particular
sport to follow it.

It had a great part it
did, sport, in my life.

Family life of course,
look after your family.

- And the last one, be positive?

Always enjoy life?

- Always did enjoy life.

Always did.

- That's great.

- Always did enjoy life.

("Sweet Brass")

- I know we're still at an
early stage in this journey.

But having chatted to
both Doris and Eric

their lifestyles actually
have a lot in common.

They both work hard, live
simply have cherished families

and enjoy wholesome hobbies.

But with the odd over
indulgence here and there,

isn't that how we
all live anyway?

Well actually no because
life in 21st century Wales,

particularly working life,

is no longer driven
by the physical labors

of domestic service,
manufacture or industry.

For almost 70% of us, our
nine till five existence

is an office bound, desk
bound, sedentary experience.

We don't get the natural
work out of a coal miner,

a bobby on the beat
or a made in service

who spend their
days on their feet.

And then most of us come home
from a mentally draining day

at the office, too tired to use

that gym subscription
we took out in January.

And so we slump in front

of the TV's with our
microwave diners.

Surely this is no
recipe for longevity.

(calm music)

My final expert on
living a long life,

lives about 20 miles away.

And apparently, I'm not
to pick a fight with him.

("Lil Champ")

This is Ronald Prince
a 100 years old

and still fighting fit.

Ronald from Abersychan
near Pontypool works out

in the gym every week.

Aside from always
living an active life.

He believes there is something
else behind his longevity.

- Age is partly due to
genes, in which case,

as the doctor once said to me,

he said if you want to live long

you've got to choose your
parents very carefully.

- Do you think it's
all about genes or--

Well. It's a mixture isn't it,

it's partly genes
and partly diet.

("Slow and Sentimental")

- Ron's parents both
died in the 1960's

when the average life expectancy
in the valley's was 67

for men and 70 for women.

Ron's father died at
82, his mother 85.

By which time Ron himself
had already led a full

and productive life.

Born in Abercarn in 1915,
he attended Abercarn school,

then Rhywderyn secondary,
leaving at 16 to work

as an apprentice radio
engineer in Newport.

During World War Two he worked
the land in Pembrokeshire,

where he was also a care taker
at a hostel for land girls.

Here he met his future
wife grace, who was working

as a nurse in a
children's TB hospital.

Married in 1947, they went
on to have two daughters,

Mary and Sue.

And Ronald spent the
remainder of his working life

with the Chaloner Brothers

and electronics shop
in Pontnewynydd.

He retired in his 70s when
the shop itself closed,

not that Ron has ever truly
sat back and put up his feet.

In his extensive
garden Ron continues

to grow his own
organic vegetables.

Fresh food that forms
the bulk of his meals.

This isn't just about having
some free food in your garden.

This is some serious
work that keeps you

not just healthy from the
food but busy, active.

- Yeah, well, I enjoy,
enjoy the vegetables

and they certainly got
a much better taste

than you buy in the supermarket.

Do you like them raw?

- [Michela] Yeah,
I'll have a go.

- Well, it's nothing like ones
you grow yourself for taste.

- What in your opinion to living

'cause you've said
genes and diet,

but from what you've
described to me

there's more going on here.

- Well, I don't know.

- Busy life, keeps you active?

- Well, it's a mixture
isn't it really,

and I've been very
fortunate with a family,

a very good wife.

We were married about 67 years.

- [Michela] Wow.

- She died three years ago,

and I've got two
very good daughters,

so I've been very
fortunate with my family.

- Family, busy industrious
lives, genes and a good diet.

These are the common
themes in all three

of my centenarian's lives.

And there's something else.

Each of them has such
a positive outlook.

They enjoy and
embrace their lives.

So I wonder is the key
to longevity as much

about your psychological health

as it is about your
physical well-being.

And if that's the
case, are some people

just born happy and contented?

Is there a happy gene?

Or is it about our upbringing?

Our surroundings?

Our families?

In search of an
answer, I'm heading

to visit Professor
Vanessa Burholt

at Swansea University's
Center for Innovative Ageing.

Professor Burholt
is a world authority

on gerontology, the
scientific study of old age.

Hi Vanessa.

- Hi Michela.

- What in your opinion
are the top factors

when it comes to longevity?

- Well, some colleagues
in US have helped us out

answering that question.

This isn't from my own research.

But they've done
a meter-analysis

of all of the published
studies that look at mortality.

So the rates at which
people die really.

And top of their list is
actually social support.

So, over seven and a half
years you are more likely

to survive rather than die

if you have good
social support rather

than poor social support.

That has a bigger effect than
quitting smoking on mortality.

- [Michela] Wow.

- And a bigger
effect than obesity.

So, that's related to
nutrition, and some

of the diseases associated
with mortality as well.

- So you're saying the
most important thing

for an individual
is social support?

- It could be.

That's been identified
in this study.

But I think we need to paint
quite a holistic picture

of all the parts that
might fit together.

Why is it family may have
that influence on mortality.

So it could be around
the influence they have

on providing support to
people who need support.

Providing a sense of identity.

What sort of role
you have in life

when your family and friends
are around, that supports that.

But it also might be
to do with loneliness.

Whether or not
experiencing loneliness

places certain
stresses on the brain

that cause you to die earlier.

- So that's very interesting.

All three of my
Welsh centenarians,

they're all surrounded by a
strong family support network.

Just as Professor
Burholt has suggested,

and if I think of my upbringing

family has always
been at the heart

of life in the
Chiappa household.

("Sleepy Sundays")

I think the main reason I've
got so interested in longevity

and living to be 100
is that I'm a mum now,

with two beautiful daughters

- Si.

- Si.

Fiamma is two, and
little Serafina is
all of 12 weeks old....

I read recently that
babies born after 2013,

which both of mine were, will
have a one-in-three chance

of living to 100.

Now that's an
extraordinary statistic,

but it does come with the worry

that I as a parent might
somehow impede that chance.

It does make you think
having children though about

what can you do to give
them a good chance in life,

to give them great
start and, you know,

hopefully live on many
years into the future.

It certainly is getting
me thinking right now

about not just nutrition,

but the fact is it does
start from day dot really,

and it is part of,
I guess, being a mum

that you want to give them
the best possibilities

in life right from the
minute they're born.

And yes, good wholesome
food is certainly a part

of that equation for me,
which is why I'm going

to use some of Ronald's
home grown produce

to make a broad bean pesto
for tonight's supper.

But don't get me wrong, I'm
not one of those paranoid Mums

who won't feed their
kids certain foods

because they're worried
about the sugar content.

Fiamma does have treats,
home-made cakes, ice cream,

for me it's about the balance.

Although it'll be interesting

to see how this pesto goes down!

Broad beans are
certainly not one

of my favorite vegetables,
because they are quite bland,

and they're quite
hard and tough.

But in there, that is
absolutely delicious.

So we have one brilliant
pesto sauce inspired by one

of Wales' centenarians.

So, it's broad bean
pesto pasta for supper,

and there's three generations

of Chiappa's at
the table tonight.

And I'm going to
take this opportunity

to grill Dad about our
own family's longevity.

- Grazie.

- What were Nona Pinos
words of wisdom dad,

for living a long life?

- I think my dad's
words of wisdom

for living a long life was
to have an active life,

and a happy life, and a
very strong family life.

Family was everything to Nona,

and he was a very active man up

until the day he died.

He was very very active.

- He would be out
in the workshop.

You say that now,
that you have no,

not the energy
like your dad had.

- No, my dad's family,
they had nothing.

They were really peasant
farmers and they had nothing

and yet they were happy.

- Even though they
were peasants living

on very little, they lived
quite a long life considering.

- They lived very long lives.

- How old was Nona Maria?

- She was gone 93 I think
when she died, my dad's mum.

My mum's mum died,
she'd gone 90.

And we all lived together,
if you remember--

- Elouise's mum?

- Elouise mum I
think was nearly 100.

- She did get 100 didn't she?

- Yeah.

- My grandfather's sister,
she would still in her

80s and 90s jump over
her garden fence to go

and get her eggs
from her chickens.

She'd get up in three in the
morning when we'd come in

from a night out and be
like, right let me cook you

a plate of pasta, and I'll
make you a plate of spaghetti.

She was the most active
lady I've probably ever met,

right up until her last days.

- Listen, if I had the recipe

for a long life I'd
be a very rich man.

- I'll have a bit of wine dad.

Do you know what, my
Dad might never get

to be a very rich man,

but he's just said something
absolutely priceless to me.

And it's left me with
the strong suspicion

that I might've been
asking the right questions,

but in the wrong place.

I think the real answers to
longevity are not here in Wales,

they lie in my own ancestral
roots, back home in Italy.

("Country Picnic")

Welcome to Europe's
greatest longevity hotspot

a place where
people live longer,

healthier lives
than anywhere else

across the whole continent.

Where the levels of
cancer, diabetes,

and heart disease are a fraction

of what they are in Wales,

and where there are
more centenarians

than anywhere else in
the northern hemisphere.

This is the province
of Ogliastra

on the Italian
island of Sardinia.

A place where there are
so many octogenarians,

nonagenarians, and centenarians
roaming the streets,

that a mere tricenarian,
someone in their 30s like me,

is a bit of a novelty.

So what's going on?

Well that's why I'm here.

So I am gonna go out,
and I wanna meet some

of those locals to work
out what's the recipe

for living a long life,

and hopefully then I can take
those secrets back to Wales.

With a population of
around 59,000 people,

scattered across its
hillsides and small towns,

the province of Ogliastra is
the same size as the borough

of Merthyr, but unlike Merthyr,

one-in-three of its inhabitants

currently live into their 90's.

And while there's only one
centenarian in the whole

of Merthyr, there are 33 alone
in Ogliastra's municipal town

of Villagrande, which
has an overall population

of just 4,000 people.

So is it the sun?

The fabled Mediterranean diet?

Or is there a hidden
fountain of youth somewhere

on the island?

Well I am about find out.

Starting with a visit
to Ageino Vialli,

(speaking Italian)

- Who at just 100
years and 39 days

is Villagrande's
youngest centenarian.

(speaking Italian)

I would just ask what's
the secret of living

until he's 100 and he said
it's not to die before.

(speaking Italian)

- When it comes to food, he said

he doesn't eat evening
meals anymore but.

(speaking Italian)

- I said what is
his favorite meals,

and he said, you know,
a good plate of pasta,

and it's nice to see
how Italians, you know,

pasta is always that first
dish you might give to a baby,

but even as you get older
it still remains a favorite.

(speaking Italian)

- [Michela] Senor Ageino and
I spent the next 20 minutes

talking through his life story.

(speaking Italian)

- It was a story that
had many resonances

with the centenarians
back in Wales.

I just asked Senior
Ageino, you know,

what's the secret to a long
life and was being active

working hard part of it?

And he said he was one of
eight children, four girls,

four boys, and his father
always said the girls

had to go until.

(speaking Italian)

Until the first year.

The boys had to go
up until the fifth.

Because it was really important
they learned to write,

especially if they
had to go off to war.

He lasted until the first year.

He did one day of his
second, packed it in

and basically went
and worked the land

for his family which
was olive farming,

wheat, and wine, and he said

we certainly enjoyed
the years where,

you know, the wine harvest
and had a good life.

Clearly he made a good
choice to pack in the studies

and come and work the land.

And that is, I think evidence
that active lifestyle,

that natural way of keeping fit

has obviously served him well.

but he did just tell
me he is waiting to go

to bed down the road
in the cemetery.

But he's clearly lasting well

and he's enjoying living those
stories and those memories.

(speaking Italian)

- Augh, what a beautiful man.

Although I'm not sure
that Ageino's recipe

of leaving school early
and spending your days

making wine is the message
I should be taking back

to Wales, tempting
as that sounds.

I want to take back some
hard, practical facts.

So I've arranged to
meet Dr Gianni Pez,

a molecular biologist at
the University of Sissari.

A world renowned expert, he
has been studying longevity

on Sardinia for over 15 years.

In fact it was Dr. Pez and
his colleague, Michel Poulain,

who coined the famous
term Blue Zone,

which denotes a region where
the average life expectancy

is considerably higher than
elsewhere in the world.

And he's brought me to
Villagrande's city hall

to reveal to me the fruits
of his Blue Zone studies.

Are there only four at
the moment in the world?

- At the moment only four, yes.

Nicoya, Sardegna,
Ikaria, and Okinawa.

- [Michela] Whilst
studies continue

into the other three
longevity hotspots,

it's the sheer wealth of
historical records here

on Sardinia that means Dr Pez

and his colleagues
have been able

to draw some of the most
comprehensive conclusions

about what causes longevity.

- [Dr. Pez] This is the civil
archive that starts in 1866.

- [Michela] Okay.

- Then we have the
'party shock' archives

that date back to
the 16th century.

- Wow.

- So, there is the possibility

to reconstruct any family
tree for four century.

Absolutely unique in the world,

and this is very
important because

it makes easier to do the
genetic study as well.

- [Michela] Interestingly,
Dr Pez's genetic studies

have him led to a wholly
unexpected conclusion.

- When I started 15
years ago I thought

that the genetic component
was very important,

but progressively
I've changed my mind.

And now think that, let's
say 80% of longevity

can explained by environmental
or lifestyle factors,

instead of genetics.

- Okay.

So if genes are only 20%
of the longevity equation,

what, according to Dr Pez,
are the other factors?

- A physical activity,
a good nutrition.

Social support, a
purpose in life,

that includes also
spirituality, if you want.

And the fifth one,
okay is just by chance.

- Okay.

Chance, eh?

The roulette of life.

Luckily for me, in
Villagrande there are no buses

to be run over by.

Although wandering the streets
I can see casual evidence

of what Gianni has told me, on
the healthy nutrition front,

it's really interesting to note

there are no big
supermarkets in the town,

but everyone seems
to have a patch

of ground where they
grow their fruit and veg,

or raise a couple
of chickens or pigs.

There are no takeaways,
no processed foods,

everything appears to be
fresh and locally produced.

Life couldn't be any
different back home in Wales,

where we've got kebab
shops, burger bars,

and processed supermarket
ready meals available

on every corner.

And where basic kitchen
skills, no longer part

of our schools core curriculum,
are so lacking that many

of us we wouldn't know how
to cook a spinach leaf,

let alone grow one.

Dr Pez's other key ingredients
were also readily observed

on the streets of Villagrande.

Physical activity, cut
into the hillsides,

these higgledy-piggledy
streets provide a daily workout

for the calves and
the cardio-vasculars.

There's plenty of social
support and interaction,

and what I've noticed
is how the young

and the old mix freely.

Spirituality?

Well, that's a given,
we're in Italy!

But the one thing Gianni
said that really struck me

was about having
a purpose in life.

Something to get you out
of bed every morning.

Apparently, the people
of Ogliastra province

never really retire,
they might slow down,

but otherwise they
just keep on going,

getting up every morning
to do whatever it is

they've got to do.

This is particularly
true of the men,

and what's unique about
Sardinia as a Blue Zone

is that unlike the other
three longevity hot-spots,

there are as many
male centenarians here

as there are female.

So, the work/life balance?

Maybe it's really
an unhealthy myth,

and actually the secret
is to keep on working

until you drop,

which allegedly is exactly
what the peasant farmers

of Ogliastra do.

So we're heading out of
Villagrande to see the evidence

of Gianni's research and
how working in the outdoors

and having a very active
lifestyle is really one

of the strong contributing
factors to longevity.

("Stomping Blues")

In the Ascari hills
above Villagrande,

on 26 acres of scrubland,

81 year old Francesco
Mariesa rears over 300 head

of dairy ewes,
goats, cows and pigs.

Rising with the sun, he
works seven days a week,

365 days a year,
as have generations

of Mariesa men folk before him.

(speaking Italian)

- He lives here on this land.

He sleeps here, he said,
do you know what sometimes

he even sleeps here in the
open this time of year,

it's so warm.

You just light something,

there's nothing better
than the fresh air.

He's 81 now, but basically
his dad, his grand-dad,

his great grand-dad, all
were farmers and shepherds.

His grand-dad lived
until he was 86

and his father lived
until he was 89.

All doing this
life as shepherds,

and as farmers working the land.

(speaking Italian)

They haven't modernized
any of the machinery.

They milk all the sheep, the
goats, everything by hand.

This is Francesco's
nephew, Gianluca,

he's only 54, so
he's still a kid.

But he's just milked all
217 of the ewes by hand,

as he does every day.

(speaking Italian)

- So this was all the milk
from all these sheep tonight,

and this is gonna go
to make some cheese.

(speaking Italian)

- For all those sheep it takes
about an hour to milk them.

And while work's
undoubtedly hard,

the living's no easier either.

(speaking Italian)

- So, up until 20, 30 years ago

he spent his life in
similar huts like this.

He said it's a hard life

but equally it's one
he's been brought up on.

One that he's used to,

so why would he have
it any other way?

(speaking Italian)

- I said if life is
hard why hasn't he gone

to live in the town.

Well he said, it's my job.

And he said, more than
anything I love my job

and I love working with
the animals from cows,

sheep, pigs, I'm here in nature.

(speaking Italian)

- In his opinion most of the
centenarians were farmers

or shepherds, and they lived
a life like this in the land.

This would have been
where they lived,

they'd sleep on hard floors.

Very simple life.

They'd cook on the fire.

Work the land in the day
and stay in here at night.

It's been really
lovely coming up here

to finally see a real
shepherd from this area.

I'm not sure if
it's really for me,

I don't know if I
could, you know,

do what he's doing, live out
here literally on the land,

but it has definitely
made me think

about how important it is

to live an active lifestyle.

A lifestyle, not
just going to the gym

doing exercise every day,

but making it part of your life

and also slowing down
your pace of life,

not worrying about too many
things, the speed and the pace

of life that we live today.

Really taking a step back
and thinking, you know,

do we really need to
do all that we do,

and will that effect your
life span in the future.

(calm music)

During the past 24 hours,

I've got so much more clarity

about the varied ingredients
it takes to live to be 100.

But I left Francesco's
small holding

with one nagging thought:
his way of life died

out in the Welsh valleys when
the first mine shaft was sunk;

and it's under threat
here in Sardinia too,

as increasingly people
leave the tough life

in the hills for the
easier life of the towns.

But does this mean abandoning
the life-prolonging traditions

and values of the countryside?

Or is there a
healthy compromise?

The following morning,
I got up early

to spend my final
day in Sardinia

with a family who firmly
believe you can have it all.

(speaking Italian)

- [Michela] Meet
Marie-Angelo and Marco Mareu,

a husband and wife team who
run what's best described

as a family co-operative.

Marko and Marie-Angelo
live in Villagrande,

sharing their house with
their two teenage children,

Gabriel, 17, and Lucia 21.

And they share their
lives with their parents,

Marko's Dad who is 89,
Marie-Angelo's dad who is 76;

Marko's Mum 80; and
Marie-Angelo's Mum who's 73.

As a unit the extended
Mareu family grow,

rear, make, cook and
bake everything they eat.

It's a very typical
family set up here

in the Ogliostra valley.

But this Good Life
is also a tough life,

requiring hard work throughout
long days, and the weekends.

Both Marko and Marie
Angelo have jobs:

Marko is a forestry
worker, and Marie-Angelo

runs a small B&B
at the family home.

So their day begins around
7am, milking the goats.

(speaking Italian)

- He said this is
something they've learned

from their parents,
their grandparents

and their great grandparents.

I said how old was he
when he learned to milk,

and he said about
six/seven years of age.

(speaking Italian)

- I asked him, you know,
is this really important

for him to do and pass down
in particular to his children.

He said absolutely,
otherwise he said it's

gonna get lost.

The memory he has, not
just from his parents,

but from his grandparents was
they always used to teach him

to respect nature.

And if you respect
nature it will respond,

and it will keep you healthy
and well into the future.

("Ukelayloo")

While the goats
hop down the hill

to spend the day grazing
by the river bank,

we head back to the
house to turn their milk

into some cheese.

The whole process
they're doing today

to make this cheese
is completely natural.

They're not using any
additives, preservatives.

The thickening agent to
make the milk the cheese is

is this.

The goats stomach.

Their goats keep the
family in milk, yogurt

and cheese the whole year round.

They never need to
pop to the supermarket

because they never run out.

What's more, goat's milk has
a higher nutritional value

than cow's milk, and studies

suggest the milk
helps lower the risks

of cardio-vascular
disease and colon cancer.

Not that the family need
to be told all of this,

for them, it's a way of
life that young Gabriel

is set to continue into
the next generation.

For me there's nothing better

than seeing a young family
still using old methods

to create some amazing,
amazing food from the land.

You know, this has
been homemade and look.

(Italian spoken)

- 17 years of age, he
knows how to kill a goat,

feed a goat, milk
a goat and create

the most delicious cheese
fresh from the land.

Brilliant stuff.

One thing I'm
quickly realizing is

there's no fast food here,

the whole day revolves around
preparing meals for the table:

the Mareu's are not farmers,

they're just ordinary
working people with a plot

of land on which they raise
all of the food they consume.

They don't go to
the supermarket, or
call in a takeaway:

they just beaver
away, as a family,

to create fresh,
wholesome food -

that also keeps them
exceptionally active.

Talk about that
for a spinach leaf.

This is some serious work.

You've gotta work the land,
you've gotta sow the seeds,

you've gotta help them
grow, you've gotta stop

all the snails eating them.

You've gotta collect
them, clean them,

cook them, serious work
for a plot this size.

You don't do it on your own.

It's a whole family thing
and Mareu Angela said,

when we collect the
potatoes she said

it's almost like a party.

She said we all come here,
we've each got our jobs

and it's a real social occasion.

So you can really see, I guess,

how strong those
social networks are.

Here we've got the beans,

I've heard and a lot
of people have talked

about the importance of
beans for contributing

to longevity and beans
were often a substitute

to meat for the poor families,
because they've got a lot

of protein in and
for those families

that maybe didn't have meat,
or maybe at certain times

of the year the
animals weren't ready

to eat it provided them with
those important nutrients

to keep them going, you know,
for the hard and tough months.

(speaking Italian)

- [Michela] There's one
more place I want to visit

before I taste some of
the family's produce,

that's their cantina:
an Italian larder

that's like an Aladdin's
cave for foodies:

cheeses, wines, pulses, olives,
smoked meats and sausages,

all of it produced and
preserved by the family.

(speaking Italian)

- So I said, you know,
obviously in our world

of today processed foods
are all around us usually

and with added
preservatives, you know,

what their feeling on
that, and they were like,

all they use when curing
the meat is salt and pepper.

They use no
preservatives, nothing.

It is all pure, pure stuff.

(speaking Italian)

I'm going to their house.

I want to eat some
of this stuff.

(speaking Italian)

- The family have offered

to rustle up a typical
Sardinian supper for me.

So while Marko gets
on with the man's work

of roasting a goat haunch,
I'm gonna join the rest

of the family in the kitchen.

I am so excited about today
because just like in my family,

where you've got everyone
in the family roped

in to do different jobs.

We are here with Mari-Angela

and she's got her mum her
daughter, her sons behind,

and this is what is
very, very typical,

and particularly this family.

(speaking Italian)

- Although what I wasn't
expecting was the dish

we were about to prepare,
the local specialty:

a minestrone soup that not
only takes 6 hours to make,

but is heavy on the carbs
and has a high fat content:

no olive oil rich
Mediterranean diets here.

So basically it is a heavy dish.

You know, you've got
beans, you've got potatoes,

you've got pasta in
it, and the cheese

and all these flavors.

But Mary-Angela said
traditionally this was often fed

to the farmers, the men that
were away from home feeding

all of these animals
up in the heels.

And often they'd come
back after a week

and this was a real dish that
would feel their bellies,

you know, make them feel
like it's great to be home,

but they needed it as well

'cause they'd been
away for all that time.

(speaking Italian)

- I asked is this is a
typical job a man does.

He said absolutely, and
it's been passed down

from generations to generations.

The women often do the
first course, the pasta's,

the risotto's, and it's the
men that look after the meat.

He said for him it's very
important to pass this down.

His son knows how
to kill, how to,

you know, prepare the
meat and to cook it.

You can see he's
very proud of that.

Come meal time, what I took

to be a cozy family
get together seems

to be transforming
into a village fiesta.

I don't actually know
what is going on,

but I believe, a
family of what was it?

Five, six people has now
suddenly multiplied into,

what looks like 25.

It doesn't look like this
is gonna be a small thing.

It's gonna be pretty
much a massive feast

with half the village,
but hey I suppose

that's Italian families for you.

(speaking Italian)

- So this is clearly,
in my opinion,

what Italians are all about,

and particularly here
in Villagrande it starts

from working the land,
cultivating your own produce,

and then obviously cooking,
and eating all together.

It doesn't really get
much better than this.

Unadulterated, home-made
produce, consumed

at a communal table
by family and friends,

while being serenaded

by the young folk singing
traditional old folk songs.

Simple lives, simple
foods, and simple rituals

passed down and on through
generation after generation.

I've no doubt that
every single ingredient

of living to be 100 is here
in this room, right now.

If only I could bottle it
up and bring it back home.

(upbeat music)

And although I leave Sardinia
the following morning

without the elixir of
life clasped in my hands,

I do believe I've got some
valuable long life lessons

to take back to Wales,

which I can also share
with the Tantum family.

So I'm back where I
started on this journey

for living a long life.

Here in Wales.

Gonna go and see the Tantum's.

I've learnt a lot, but
I've got a nice big bag

of goodies that I'm
gonna take into them.

And where better to
share that the experience

than around the dinner table

enjoying a Sardinian
inspired supper.

Hello.

- Hello.
- Hello.

- Oh hello, how are you doing?

- Alright.
- Thank you.

- I've got some goodies.

- What have we got?

- Hello, hello.

- Look at them.

- If you guys are committed
to living a healthier life.

I reckon we can have a
chat about some things

that we can make
a change already.

For me one of the
most important things

that I saw in Sardinia was
there was no processed food.

Nowhere to be seen.

Quite simple not to
eat anything processed.

Do you think you could do that?

- Yes, we've done it before.

- Yes, we've done
it before so there's

no reason why we
can't do it again.

- It's not easy, you know,
you've got to be organised,

you've got to make
sure you've got space,

time to prepare things.

But you've said you
love freezer meals,

even though they're
brought from the shop okay.

We can do that, we can create.

You love doing
shepherd's pie, fish pie,

they are brilliant,
brilliant freezer meals.

It's just a matter of
making them in bulk,

putting them into portions,

and then you can create
your own freezer meals,

but they are home produced.

I think if you could
cut out processed food

and fizzy drinks,

how does that sound?

Fizzy drinks out of your diet.

- I don't drink
any fizzy drinks.

- [Michela] Don't you?

- No.

- No?

I am telling you, you
would see a difference.

And I can show you some
really simple recipes

that you can prepare
in like five minutes

from the stuff that
you already buy,

that will make your life simple.

- Right to.

- Right.

- Right, we're gonna
do a super, super quick

and simple pasta sauce, okay?

Lee you're gonna
do the chopping.

Finely chop an onion, a splash
of olive oil in the pan,

then we're gonna
pop in that onion.

At this stage you can put
whatever veg you want okay.

If you fancy, if they
haven't had any greens'

you can put a bit
of broccoli in.

If you like your freezer,
frozen peas, frozen chopped veg,

you can now toss in a
handful and mix that in.

what I'm gonna do

I'm gonna speed peel some
lovely ribbons of carrot.

You don't need too much.

Just a little bit of veg,
peel some lovely bits

of courgette in, give
that a stir all together,

and then, once
that's sweated down,

we're gonna add our tin
of chopped tomatoes.

Right then, into this we're
gonna put a stock cube.

- [Leanne] Smells lovely.

- A little spoon
of cream cheese,

that'll just give it a
lovely bit of creaminess.

For me being Italian,

I don't think you can have
pasta sauce without Parmesan.

And again, this will mean
you use less salt as well.

It's just a more natural.

It is expensive,

but if you only use a
little amount each time,

that will last you
a couple of months.

Well that's done.

You could easily double, if
not triple that quantity,

then that freezes brilliantly,

so then you can freeze it in
little individual containers

again, and there again
you've got your freezer meals

that are fresh.

And basically when you wanna
cook it you just pull it out,

whack it in the
microwave to defrost it,

and throw it over pasta.

- Did you find out
any other secrets

to family life in Sardinia?

- Yeah, I mean, I think for
me the things I brought away

from Sardinia was
the sense of family.

So, big, big communities
where the family

is really important, and
yes, you agree don't you,

yes, and basically it's the idea

that it's not just
eating good food,

it's the whole processes,
they sit together,

they cook together,
they socialize together,

and it's this family network.

It's not just the cooking it's
the sitting down together,

enjoying it together
around a diner table.

- That's one thing
we've always done.

We always sit at
the table to eat.

- It's important,
we always make sure

that is something we
do it every evening.

It doesn't matter if we end
up having a late dinner,

it's at the table.

Always together,
always at the table.

- [Leanne] Smells lovely.

- [Michela] I hope you like it.

- Absolutely gorgeous.

- It's really nice.

So how was the pace
of life I Sardinia?

Was it as busy and
as chaotic as ours?

- No, definitely not.

They, you know, spend
all day cooking one dish

that they might eat
at the end of the day,

and it's a very
slow pace of life.

But I just think we've
got to be realistic.

We live in Wales, we don't
live in sun drenched hills

with vegetable patches the
size of a football pitch.

We do live in
communities like we do,

but I do think there are
factors that we could all do,

I think, myself included, to
improve our quality of life.

Trying to walk
every day, you know,

even if it is only 10
minutes to work or even

if it's on the weekend you
take the kids and it's raining,

but you put some coats on.

Shouldn't really
make any excuses

'cause we have got beautiful
surroundings that we live in.

You might actually
say, you know what

we just feel so much better and
I do believe that, you know,

I was brought up in
an Italian household

in the Welsh Valleys,

but the one thing my dad
was always adamant about

it had to be cooked fresh,

and it had to be all
of us around the table.

They certainly didn't
say don't drink a glass

of wine in Sardinia.

In fact, they all drank wine.

So, you know, maybe
it's a walk to the pub,

with your family
for a glass of wine

and then come home to
a home cooked meal,

there's nothing wrong with that.

- [Michela] Salute.

- [Leann] Salute.
- [Lee] Salute.

(Speaking Italian)

(upbeat music)

- So what have I
learned from my search

of finding the secrets of
living until you're 100.

When I first started on this
journey I had at the back

of my mind that one of the
factors might be money,

that somehow wealth could
buy you your health,

but actually having visited
the welsh centenarians

and the hill
farmers of Sardinia,

they actually proved that
quite the opposite was true.

A hard life of honest
graft especially

if it's in the outdoors can
actually help you live to 100.

And certainly if
you've got a good diet,

a strong family unit
and a purpose in life.

But are all these
things possible in a
21st century Wales?

Well, actually they are,
but we've got to work harder

to make them work, because
our lifestyle is against us.

But given all of that
the tools are there

for us to live a long and
healthy life, it's just a matter

of us utilizing them.

And for that there's no excuse.

♪ Happy Birthday to you

- I keep thinking back to
something Doris told me

on her 105th Birthday.

- Life is what you make it,

if you are the important
person all the time.

And it's you that's got
to make it, nobody else.

- But it's you that's
got to make it.

Nobody else.

(upbeat music)