Original subtitles

♪ 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)