Can We Learn About Living A Healthy Lifestyle From the Amish?

I think we can learn a lot from the Amish in regards to healthy eating and healthy living. Their lifestyle most closely resembles that of a lot of our grandparents in the early part of the 20th century.

The largest Amish population resides in Ohio. A recent study conducted by researchers from Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute revealed startling cancer results.

Tobacco-related cancers are 63 percent lower in Ohio among the Amish. Typically they don't smoke or use tobacco-related products. They also refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages.

Cancer rates among the Amish in Ohio are 60 percent of the state's rate, and 56 percent of the national rate. Although the Amish are as obese as the U.S. population, they have one-half the prevalence of type 2 diabetes.

The Amish are physicaly active every day. A study of an Amish community in Ontario, Canada clocked their activity level. This was done by using accelerometers to keep track of their steps. The men averaged 18,0000 steps a day while the women averaged 14,000. The average American gets only a few thousand.

The reason that the Amish don't suffer as much from obesity-related diseases is due to their extreme fitness. Their primary occupations are labor intensive--farming, construction, and factory work.

Since they shun our modern labor-saving devices, all of their work, including housework is done manually. Both men and women burn a lot of calories.

The prevalence of osteopoosis is low among the Amish. They have high HDL (good) cholesterol levels and their triglycerides are very low. This is despite their high protein and high fat diet.

The Amish grow and raise most of their food. They eat fresh grown fruits and vegetables when in season, and home-canned when out of season. Their meat and poultry is slaughtered right on the farm.

Fruit and vegetables are grown using time honored organic methods. The Amish don't use health-destroying pesticides and herbicides. Fruit and vegetables are also GMO-free.

Amish meat and poulty are free of cruel factory-farming techniques. The animals are free-grazing and grass-fed. This makes for healthier meat low in saturated fat and high in healthy CLA (conjugated linoleic acid.) This meat is also free of excessive omega-6 fatty acids which comes about from grain-fed animals.

We don't need to turn our backs on technology and labor-saving devices and adopt the lifestyle of the Amish. And I am not suggesting we do. But we do need to adopt their active lives through a regular program of exercise. This is the only way to compensate for our ridiculously sedentary lifestyles.

We can be Amish in an active, calorie-burning lifestyle without adopting their mindset.