Seulo, the village of the centenarians

Seulo, the village of the centenarians

The oldest residents of the Sardinian village to appear on Netflix’s new series “Down to Erth with Zac Efron”

In the heart of Sardinia, there is an area that is a stronghold of longevity. In the province of Ogliastra, the village of Seulo, between 1996 and 2016, had an impressive 20 centenarians. Indeed, it is the municipality with the oldest residents in the world. Reaching the 100-year milestone here is so frequent that scholars began to notice. So much that, in 2005, National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner listed Seulo in what he called the “Blue Zones”, regions where people live much longer than average. The term first appeared in his National Geographic magazine cover story, “The Secrets of a Long Life”. That is when Seulo became internationally famous. The other four “Blue Zones” are Okinawa (Japan); Nicoya (Costa Rica); Icaria (Greece); and Loma Linda (U.S.A.).

In the province of Ogliastra, the village of Seulo, between 1996 and 2016, had an impressive 20 centenarians

Experts speculate that at the root of the Sardinian village’s exceptional longevity there is a combination of factors. The mountain air of the island, the climate, social structure, lifestyle, the Mediterranean diet, and partly also isolation seem to be playing a fundamental role. Of considerable importance is the research that could soon be carried out. The Municipality approved the ‘Epigenos@Seulo‘ project in collaboration with the Universities of Sassari and Cagliari, the Porto Conte Research Centre, and the Foundation of Sardinia. The objective is to “identify, on the one hand, the causal relationships between the state of health of individuals and entire populations. And also the possible conditioning due to the environmental ecosystem, including lifestyle”. A scientific study defined as “of high medical-health interest” which is based on the analysis of the microbiota.

During the fourth of the 8 up-coming episodes of the mini-series on healthy, sustainable ways to live, Efron visits Seulo with wellness expert Darin Olien

Even Netflix is interested in Seulo. It will spotlight this magic corner of the beautiful island in the documentary series “Down to Earth with Zac Efron”. During the fourth of the 8 up-coming episodes of the mini-series on healthy, sustainable ways to live, Efron visits Seulo with wellness expert Darin Olien. “On an island that boasts a notable number of centenarians, Zac rethinks his view on nutrition as he ponders how the locals live such long, healthy lives”. This is Netflix’s introduction to the episode.

Ilona Catani Scarlett