Centenarians' Inner Secrets Are Slowly Revealed
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/24/health/24CONV.html?pagewanted=all

Some snippets relevant to here:

Q. Did you consider doing your study in the Central Asian Georgia, the
reputed homeland of the yogurt-eating-apricot-munching long-lived?

A. No. We think that claim may be inaccurate. There may be a history of
people there exaggerating their longevity because Stalin, who was Georgian,
wanted it known that Georgians were long-lived. Under Communism, people
were exaggerating their age, bringing in their grandparents' identity cards
when dealing with officials.

[This one comes up periodically in paleo discussions. And like the long
lived Hunzas it is bunk.]

The most important thing we've found is that most centenarians have a lot
more than average H.D.L. proteins, the good cholesterol, in their blood.
Also, they had a lot more of them when they were younger, because their
children have a lot more than their peers do. Also, size matters with the
protein molecules. Eighty percent of the children of the centenarians had
larger than average high density lipoproteins.

[I know my HDL count, but how does one know the size of one's HDL molecules?]

When asked specifically, none has exercised. None was a vegetarian. Not a
single one ate yogurt throughout his life.

[And I bet none were on a low fat diet.]

Don.