BLUE ZONES: WHERE MEN AND WOMEN ARE HEALTHY, ACTIVE AND ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD

“The Blue Zones”, by Dan Buettner is an interesting read.

This is a book that provides the common lifestyle themes that have created a number of the longevity cultures around the world.

The Blue Zones are a region in the world where you can commonly find healthy and active centenarians.

The five regions that have been discovered, and studied in the book, are:

Sardinia, Italy

Okinawa, Japan

Loma Linda, California

Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

Icaria, Greece

Quest Network says that a centenarian from one of these regions would be found to have these lifestyle characteristics:

A great respect and concern for their community and their family.

This very high percentage of this group does NOT smoke.

The majority, but definitely not all, of the food consumed is derived from plants.

Moderate physical activity is a integral part of life.

Legumes are a major staple in the diet.

Dan Buettner concurs and adds to the list of lifestyle characteristics for these centenarians with these:

Move-Our fondness for not-moving is a new-found phenomena.

Caloric Intake Reduction-Remember, having a culture that an abundant amount of calories, though low quality, is once again a new phenomena. The struggle for these cultures wasn’t the quality of food, it was the quantity of the food.Recommendations: Stop eating when you are eighty percent full and change your dietary intake to more mimic those of the Blue Zones.

No Processed Foods-Once again, western civilization has completely destroyed the quality of a huge number of foods. Eat foods in the most natural state possible, as the centenarians of these cultures did.

Drink Red Wine-Consistent, but moderate. High in anti-oxidants and very little processing.

Have A Purpose-Do you have a reason to wake up in the morning?

Reduce Stress-A reduction in stress will reduce inflammation in the body. Striving for serenity has its benefits.

Have A Faith-This group takes part in less harmful behaviors (vices) and more healthful behaviors (exercise/diet).

Sense Of Family-Before all other, number one concern.

Belong To Same-Like Community-Much more difficult today at the Blue Zone cultures were very isolated.

A quick study on centenarians and the cultures they come from gives us a number of clues on how to improve our longevity.