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Ever heard of the Blue Zones? They’re communities with the world’s highest life expectancy. Interest in these areas began with researchers who identified Sardinia as the region with the highest concentration of male centenarians worldwide. Seems a little sexist to me, but read on.
Their work was picked up and expanded by Dan Buettner, Blue Zones Founder. He’s a National Geographic Fellow and bestselling author, and he has identified five places in the world where people live the longest. He dubbed these areas the Blue Zones: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California. Go figure.
I remember a radio interview of Buettner years ago. He described the lifestyle of a 106-year-old man who lived on a seaside peninsula in Sardinia. Buettner walked miles on a dirt track to interview him early one morning, finally reaching the modest stone house to find the old man outside chopping wood to cook breakfast. They shared a meal of whole-grain bread with cheese, eggs, vegetables— and red wine, much to Buettner’s surprise. The man cut the interview short when villagers arrived seeking his advice, a daily event. The visitors came bearing home-grown vegetables and wine, but more importantly, their need for advice gave this man purpose.
Eating healthy is a key component to living a long and healthy life. Photo courtesy of Ann Mershon
Buettner and his team of demographers have studied these Blue Zones to learn more about longevity, and they’ve discovered nine specific lifestyle habits they share:
Move naturally: These people get their exercise through lifestyle activities like walking to the store, gardening, etc. No need to work out in a gym.
Purpose: These people all have some purpose in their lives, something that can add up to seven years to your life.
Down Shift: These people deal with stress every day with activities like meditation, napping, praying, or happy hour. Take your pick.
80% Rule: These populations don’t eat more than they need, recognizing the 20% gap between no longer being hungry and feeling full. Most of them eat a small meal in the late afternoon or early evening and don’t eat anything after that.
Plant slant: Beans (fava, black, soy, and lentils) are the cornerstone of their diets, and they eat meat (mostly pork) about once a week.
Wine at 5: People in the blue zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers.
Belong: Nearly all of the 263 centenarians studied belonged to some faith-based community, regardless of denomination. Attending faith-based services weekly can add 4-14 years to your life expectancy.
Loved Ones First: They were devoted to their extended families, keeping aging parents close and spending time with children and grandchildren.
Right Tribe: They either chose or were born into social circles that promoted healthy behaviors. It’s been proven that smoking, obesity, happiness, and loneliness are contagious; consequently, connecting with people who have positive behaviors extends lives.
The Blue Zones web site features a test to estimate your life expectancy and recommend lifestyle changes to increase it (bluezones.com, then go to LESSONS and scroll down for the test). I took their test, which indicated I should live into my 90’s. Twenty more years, then. They also recommended a number of lifestyle changes to increase my life expectancy by 6.4 years, mainly relating to diet: more fruits and vegetables and less meat. No surprise there.
I am doing fine in the two drinks a day category, though, thank you.
Check out the Blue Zones—the Best Blues around.
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