Want 10 Extra Years? It’s Easier Than You Think In The Blue Zones!
It could come down to staying active, eating more veggies, nuts (healthy fat) and beans (fiber) — the basic fare of the long-lived in the Blue Zones.
(Sometimes the owners of these commercial videos pull them from YouTube, so if it’s not here, that’s what happened.)
IF YOU want to improve the health of Americans, why not look around the world for places where people live the longest, healthiest lives and then try to copy whatever it is they’re doing?
That’s exactly what Dan Buettner, the author of The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest has done — he’s traveled the world to find out why the longest-lived among us live so long.
They geographical areas of the longest-lived people were named “Blue Zones” because when they were found, Buettner and his colleagues drew blue circles around them on a map.
The Blue Zones are:
- Sardinia,
- Okinawa,
- Costa Rica (the Nicoya Peninsula),
- Ikaria (a Greek island), and
- Loma Linda, California.
What these blue zone residents have in common include exercising regularly, eating more vegetables/less meat, engaging in social networking, and having a sense of purpose.
As Healthline explains, the Blue Zoner diets are typically 95% plant-based, eating meat around five times per month. (1, 2)
That statistic is noteworthy due to a number of studies indicating that avoiding meat can significantly cut the risk of death from heart disease, cancer and a number of other different causes. (3, 4)
Specifically, diets in the Blue Zones are abundant in:
- Vegetables — A great source of fiber with different vitamins and minerals, consuming more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day can significantly cut your risk of heart disease, cancer and death. (5)
- Legumes — Beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas are all rich in fiber and protein. A number of studies have shown that eating legumes correlates with lower mortality. (6, 7, 8)
- Whole grains — Rich in fiber, a high intake of whole grains can reduce blood pressure and is associated with reduced colorectal cancer and death from heart disease. (9, 10, 11)
- Nuts — Another great sources of fiber, nuts contain protein and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which combined with a healthy diet, are associated with reduced mortality, and may help reverse metabolic syndrome. (12, 13)
Adding colorful veggies, beans and nuts to your diet is a surprisingly big step forward, but as Mr. Buetter explains in the above video, ultimately you need to look at your life and environment and make some changes.
The good news is that many of these changes are quite simple and life altering. Gradually include them in your life and live the benefits.
Last Updated on September 5, 2020 by Joe Garma
