Pure food and lots of exercise
There are places in the world where no one is surprised when you celebrate your 100th birthday. Or where it is quite normal that at the age of 82 you still work in your company or own vegetable garden. They are the Blue Zones, areas with the highest life expectancy in the world.
The term ‘Blue Zones’ came about by chance. During a conference, a group of scientists showed a world map with the life expectancy per area colored in. The areas with the highest life expectancy happened to be colored blue on that map. Since then, the Blue Zones have attracted a lot of attention. Not only in science, but also among the general public.
An American journalist, Dan Buettner, has legalized the term “Blue Zones” as his property and has written several books about it.
remote
Examples of Blue Zones are Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), Nicoya (Costa Rica) and Ikaria (Greece). Most striking is that these are all rather remote areas, far from civilization, where the inhabitants lead a fairly isolated existence. These are small communities that live closely together and that live from agriculture, fishing and livestock.
The residents of the Blue Zones are not urban dwellers, do not live in densely populated areas and do not work in industry. They lead a quiet life, surrounded by nature. The Italian town of Pioppi could also be classified as a Blue Zone.
No superfood
If you think the people of the Blue Zones have a secret, we have to disappoint you. There is no miracle herb, there is nothing in the drinking water and they also have no superfoods. It’s all about a healthy active lifestyle, without stress, and with healthy food. The food differs from Blue Zone to Blue Zone. Of course it makes a lot of difference whether you are in Costa Rica, Italy or Japan. But the common feature of all Blue Zones in the world is that they eat pure and no processed products from the factory.
The diet in each Blue Zone is largely plant-based. Lots of fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, herbs and tubers. Supplemented with fish, some meat or dairy, you have broadly described the Blue Zone diet. Very basic actually, but oh so healthy. And good!
Active and social
The people in the Blue Zones move a lot. But they don’t exercise and they don’t lift weights: they exercise functionally. Gardening, for example, or walking, or doing odd jobs or dancing. They spend a lot of time outside and thus benefit from the beneficial effects of nature and from vitamin D from sunlight.
The residents of the Blue Zones also have no pension. They continue to work into old age: if not in a job, then in a vegetable garden, as a volunteer or babysitting grandchildren. Staying socially active ensures that your brain and body age less quickly. They are also very social and strongly involved in society. They have daily contact with family, friends or people in their faith communities. That connection and those social contacts ensure that people feel good about themselves. Friendships and feeling useful is important for good health and reduces stress.
there is time
Stressed? You don’t find that so easily in the Blue Zones. The inhabitants do not lead busy lives, they are not lived by their agenda or the mobile phone and there are no targets or deadlines to meet. There is time. Time to take a nap, have a chat with the neighbor, to meditate, to grow your own vegetables or to go to bed early. Good night’s sleep, for at least eight hours, is the most natural thing in the world. Stress is a very important risk factor in the Western world for, for example, cardiovascular disease. Imagine if you didn’t have stress and time pressure in your life, how much calmer would it be?
An example: Okinawa
Japan has long been known as a country where you can grow old healthy. But on the Japanese island of Okinawa, the average resident lives to be no less than 86 years old. And that’s not because of the sushi, because on Okinawa they eat a lot of vegetables, especially sweet potatoes. Many people of Okinawa have their own vegetable garden and sometimes eat a kilo of vegetables a day.
Vegetables contain few calories, but a lot of vitamins, minerals and fiber. That is why the food on Okinawa is very complete. Speaking of calories, the people of Okinawa will never eat their fill. Their saying goes: hara hachi bu, which means: ‘Eat until you are 80 percent full’. It has long been known in science that calorie restriction contributes to a longer life.
All secrets
The Blue Zones do not have one secret, it is a combination of factors that make the inhabitants so healthy. Be active, have a good social network, little stress, exercise a lot, spend a lot of time outside, sleep well, eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and few processed products. Each and every one of them is worth applying in your own life.
