If you are reading my blog or interested in quality longevity, you have probably heard of Dan Buettner’s book Blue Zones. The author examines the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the “blue zones” – five regions in Europe, Latin America and Asia (more precisely: Ikaria, Greece, Okinawa, Japan; Ogliastra, Sardinia, Italy; Loma Linda, California, USA; Nicoya, Costa Rica ), where researchers found the highest concentration of centenarians in the world. And these centenarians are distinguished not only by a special diet. They move a lot. They take the time to relieve stress. They belong to communities, often religious, that encourage them to maintain a healthy lifestyle. And they live in large families.
But that is what deserves special attention. that and how much they eat. That’s why Dan Buettner, researcher National Geographic, wrote the next book “Blue Zones in Practice” (The Blue Zones Solution).
Here are some general rules for all zones:
- Stop eating when your stomach is 80% full.
- For late lunch and dinner, eat the smallest portion of your daily diet.
- Eat mostly plant-based foods, with an emphasis on legumes. Eat meat rarely and in small portions. Residents of the “blue zones” eat meat no more than five times a month.
- Drink alcohol in moderation and regularly.
I will also tell you about some of the features of the diet of each of the “blue zones”.
Ikaria, Greece
The Mediterranean diet helps support brain function and prevent chronic disease. “What distinguishes this area from other places in the region is the emphasis on potatoes, goat milk, honey, legumes (especially chickpeas, asparagus beans and lentils), wild greens, some fruits and relatively few fish.”
Ikaria has its own superfoods for longevity: feta cheese, lemons, sage and marjoram (residents add these herbs to their daily tea). Sometimes in Ikaria, some goat meat is eaten.
Okinawa, Japan
Okinawa is one of the leaders in the number of centenarians in the world: about 6,5 people per 10 thousand inhabitants (compare with the United States: 1,73 per 10 thousand). The dietary story is more complex here than in some of the other blue zones. As Buettner writes, many local food traditions have been lost under Western influence. In the second half of the XNUMXth century, the inhabitants of the island began to eat less seaweed, turmeric and sweet potatoes, more rice, milk and meat.
Nevertheless, the Okinawans have kept the tradition of eating something “from the land” and “from the sea” every day. Their longevity foods include bitter melons, tofu, garlic, brown rice, green tea, and shiitake mushrooms.
Sardinia, Italy
On this island, the ratio of men aged one hundred to women of the same age is one to one. This is rather unusual: in the rest of the world, there is only one man for every five centenarian women.
The diet of local long-livers includes goat’s milk and sheep’s pecorino cheese, a moderate amount of carbohydrates (lavash, sourdough bread, barley), a lot of dill, legumes, chickpeas, tomatoes, almonds, milk thistle tea and grape wine. According to Buettner, the Sardinians themselves attribute their longevity to “clean air”, “local wine” and the fact that they “make love every Sunday.” But the researchers discovered another interesting circumstance: the very sheep from whose milk pecorino is made are grazed in mountainous areas, so centenarians have to constantly climb the mountains and descend to the plain again.
Loma Linda, USA
The American Blue Zone is home to Seventh-day Adventists who avoid tobacco, alcohol, dance, movies, and the media. Adventists in this area have the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the United States and very low rates of obesity. Their “biblical diet” is based on plant foods (cereals such as oatmeal and whole wheat bread, fruits such as avocados, beans, nuts and vegetables, soy milk). Salmon is also included in the diet. Some people eat small amounts of meat. Sugar is banned. A centenarian of Loma Linda told Büttner: “I am totally against sugar, except for natural sources such as fruits, dates or figs, I never eat refined sugar or drink carbonated drinks.”
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
One of the dishes prepared by 99-year-old Nikoi (now 107 years old) to Büttner was rice and beans, with cheese and coriander on corn tortillas topped with an egg on top. Local long-livers add an egg to almost every dish.
As Buettner writes, “The secret of the Nikoi diet is the ‘three sisters’ of Mesoamerican agriculture: beans, corn and squash.” These three staples, plus papaya, yams and bananas, have fed the region’s long-livers for a century.
Try to adapt Blue Zone nutritional guidelines to your diet! And to help you, as always, I recommend my application with simple recipes from herbal ingredients.
The book in paper and electronic format can be purchased at this link.