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Writer's pictureCourtney Lindner

Book of the Month: January


Many are intrigued by the question of where the healthiest and longest living populations can be found. Dan Buettner, journalist/author with National Geographic, wrote The Blue Zones to document his journey with a world-wide team of experts, demographers, statisticians, researchers, and doctors exploring the 5 healthiest regions in the world. The Blue Zones are areas with not only the longest living and healthiest people groups, but with the most centenarians per capita. [At the time of writing, those who lived to 100 years old in the United States was about 1 in 5,000. In comparison, Sardinia boasted 1 centenarian per 2500 people.]


Buetnner's book discusses where these locations are, what makes them unique, and what we can do to incorporate more Blue Zone living into our own lives. Overall this book is an interesting read because there is much to be learned about health and wellness by observing Blue Zone living. While I recommend the book, I would say that the actual writing is not that spectacular.


Where are the 5 Blue Zones and what are their unique lifestyle characteristics?


1. Sardinia, Italy (Barbagia region):

  • Diet--They eat a plant-based diet accented with meat on Sundays and/or special occasions and goat/sheep milk products. The classic diet consists of whole-grain bread, beans (fava beans predominately), vegetables, fruits, pecorino cheese and red wine made from the region (62). Fasting is common for religious celebrations.

  • Lifestyle: Family ties are strong and elders are celebrated, living with children if necessary. At the time of writing almost no old folks homes existed.

  • Exercise/Movement: Most Sardinians of this region walk at least 5 miles a day due to shepherding.


2. Okinawa, Japan:

  • Diet: They rely on a low-calorie, low-fat, plant-based diet consisting of stir-fry vegetables, sweet potatoes, and tofu/soy products. They eat some fish and also pork on special occasions. They manage to consume lower calories by saying a short Confucian-inspired adage before eating, Hara Hachi bu, which means 'eat until you are 80 per cent full'.

  • Lifestyle: Most centenarians grow or used to grow a vegetable and/or medicinal garden. They maintain a moai or social network of friends on which to rely. They embrace an ikigai or purpose for which they live.

  • Exercise: They tend to be active walkers and gardeners. Because they sit on tatami mats, old people also have to get up off the floors often throughout the day which helps them to maintain balance.


3. Loma Linda, California (Seventh Day Adventist Community):

  • Diet: Many Adventists are vegetarians as their religion discourages eating meat. Some are vegans and the ones who are neither eat meat sparingly. They tend to eat nuts, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and soy products with a focus on good health believing that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Adventist attempt to follow the adage 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper'.

  • Exercise: They enjoy nature walks on Sabbath and focus on being active for health purposes as their religion stresses good health.

  • Lifestyle: Faith, community, and a 24 hour sabbath once a week provide stress relief, a social network, and well-being.


4. Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

  • Diet: They rely on a low-calorie, low-fat, plant-based diet enjoying such foods as beans, rice, tortillas, lots of fruit, garden vegetables, eggs, small amount of pork, and little to no processed foods.

  • Lifestyle: Strong work ethic, belief in God, and a strong sense of purpose.

  • Exercise: Regular exercise in the form of walking to neighbors and villages as well as gardening.


5. Ikaria, Greece

  • Diet: They eat a Mediterranean-style diet consisting of lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans (legumes), potatoes, and olive oil. They eat fish about twice a week and meat about 5 times a month according to"The Ikaria Study"(249). They drink herbal teas, enjoy goat's milk, and drink a small amount of wine daily. Fasting is common for religious celebrations.

  • Lifestyle: They nap regularly and make family and friends a priority.

  • Exercise: They achieve exercise mindlessly through gardening, biking, and walking to neighbors.

Nine Lessons From the Blue Zones

After the chapters detailing the 5 Blue Zones, Buettner ends with a chapter providing 9 lessons from the Blue Zones that we can apply to our lives. A quick summary is as follows:

  1. Be active throughout the day without having to think about it (move naturally). Do this by making your lifestyle active, taking the stairs or parking further from work, walk to the store, take a walking break instead of donut break, biking, planting a garden, make walking dates, etc. Basically, walk/move more throughout the day.

  2. Eat less calories following the 80% rule of the Okinawans. Do this by using smaller plates, weighing yourself more often, not eating mindlessly, choosing less calorie dense foods, eating slowly, and eating earlier in the evenings.

  3. Limit meat and processed foods. As you can see from the graphs, all 5 blue zones are mostly plant-based. Incorporate more plants into your diet by eating 4-6 vegetable servings a day, putting fruits and veggies front and center in your fridge or on your table, and eat more beans and nuts.

  4. Drink red wine in moderation.

  5. Find your purpose. Do so by crafting a mission statement and identifying what is your clear goal in life--even if it's as simple as watching your grandchildren grow up.

  6. Take time to relieve stress. Some suggestions for this are meditating, being early to appointments, and lowering noise in your life.

  7. Participate in a spiritual community. Centenarians practice a faith and studies confirm that those who attend religious services reduce their risk of death by a third (288).

  8. Make family a priority by getting closer (physically), establishing rituals or traditions, and putting family first.

  9. Surround yourself with those who share Blue Zone values.


To learn more current information visit https://www.bluezones.com.




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