In the airport yesterday, I was watching a TV program discussing the Blue Zone lifestyle. The Blue Zones are places like Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, Calif.; and Okinawa, Japan. Although geographically spread out, the people of these communities practice remarkably similar lifestyles that have given them much longer longevity numbers than the world’s average and they have also been found to have less cancer, less cardiovascular disease, less depression and less dementia. The island of Icaria, Greece (also a Blue Zone area) has the highest percentage of 90-year-olds on the planet, where nearly 1 out of 3 people make it to their 90s. Apparently, Icarians have about 20 percent lower rates of cancer, 50 percent lower rates of heart disease and almost no dementia.
On the other hand:
“The average life expectancy in the U.S. has been on the decline for three consecutive years.
A baby born in 2017 is expected to live to be 78.6 years old, which is down from 78.7 the year before, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.” – CNBC 7/9/19
The above article quoted states that the decline in Americans’ life expectancy rate has to do with a rises in suicides, liver disease and drug overdoses. We clearly have something to learn from these Blue Zoners. In a nutshell, taken from a book called The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner, here are the nine common factors believed to create the longevity and daily health of the people in the Blue Zones:
- Know your purpose.
- Eat less.
- Have faith and a spiritual practice.
- Eat mostly plants
- Drink wine in moderation.
- Have a healthy way to decompress from stress. (prayer, meditation, singing, etc.)
- Move naturally throughout the day. (moderate exercise throughout the day versus occasional hardcore workouts)
- Have strong connections to family and close friends.
- Have a social life.
This is clearly oversimplified, but there is so much information and the science behind it, all over the internet, that goes into greater detail. I’ve always been one who leans towards the KISS system. (Keep it simple, stupid.) So I think that it can all be summed up this way:
“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.” – George Burns