Taking a Look at Blue Zones

Most of us strive to live long, happy, and healthy lives but unfortunately Dan Buettner stated that the “life expectancy in our country is only 78.” According to his research we have the capacity to live to about 90 years old, so how did we lose 12 years out of our life? Buettner attempts to answer this question with his presentation; but let us get one thing clear, our genetics only play a small role in this. The Danish Twin Study has already recognized that our genetics only have a 10 percent role in our longevity; the other 90 percent is something in our control, so the thought of someone having to win the “genetic lottery” to live long is somewhat of a myth. The Blue Zones that Buettner mentioned in his seminar shows correlation in the way their diet and lifestyle habits helps them live to 100 with vigor.

Sardinia, Italy is the first Blue Zone that was examined in his seminar and the first thing that we noticed is that there are “10 times more centenarians than we have here in America.” We would like to think that these people are frail but to the contrary, these individuals have more energy and vigor than most people in their age here in America. When we examine their lifestyles, we noticed that they perform “regular, low-intensity physical [activities]” because these individuals are largely shepherds. Their diet is mostly plant-based accentuated with food high in Omega-3 fatty acids as well as polyphenols. Looking beyond their diets and daily regimen, Sardinians treat their elders differently than we do here in America. Sardinians are celebrated for their years and wisdom instead of their youth, they also keep a very close tight-knit family which seems to impart several more years into their life expectancy.

Okinawa, Tokyo...

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...everal things that we can take away in order to extend our life expectancy as well as have a very fulfilling lives. The first would be a plant-based diet high in Omega-3, polyphenols and other beneficial nutrients but doing so with moderation. The second is a regular low-intensity physical activity; most of these Blue Zone communities do not perform “work-outs” in a traditional sense. This means that they take regular walks, perform household duties every day to keep them active. The last thing that we can take away is the community structure, they are very family oriented and they tend to belong to a faith-based community which according to Buettner’s research imparts and additional “four and 14 years of life expectancy.” These communities also have a downshift regimen in which they will take a step back, reflect and meditate and devote a little time to themselves.