The Blue Zones Centenarians’ Secrets to Healthy Aging

What Are the Blue Zones?

National Geographic author Dan Buettner discovered five places in the world where people consistently live to be 100 years old or greater. These regions are called the Blue Zones and include Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California.

Researchers found nine common habits among the centenarians of the Blue Zones. The Power 9 are evidence-based practices that seemingly slow down aging and ward off chronic illness.

1. Move naturally: People in these regions don’t necessarily participate in vigorous physical activity but rather live in environments conducive to regular movement. This includes walking, gardening and yard work.

2. Understand your purpose: Understanding your purpose in life (i.e., why you wake up in the morning) has been found to add an additional seven years to one’s life.

3. Downshift: Stress in life is inevitable and it leads to health problems like inflammation which feeds chronic illness. Individuals in the Blue Zones regularly participate in activities to alleviate stress, such as praying, meditating and going to happy hour.

4. 80% Rule: Blue Zones people only eat until they are 80% full. They also consume larger meals at the start of their day, eat a small dinner and don’t eat again until morning.

5. Plants over meat: Beans are core to the Blue Zones diet. While they still enjoy meat, they limit meat consumption to 3-4 oz portions a few times a month.

6. Alcohol in context: Blue Zones individuals regularly drink moderate amounts of alcohol. They often consume one to two glasses daily, but the key is in the context: they drink with plant-based meals and in the company of loved ones.

7. Religion: Approximately 98% of the centenarians interviewed were part of a faith-based community. Attending a faith-based service four times a month was found to add up to 14 years to life expectancy.

8. Loved ones first: Family, including extended family, is a top priority in the Blue Zones. Members of these communities keep aging family members nearby, which gives elders more purpose and a sense of belonging.

9. Healthy friendships: The world’s oldest living people choose their friends wisely. They are often committed to a small group of people that have favorably influenced their health behaviors.

Start With These 3 Tips

If the Power 9 seems too much to implement right away, you can focus on three key ideas to start.

1. Adopt a plant-based diet

Researchers developed food guidelines based on over 150 dietary surveys of Blue Zone residents whose diets are about 95% plant-based.

Focus on:

• Leafy greens: Leafy greens including kale, chard, beet and turnip tops and spinach increase longevity and are particularly helpful to menopausal women. A recent study found these vegetables reduced both physical and psychological symptoms of menopause.
• Beans: Beans are at the core of Blue Zones meals. The women of Okinawa are some of the longest-lived in the world, and they eat at least two servings of soy daily, most commonly in the form of tofu. Soy contains isoflavones compounds similar in structure to human estrogen and can act as a natural hormone replacement. Soy isoflavones can also reduce hot flashes and improve bone health.

2. Stay active without going to the gym

Members of the Blue Zones stay active without dramatically changing their lifestyles. You don’t have to join a gym or sign up for a group fitness class to stay physically active and reap the benefits of weight maintenance, enhanced mood and lowered risk of several diseases.

You can expend more energy throughout the day by simply doing more of the daily activities you currently engage in such as walking, housework, fidgeting or standing. These are also referred to as Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) movements.

NEAT movements can burn up to 2000 calories per day while offsetting disease and promoting longevity. Blue Zones individuals have a high NEAT score.

Try to walk when you can, take the stairs instead of the elevator, park farther away from entrances and stretch while watching TV.

3. Foster healthy relationships

Healthy relationships are a cornerstone of the Blue Zones. Family and friends often gather to share a meal or simply talk.

In Okinawa, children are put into life-long social groups of five called moai. Even at age 100, if one friend doesn’t show, the others would walk across the village to check on their friend.

Menopausal women who participated in social groups were found to have higher levels of physical activity and lower levels of depressive symptoms.

You can incorporate these fun and simple practices into your life that can help to ease symptoms, promote longevity and bring more love and happiness to your golden years.