Blue Zones: Simple secrets to living a longer, healthier life

There are only five Blue Zones in the whole world, these are: Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Loma Linda, California; and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica but, why are they so special?

These 'Blue Zone' areas have a high concentration of Centenarians or individuals who live up to 100 and over in perfect health. To be clear, these people live up to 100 years free of diseases such as heart disease, obesity, cancer, diabetes or dementia.

Scientists have been studying this phenomenon for decades, and it appears that a combination of a Mediterranean diet, which is rich in vegetables with healthy fats and small amounts of dairy and meat, is the key to longevity in the Blue Zones. Add a bit of community and social life, and we have a winning formula. 

This is what I remember

I was born in Sardinia, so the Mediterranean or Blue Zone diet is second nature, and I do it without thinking. Sardinia boasts the world’s highest concentration of centenarian men. Its population consumes a low-protein diet associated with lower rates of diabetes, cancer, and death for people under age 65.

As I write this article, I am thinking back to how my family and I lived, and there seem to be some key factors:

• We ate organic seasonal food, no pesticides – we grew our fruit and vegetables and bred some animals.
• We were active, we moved without thinking about it - we worked together in our garden, we played with other children - I smile as I remember all the social games we used to play.
• We seemed to have a purpose for waking up in the morning - knowing your purpose can add seven years to your life, according to the conversations I used to hear.
• I remember people singing while they worked - my father used to play a mouth organ. Singing and playing an instrument were ways to de-stress.
• We used to eat together, but never to the point that we were too full to move after; we had a bit of everything.
• There was always red wine on our table - Sardinians drink Cannonau wine, which has three times the level of artery-scrubbing flavonoids as other wines. In Sardinia, moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers.
• Another memory is that we lived close to our grandparents, uncles and cousins. It was unheard of to put our older relative in a home; we were close, family came first. The children were always looked after by someone trusted. Having a social life is an important aspect of longevity.

5 tips for living the Blue Zone life

1. Eat organic seasonal produce. No pesticides.

2. Drink good quality water to avoid ingesting inorganic substances like hard water, sodium fluoride, iron, lead, mercury, barium, nitrates, copper, chlorine and arsenic - purchase a water distiller.

3. Stay active, walking can lengthen your life by four years! Exercise reduces the risk of diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. It keeps your body at a healthy weight, helping you age well.

4. Learn something new, read to exercise your brain to prevent dementia and all other mental illnesses.

5. Replace bad fats with good fats: organic oil, avocados, eat a cup of nuts and beans - best supplement ever. Eat as many raw vegetables as you can: artichokes, celery, tomatoes, turnips, celeriac, radishes, carrots. Steam spinach, kale and other dark green vegetables. This combination is good for a healthy heart and more.

Working with a professional will help you make the necessary changes to achieve optimum health and fitness.

It is a very well known fact that an athlete will not become successful until he/she gets the diet and exercise absolutely spot on, now we can achieve this by combining nutrition and science, it really is easier than you think.

Good old-fashioned common sense

There is no secret, really. Living in a Blue Zone means living in harmony with nature, for example when fishing in a Blue Zone, it's ethical to select fish that are plentiful and inexpensive, such as sardines, anchovies, and cod. When picking mushrooms in the forest, we would pick what we needed and leave the rest to the animals. Sardinians consume goat and sheep's produce because, although it contains lactose, it also contains lactase, an enzyme that helps the body digest lactose.

People in Blue Zones eat eggs on average two to four times a week, but Blue Zone eggs come from chickens that range freely, eat a wide variety of natural foods, and don’t receive hormones or antibiotics. Slowly matured eggs are naturally higher in omega-3 fatty acids.

Most Sardinians were shepherds and would have had their breakfast when stopping to rest under a tree. They would and still eat cheese with Pane Carasau, a flatbread that was made for shepherds, as it would remain good to eat for a long length of time when they needed to stay out with their sheep. With this, they would have fresh milk and later coffee.

Different regions and families would have had a different type of breakfast, but usually based on milk, cheese, and bread. In my house, we used to have milk and bread for breakfast.

I hope you enjoy reading this article as much as I have enjoyed writing it for you, I hope I have inspired you to make a change. 

To your health.