Enjoy A Longer Life By Consuming A Blue Zones Diet

• The ability to live longer often depends on one's lifestyle
• A health expert recommends "The Blue Zones" diet in order to live longer
• He outlined the different foods that comprise this longevity diet

Living a long and healthy life has always been among the aspirations of many people, including author Dan Buettner. The difference with most people, however, is that Buettner has discovered that a “blue zones” diet could improve longevity better than other methods.

According to the author, like most people, he also wanted to live a healthy and long life. This is the reason why, for the past decade and a half, he has been exploring places around the globe looking for people who were able to achieve this goal. He dubbed these places as blue zones, hence the somewhat curious name for the diet.

The Blue Zones

The bestselling author said that he was able to break bread with people living in the mountain villages of Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy. These villages play host to one of the biggest concentrations of male centenarians on the planet.

He also narrated his experience on the Japanese islands of Okinawa. Here, he was able to have tea with some of those who rank as among the longest living women in the world.

Buettner was also able to set foot on the island of Ikaria, an island on the Aegean Sea, and is part of Greece. The author said this is a place where inhabitants simply forget to die. He was able to tuck into a bowl of minestrone with locals who, aside from enjoying long and healthy lives, remained quick-witted and sharp-minded to the very end. Ikaria enjoys the distinction of being a place with the lowest rates of dementia.

On the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Buettner said he started his day with beans, pico de gallo, and tortillas. The country people he had breakfast with are among those who are likely to reach the age of 90 compared to anyone else on Earth.

He also dined with Seventh-day Adventist community members in Loma Linda, California, whose vegetarian diet allowed them to live at least a decade longer compared to other Americans.

Buettner’s Observations

The bestselling author said that after sitting down with some of the world’s oldest and healthiest individuals, he found that many of them consumed whole, plant-based diets. These consist of nuts, tubers, whole grains, leafy vegetables, and whole grains. He also observed their meat consumption is limited and that they eat it no more than five times in a month.

Dr. Sarah Brewer, a medical consultant, and Juliette Kellow, a dietician, are not surprised by Buettner’s observations. They say the so-called blue zones diet feature life-boosting properties. For instance, in Sardinia and Ikaria, traditional diets include lots of fish with good fats, fresh vegetables, and fruits, pulses, as well as wholegrain.

In the case of Okinawa, their consumption of dairy products, butter, meat, and processed foods are very low. They prefer to eat leafy green root vegetables, seaweed, fermented foods, rice and noodles, mushrooms, soy products, beansprouts, and green tea.

For Seventh-day Adventists living in La Loma Linda, their plant-based diet allowed them to live healthier and longer lives than most Americans. They also eat lots of pulses, nine servings of vegetables and fruits daily, nuts and seeds, plant-based milk, low-fat dairy, small amounts of eggs, whole grains, and some fish.

Their consumption of red meat and poultry, alcohol and drinks with caffeine, as well as fatty, sugary, and processed foods are very much limited, if not totally absent.