What We Can Learn From the Blue Zones
The Blue Zones are considered longevity hotspots, regions in the world with a higher-than-average number of people living vibrantly and healthfully into their 100s. These regions include Okinawa, Sardinia, Nicoya, Icaria, and Loma Linda. Dan Buettner collaborated with National Geographic to learn more about these Blue Zones and provided insight into their daily lifestyles and habits, contributing to their incredible longevity. The research is fascinating, and we highly recommend looking through some of the resources on the Blue Zones website.
While they explored more than diet, their research around traditional foods and eating practices provides insightful ideas. Researchers provided a few simple practices that we can apply to our lives:
Fuel your body with plants
Eat until you are 80% full
Choose legumes daily
Blue Zone communities nourish their bodies with whole foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts/seeds, and legumes. Some include small amounts of fish (such as sardines or anchovies) or dairy products from goat or sheep’s milk. If they eat meat, it is typically incorporated as celebratory food or for flavoring in a meal. Olive oil is the most commonly used oil in the Blue Zones.
As mentioned, many of these diets focus on whole, unprocessed foods. Because the components of food work synergistically within our bodies, there are benefits to incorporating foods as close to nature as possible. For example, fiber allows food to slow down in the digestive tract to allow for better absorption of vitamins and minerals. Some vitamins and minerals are absorbed better when other vitamins and minerals are present in the food. As foods become more heavily processed, they often lose their nutrient value. One example is wheat flour - when wheat berries are processed into white flour, the bran and germ of the kernel are lost, and with that goes much of the vitamins, fiber, and protein.
Because their diets take a “plant slant,” they get much of their protein from plant sources. Beans are a staple in Blue Zones cultures and are great to include daily. Here is inspiration from the Blue Zones for foods high in protein. Our last blog post also discusses some powerful plant-based protein sources.
We can learn a lot from looking at these unique communities, from the plant-slanting diets to their tight-knit social connections and natural movement throughout the day. As we incorporate some of these habits and eating patterns into our lifestyles, we hope to add more years to our lives and more life to our years.
