Tips For a Longer Life: Lessons From the Blue Zones

Longevity. We all want it. But is there really a way we can extend our lives? According to author Dan Buettner, there is. Teaming up with the National Geographic Society, Buettner set a goal to locate places around the world with the longest living people, and try to identify the people’s secrets for living so long. He termed such places as “Blue Zones”.[1]

Luckily, Buettner succeeded, and we have the answers. According to his findings,[2] the following are the five locations that he identified as Blue Zones:

Icaria
A Greek island located in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece. The people here eat a diet focusing on fruit, vegetables, and grains. They also tend to take afternoon naps, which are known to reduce chances of heart disease.

Sardinia
An island right off the coast of Italy, where the world’s longest living men reside. These men are shepherds who walk several miles a day. Their diet consists of mostly plants, as well as a moderate amount of wine which has a high level of flavonoids that help cleanse the arteries.

Okinawa
A group of islands in southern Japan, where the world’s longest living women reside. Okinawans value forming tightly knit groups who support each other throughout life. They also practice a value of not overeating.

Nicoya
A peninsula on the Pacific coast of Puerto Rico, where people are two times more likely to reach the age of 90 compared to those living In the United States. A key trait within their culture is a sense of purpose, which helps foster a positive mentality.

Loma Linda
A community in California, made up mostly of Seventh Day Adventists. This group follows a religious value of eating a plant-based diet, as well as upholding a day of rest. They live ten years longer than the average American.

While each of these places may have their own individual secrets to longevity, Buettner found that there are at least nine common lifestyle traits between the five Blue Zones. These traits, called “The Power 9”, can be summed up into nine basic pieces of advice:[3]

1. Make your physical activity more natural.
In the Blue Zones, people don’t always rely on gyms to be fit. Day-to-day long walks, as well as other exercises needed to get through life, are the norm.

2. Seek a purpose-driven life.
In the Nicoya Blue Zone, this is referred to as “plan de vida”. To live longer, you need to be happier, and to be happier you need to have a sense of purpose.

3. Keep your stress in check.
Everyone experiences stress, even those within the Blue Zones. However, the Blue Zone folk make sure to manage it well. Finding your own management techniques will benefit your health.

4. Avoid fullness.
Never overeat— in fact, only eat up to 80% of your stomach’s capacity. This is known as “hara hachi bu” in the Okinawan Blue Zone. It’s a value that can help decrease obesity.

5. Make plants the focus of your meals.
While the Blue Zone inhabitants aren’t all vegetarians, their cuisines put a focus on plant-based dishes. Meat is either served as a small side or on special occasions.

6. Regularly— but moderately— drink wine.
Most Blue Zone folk consume a moderate amount of wine daily, especially those within Icaria and Sardinia. This helps ease the chances of having heart problems.

7. Settle in a faith-based community.
Most of those within the Blue Zones are spiritual, which has been found to be linked to a lower risk of early death. It’s speculated, however, that this may have to do with social support rather than spirituality itself. Thus, as long as one joins a community with strong bonds, it may not have to be one of a particular faith.

8. Keep family close.
Families are highly valued in the Blue Zones. In fact, grandparents usually live with their families and take care of their grandchildren, as their children take care of them. Due to this, the grandparent’s risk of death has been found to have been reduced when they help raise their grandchildren.

9. Build a positive social life.
Within the Blue Zones, social circles are very supportive. Having such has been associated with good health.

The Power 9 aren’t the only known practices from the Blue Zones that may aid longevity. Inspired by Buettner’s work, researchers have been looking deeper into the factors that bring humans long life. The following are a few traits concluded through research, which add onto the Power 9 list:

Resilience
A part of having a long life is having a healthy psyche. Researchers might agree. In a study published in the Behavioral Sciences journal,[4] researchers recruited 160 elders from the Sardinian Blue Zone to take assessments that measured several aspects of their psychological wellbeing. It was found that they had good mental health due to a resilient personality. This is because resilience leads to faster recovery from stress.

Low consumption of processed food
Researchers, curious of the longevity of those in the Nicoyan Blue Zone, looked into many of the traits of their lifestyle to find answers. One intriguing factor found was a diet of food consisting of high fiber content and a lower glycemic index. For the researchers, this showed a lower consumption of processed food among the Nicoyan people, in comparison to the rest of the world.[5]

Genes
It may not be something that one can control, but it is worth noting. According to one paper,[6] it was found that those of the Blue Zone in Okinawa possessed the alleles of the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQ genes. These are known to play a role in human longevity.

Sources:

[1.] National Geographic. (2017, April 6). 5 “Blue Zones” Where the World’s Healthiest People Live. National Geographic. Retrieved from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/books/features/5-blue-zones-where-the-worlds-healthiest-people-live/

[2.] Buettner, D. and Skemp, S. (2016). Blue Zones: Lessons from the World’s Longest Lived. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 10(5), 318-321.

[3.] Greenawalt, K. (2020, February 21). Longevity Tips from the Blue Zones. PennState Extension. Retrieved from: https://extension.psu.edu/longevity-tips-from-the-blue-zones

[4.] Fastame, M.C., Hitchcott, P.K., Mulas, I., Ruiu, M., Penna, M.P. (2018). Resilience in Elders of the Sardinian Blue Zone: An Explorative Study. Behav. Sci., 8(3).

[5.] Rosero-Bixby, L., Dow, W. H., & Rehkopf, D. H. (2013). The Nicoya region of Costa Rica: a high longevity island for elderly males. Vienna yearbook of population research, 11, 109–136.

[6.] Mishra B. N. (2009). Secret of eternal youth; teaching from the centenarian hot spots ("blue zones"). Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine, 34(4), 273–275.