Blue Zones & The Secrets Of Healthy Aging

There is a huge difference between our lifespan (how long you live) and our healthspan (how long you live healthy) in our modern society. I began researching longevity in hopes of bringing those two indices as close as possible– in other words, to live healthily as long as possible. I came across the work of journalist and explorer Dan Buettner.  

In 1999, Buettner led a series of expeditions with National Geographic with the objective to discover the world’s longest living populations and what they had in common. 

The 5 areas the team found with the longest-living populations are Sardinia, (Italy) Okinawa,( Japan), Nicoya, (Costa Rica), Ikaria, (Greece), and Loma Linda, (California) They named these Blue Zones. There are a lot of centenarians in those areas. 

They uncovered nine things that the populations of Blue Zones have in common. These nine powers are things we can all implement in our lives: 

1. Natural Movement.  Individuals in the Blue Zones  engage in every day physical activities such as gardening, walking, climbing hills and mountains. They do  house work and yard work. 
2. Sense of purpose. In Okinawa, they call it “Ikigai”. In Costa Rica, it’s Plan de Vida. It’s asking yourself, “ What  is my higher purpose today?”  They say that knowing your purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy. 
3. Stress management. The people in these zones are masters of managing stress. They nap, pray, meditate, spend time with friends and go for “happy hour.” 
4. They apply the 80% rule of how they eat :  They  practice mindfully eating habits and they eat until they feel 80% full, not 100. 
5. They eat mostly a Plant-Centric diet . Animal products are consumed in small  amounts and not very often. They eat lots of veggies and spices of all colors. Think mediterranean diet. 
6. Social Network : These centenarians choose to participate in social activities and remain very connected to their societies. As a result, they maintain their independence  and experience less cognitive decline. 
7. Spirituality:  Most of them belong to some kind of faith based community. 
8. Family First: Many of these communities are multi generational, where  there are at least 3 to 4 generation in the same household, helping each other. 
9. Moderate wine consumption. All except the Adventists drink wine in moderation, no more than 1 to 2 glasses with a meal per day.

Are you ready to implement the Nine Powers? There is a lot out there on social media about health and longevity. Most of my patients are overwhelmed with information and not sure where to start. As a longevity doctor, not a social media influencer, I use evidence-based scientific practices to help my patients make the lifestyle changes they need to thrive. As I call it, to discover their “Road Map” to health, always taking in consideration their individual needs. We are all unique individuals with individual needs.  I am here to help.