This month, I want to write about what Dan Buettner and National Geographic learned when they studied the world’s healthiest, longest-lived people – was it their lifestyle, environment, or genes?
Their most important finding was that lifestyle and environment had the biggest impact on life expectancy, with genes only determining about 20%. They identified five “blue zones,” which include Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica, Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California, that have the world’s healthiest, longest-living populations (on average, living eight years longer than Americans).
A team of medical researchers, anthropologists, demographers, and epidemiologists searched for evidence-based common denominators among the five blue zones and found nine common factors that had a positive impact on life expectancy and quality of health. These health benefits include a reduction in inflammation, which leads to decreases in diabetes, less dementia, and improved cardiovascular health. Another key finding was that people in these blue zones do not actively try to live longer, but their environments promote a richer quality of life and longer life expectancy.
Power 9® Reverse Engineering Longevity By Dan Buettner (click here for the diagram)
1). Move Naturally: The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons, or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They grow gardens and don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.
2). Purpose: The Okinawans call it “Ikigai” and the Nicoyans call it “plan de vida;” for both, it translates to “why I wake up in the morning.” Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.
3). Downshift: Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap, and Sardinians do happy hour.
4). 80% Rule: “Hara hachi bu” — the Okinawan, 2,500-year-old Confucian mantra reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it. People in the blue zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don’t eat any more the rest of the day.
5). Plant Slant: Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Meat — mostly pork — is eaten on average only five times per month. Serving sizes are 3-4 oz., about the size of a deck of cards. A high–fiber diet helps facilitate good gut bacteria.
6). Wine @ 5: People in all blue zones (except the Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. Over 85% of the men drink every day. The trick is to drink 1-2 glasses per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all week and have 14 drinks on Saturday.
7). Belong: All but five of the 263 centenarians we interviewed belonged to some faith-based community. Denomination doesn’t seem to matter. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.
8). Loved Ones First: Successful centenarians in the blue zones put their families first. This means keeping aging parents and grandparents nearby or in the home (it lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too). They commit to a life partner (which can add up to 3 years of life expectancy) and invest in their children with time and love (they’ll be more likely to care for you when the time comes).
9). Right Tribe: The world’s longest-lived people chose — or were born into — social circles that supported healthy behaviors, Okinawans created “moais”— groups of five friends who committed to each other for life. Research from the Framingham Studies shows that smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness are contagious. So, the social networks of long-lived people have favorably shaped their health behaviors.
Based on their findings, I’m suggesting a couple of easy, healthy lifestyle habits to incorporate into your life to increase your lifespan and health:
- Get clear about your life purpose, be able to articulate it, and live each day intentionally.
- Move throughout your day: take mini-walks, walk instead of driving, or park your car a distance from your destination so you can take a few extra steps.
- Prioritize stress relief and rest such as taking frequent naps and getting 7-10 hours of sleep a night.
- Eat a mostly whole food, plant-based diet that includes beans as a cornerstone, include small amounts of meat, and eat until you’re about 80% full, with your smallest meal in the evening.
- Connect with community, maintain quality relationships, and have a good support system.
- Drink water, tea, coffee, and wine (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), in moderation. To fight off loneliness, if you do have a glass of wine, make sure you drink with friends rather than alone.
- Shape and make sure that your environment supports a healthy lifestyle. Keep in mind that there are no quick fixes and that it takes a daily commitment to create an environment that makes it easy for you to establish healthy habits.
For more information about living a longer and more vibrant life:
- Click here for Longevity Secrets (And Controversies) from Blue Zones with Dan Buettner on Ten Percent Happier Podcast with Dan Harris (74 minutes)
- Click here to read “The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer: Lessons from the Healthiest Places on Earth” by Dan Buettner.
- Click here for Dan Buettner’s website BlueZones.com.
- Check out Netflix for “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” a one season Documentary with Dan Buettner.