‘The Science of Living Longer’



National Geographic teamed up with the National Institute on Aging to find the longest lived societies in the world. The highlighted several such places and circled them in blue marker, hence how they came to be knows as the ‘blue zones’. To find more information on these ‘Blue Zones’ there’s now a dedicated website, diets and TED talks – a great one notably given by Dan Buettner







Then teams of researcher went to each of these places to
discover the commonalities between all these populations. Eventually they were
able to tease out the commonalities -long held secrets that can help us all live
longer, happier and more fulfilled lives.



I’m going to work through three societies studied: Sardinia, Okinawa and Loma Linda, California



Sardinia



* This is place where men live the longest. * This is a culture of shepherds where the men trek up and down hills all day tending to their flock.* They garden, cook from scratch and eat a plant based diet. Most notably different in Sardinia than from us in America is the way they revere the aging population.* They believe that the longer you live the more wisdom you have. Grandmothers and grandfathers live with their children and grandchildren and something named the ‘Grandmother Effect’ is observed. * The elderly get 4-6 extra years of life in these living situations along with a lowered rate of infant mortality and sickness.











Okinawa



* A place where the oldest living female population lives. * They also have the longest disability-free life expectancy. Here they live over 7 years longer than the average American population and they have only 1/5th the rate of colon cancer and breast cancer. * Here they have strategies in place to help keep them from overeating. They eat off small plates and say ‘Hara Hachi Bui’ before each meal which translates to ‘stop eating when you are 80% full.’ * They are observed to eat less calories per sitting and they put the food onto the plates and then store the leftover food before they even start eating, rather than leaving it out to make grabbing extra food a temptation.







Loma Linda California – Seventh Day Adventists



* This is a Christian denomination that observes a strict 24 hour sabbath from Friday to Saturday each week during which they stop all work and focus on their God and their community. * The life expectancy here is 89 years old and men live 11 years longer than the American average. * This is a diverse community bonded together by faith with Asian, African American, and Caucasian heritage. * They get their diet directly from Genesis Ch 1: 26 and are the only Blue Zone observed to abstain from alcohol. * They do many nature walks and spend time with their community each day.











1. Loved Ones First



* The people of these ‘Blue Zones’ take care of their elderly and not only respect but also revere them for all the wisdom that they’re gained. The older you are, the wiser you have become. * They keep families nearby and care for their aging parents and grandparents. People in ‘Blue Zones’ commit to a life partner (which incidentally has been found to be worth 3+ years) and invest in children and loved ones.



family first – blue zones



2. Belong



* People of ‘Blue Zones’ belong to a faith or spiritual group and meet with their community groups 4+ times a month. * The faith, spirituality or denomination doesn’t seem to matter as much as the frequency and co...