9 Diet Tips to Living Longer

Written by Siddarth Saikia

The editors of Cooking Light have done a comprehensive job in providing 9 researched diet strategies in Nutritional Tips for 2009 over at CNN Health. Dan Buettner was part of the panel of experts, bringing some Blue Zones lessons to the table.

The best advice, particularly in the convoluted world of nutrition and diet, is always simple. A plant based diet is an essential part of any nutritional program, with overwhelming evidence from the four Blue Zones (Loma Linda, Nicoya, Sardinia and Okinawa) pointing to the regular consumption of vegetables and fruit aiding longevity. It's important to note that you don't have to become vegetarian to do this, indeed not everyone living long and healthy lives in the four Blue Zones is vegetarain. However, meat consumption should become occasional instead of default. Think about eating a good lean free-range steak at a family dinner or on your birthday and put down that Cheeseburger you're about to wolf down on your lunchbreak. Heather Bauer, R.D., C.D.N., founder of Nu-Train, a nutrition and counseling center in New York City, and author of "The Wall Street Diet reminds us that" "Any way of eating that doesn't allow for the occasional indulgence is not sustainable."

Now that's good advice. Check out the other 8 strategies plus a whole feast of recipes, and ideas how to apply them pracitcally, here.

 

Welcome to Blue Zones!

What if I could tell you how to live another 10 years, as well as look younger and feel younger at every age?   Something called the Danish Twin Studies established that less than 25% of how long the average person lives is dictated by genes.  In other words, most of how long and how well you live is up to you.

The premise of Blue Zones is:  identify the optimal lifestyle of longevity and you have a de facto formula of longevity.

What is the optimal lifestyle of longevity?  Does it involve diets? supplements? exercise programs?  Should you be eating organic, free range chicken or tofu? And what about physical activity?  Should you be running marathons or doing yoga?

Read More

To answer these questions, I teamed up National Geographic and hired the world's best longevity researchers to identify pockets around the world where people are living MEASURABLY better.  In these Blue Zones we found people who reach age 100 at rates 10 times greater than in the United States, where people suffer a fraction of the rate of heart disease and cancer than we do and where people are getting the extra 10 years that we're missing.

Then, we took teams of scientists to each location who know how to identify lifestyle characteristics that may explain longevity.    In Sardinia, Italy we found a wine with the world's highest-known levels of antioxidants, and in Ikaria, Greece we discovered ancient herbal teas that lower blood pressure.   On the other side of the planet, we found an island where purpose and mutual support networks called Moai explain an extra half dozen years of life.   In Nicoya, Costa Rica it's the mesoAmerican diet of beans, squash and a special corn tortilla that is propelling people into their 90's at rates 4 times greater than in the US.  Finally, among Loma Linda's Seventh Day Adventists, we found America's longest-lived culture.  They're living about an extra decade longer than the rest of us.  How? Part of the reason comes from a diet inspired from the Bible.  Genesis, Chapter 1, vs 26.

For the first time in living history, life expectancy of our children is projected to drop, as a nation we're getting fatter every year. Diabetes is on the rise.  Is this because Americans are less disciplined?  Have we undergone a moral degeneration or are we somehow inferior to previous generations?  I don't think so.   We are products of our environment.  Every day, hundreds of marketing messages rinse over our psyches--many of them encouraging us to eat things that aren't good for us.  Machines have engineered physical activity out of lives and networked electronics are replacing face-to-face human contact.   We live in environments of sickness.  The key to getting the extra 10 years we're missing is to follow the lessons from world's longest-lived people and create environments of health.

How it Works

In my book, The Blue Zones, I reveal the secrets of the Power9: the nine common denominators that all of the world’s longevity all-stars share. Here at BlueZones.com, we've organized these behaviors into four main categories:

Move Naturally – Make your home, community and workplace present you with natural ways to move. Focus on activities you love, like gardening, walking and playing with your family.

Right Outlook – Know and be able to articulate your sense of purpose, and ensure your day is punctuated with periods of calm.

Eat Wisely – Instead of groping from fad diet to fad diets, use time-honored strategies for eating 20% less at meals. Avoid meat and processed food and drink a couple of glasses of wine daily.

Belong to the Right Tribe – Surround yourself with the right people, make the effort to connect or reconnect with your religion and put loved ones first.

 

This may all sound too simple, but the payoff is huge. The average American could live up to 14 more good years by putting these habits to work.

Get Started Right Now

To help you model your habits after the Blue Zones centenarians, we’ve created several tools, beginning with Vitality Compass

The Vitality Coach® uses the best behavioral science available to guide you in getting the most good years out of life. Six seconds a day for six weeks can add up to four years to your life expectancy, effectively making you biologically younger.


And each day at BlueZones.com, we offer fresh news and articles, digging up the most interesting research and healthy living tips.

To get started, click on the Vitality Compass tab and begin the journey to a younger you today.

Live Large,

Dan Buettner
Blue Zones Founder
 

FEATURE: Lessons from Ikaria, Greece Quest

Written by Dan Buettner

SecIconNEWSWhy are the lessons from the Ikaria, Greece Blue Zone so important? Our team has discovered that over one-third of everyone in the northeastern end of Ikaria reaches age 90. They suffer 20% less cancer and half the rate of heart disease. And there’s virtually no dementia. In other words, they’re living the good years many of us are missing. Years we could possibly have by just adjusting a few simple habits, including:

  1. Wild Greens - Greens are abundant in fields and roadsides, Ikarians frequently eat wild green salads and pies. Some contain more antioxidants than green tea or wine.
  2. Herbal Teas - The common herbal teas consumed here contain compounds that lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of heart disease and dementia.
  3. Low sense of time urgency - Feeling less obligation to one’s schedule and day is shown to lower heart-harming stress hormones.
  4. Daily naps - Taking a 30-minute nap at least five times a week can decrease the risk of heart attack by 35 percent.
  5. Mountain living - Here, every trip out of the house occasions a mini workout. People get their daily exercise without thinking about it. Studies show the mountain people have lower cardio vascular disease.
  6. Strong sense of community - Family and village support create strong social connections, which are proven to promote longevity.
  7. Goat's milk - 80 percent of all people over 90 have consumed goat’s milk many times per week throughout their life. It is rich in blood-pressure lowering tryptophan and antibacterial compounds.
  8. Ikarian diet - The Ikarian variation of Mediterranean Diet is high in vegetables, beans, and low in meat and sugar. Uniquely, though, it’s lower in grains and fish, but high in potatoes.

But then there’s a big picture: Cancer costs our country almost $250 billion per year, heart disease another approximately $500 billion and dementia yet another $175 billion. If we could live Ikaria’s lifestyle, we could, at least in theory, cut our rates in half and save ourselves and our country nearly a half a trillion dollars.

To experience the Ikaria Quest go to http://www.bluezones.com/ikaria/

   

Go to a Farmers' Market Near You!

Written by Kathryn Savage

It’s that time of year again! Time to hit the watermelon stand, tomato truck and outdoor farmers' market!
When I was a kid, my grandma used to take me to this roadside, hole-in-the-wall, take-a-curve-too-fast-you’ll-miss it corn stand in the middle of a Minneapolis suburb. They sold the best corn on the cob, and the most unusually ripe yellow, seedless watermelon.

For a list of farmers' markets by city and state visit Farmers Market. If you happen to live in San Francisco, or you are visiting soon, The New York Times wants to be sure you visit the wealth of great San Francisco farmers markets. Here's the link.
 

Watermelon Cocktail

Written by Kathryn Savage

I went grocery shopping the other day and scored my first watermelon of the season! To me, a watermelon signifies that spring is officially here and summer is fast on it’s heels. What could be better than watermelon left to it’s own delicious devices? Watermelon cocktails of course!

Here is a great one from the July, 2005 issue of Self Magazine. The recipe can also be found at Epicurious.com.

Ingredients

5 cups seedless watermelon cubes
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, crushed
1/2 cup vanilla-infused vodka, chilled
1/4 cup triple sec
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 2/3 cups Champagne (or sparkling wine), chilled
Watermelon cubes and lime slices

Directions
Process watermelon cubes in a blender on high until smooth. Strain. Measure out 2 cups juice. Add mint. Stir; chill 30 minutes. Add vodka, triple sec, lime juice and 1 cup ice; stir vigorously. Remove mint leaves. Fill glasses with ice and pour 1/3 cup watermelon mixture into each. Gently stir in 1/3 cup Champagne. Garnish with watermelon cubes and lime slices.

Nutrition Facts

Nutritional analysis per serving 144 calories, 0 g fat (0 g saturated fat), 12.6 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 0 g fiber
   

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