Written by Michelle Albert

It's not too difficult. Just be sure to include these foods and beverages on your table, and you can feel good about the health benefits of these Thanksgiving staples and practice the healthy eating found in the Blue Zones.

Red wine (Sardinia) The red wine commonly enjoyed in Sardinia has two to three the amount of procyanidins as other wines.

Sweet potatoes (Okinawa): A staple food for Okinawans until recently, these tubers are rich in antioxidants in the form of beta-carotene and vitamin C. For real authenticity, see if you can find the purple Okinawan variety.

Goat cheese or pecorino cheese (Sardinia):Along with some whole-grain crackers, serve some goat or pecorino cheese. Both are eaten in Sardinia, and pecorino cheese is high in omega-3 fatty acids and both cheeses are excellent sources of calcium and protein.

Go Vegan (Loma Linda):Many of the Seventh-day Adventists of Loma Linda, California, don't eat meat, and their plant-based diet offers many benefits in the form of longer (and healthier) life. Fill up on the sidedishes and enjoy the meat, if you must, as a condiment.

Take a walk (all Blue Zones):All the Blue Zones populations get outdoors, naturally. So after your meal, gather up your friends and family and take a walk. The exercise (and sunshine if it is sunny) is the perfect way to end your celebration.

Written by Kathryn Savage

The fact is as we age our bodies loose muscle mass and strength. Add this to weakening bones and it’s no shocker that we become less mobile and more injury prone in our golden years.

But let’s say you’re 35, and you’re fit as a fiddle.
Stressed? What with deadlines at work, that gym you’ve been ignoring, an upcoming anniversary, and let’s throw a screaming baby in the mix, it’s hard not to get stressed out. Stress is a normal fact of life, but chronic stress (heart palpitations over the thought of ordering take out)  leads to systematic inflammation and reduces our immune system’s ability to fight infection.  

It’s time to move!
Movement is important at any stage of your life. Movement is especially vital as you age because it increases strength and flexibility in the years your body will naturally loose it. Movement can also relieve stress and as a consequence, bodily inflammation.  In old age especially, exercise leads to increased independence and quality of life. A senior yoga class, swimming, these are great activities that increase balance and bodily awareness and prevent falls that can lead to serious injury. The National Institute on Aging advocates strength training. Strength training is great because it improves flexibility and reduces stress on joints.

How to make strength training a part of your routine?

Written by Siddarth Saikia

A key Blue Zones finding--that all of the world's longest-lived people all regularly engage in Downshifting (relaxation techniques), has now been shown to actually affect our genes.

A collaborative study by Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine and the Genomics Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has shown that that relaxation techniques create a response that changes patterns in genes associated with stress.

The study compared gene patterns of 19 long-term practitioners of different relaxation techniques with those of 19 individuals who had never engaged in such practices. Those control participants then went through an 8-week training program to investigate whether initiating relaxation response practice would change gene expression over time. Both phases of the study showed relaxation response alters the expression of genes involved with processes such as inflammation, cell death and how the body handles free radicals.

"For hundreds of years Western medicine has looked at mind and body as totally separate entities, to the point where saying something ‘is all in your head' implied that it was imaginary," says Herbert Benson, MD, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute and co-senior author of the report. "Now we've found how changing the activity of the mind can alter the way basic genetic instructions are implemented."

Scientists have long observed that yoga, prayer and meditations are associated with lower stress rates and better immune systems but this study marks a shift from "soft" science to the "hard" science of genetics.

Benson explains, "People have been using these culturally determined mind/body techniques for millenia. We found that no matter which particular technique is used - different forms of meditation and yoga, breath focus, or repetitive prayer - the mechanism involved is the same."

In our own research of Blue Zones populations we observed that there was a culture of downshifitng, where people take a little time out of their day to relax and ease their minds. Okinawans take a few minutes of the day to remember their ancestors. Sardinians, being Catholic, pray for a certain period every day. In Loma Linda, a 24 hour Sabbath is observed from Friday night to Saturday night every week and in Consta Rica people love their afternoon nap.

So take a a little time out and relax, it's clearly worth it.

Written by Kathryn Savage

Global regions where people are living the longest are not close to a 24 Hour Fitness or a YMCA. Centenarians are not marathoners, weight lifters or gym rats. They make moving a part of their daily life by gardening, farming and simply walking.

People in Los Angeles are canceling gym memberships in record numbers due to current economics and gas prices. All that sunshine doesn’t hurt of course, but gyms, yoga studios and pilates centers are feeling the hurt and loosing members in record numbers. What’s bad for business does not have to be bad for waistlines! Los Angeles residents are hitting the beach, the park, hiking trails, and doing yoga outside, often for free. Don’t live in L.A.? You can still take your workout outside, just check out these outdoor exercise tips.

What’s that I hear? Excuses?
Interested in quitting the gym and hitting the bike trail but worried about seasonal allergies? Learn how to beat allergies and still give up the gym!

Workout Tips
You’re excited. You just bought new jogging shoes and you’re ready to go! Remember to take things slow at first, there are rocks and uneven sidewalks to watch out for. Just like you would indoors, warm up and cool down, and it’s important for joints and ligaments that if you run, jog, or plan on doing lunges or squats that you make time to stretch!

Happy trails to you!