Video Dispatch
Watch the Expedition Unfold.
Travel with us to an isolated Greek island in the Aegean Sea to determine exactly why this place became home to some of the longest living people in the world.
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Daily Dispatch
Not that we planned it this way, but we’ve saved the best for last.
Yesterday, Europe's greatest nutritionist, the Grand Dame of the Mediterranean Diet, Antonia Trichopoulou, M.D. joined us on the Blue Zones Quest to help us assess the Ikarian Diet. She and her husband, Dimitrios, have spent 30 years studying the Mediterranean Diet and are largely responsible for its popularity around the world today. She and Blue Zones team member Dr. Gianni Pes have been conducting surveys with people over 90 to find out what they’ve been eating most of their lives.
But it's not just the food choices alone that help people live longer here. "It’s how Ikarians eat it," Trichopolou speculates. “Eating local food means eating your food fresh rather than processed or preserved—and that means fewer dangerous chemicals and more health-giving nutrients that typically degrade on store shelves.” Dr. Trichapolou’s recent studies show that people who consume the regional diet in Ikaria are less likely to die from coronary heart disease. They also have stronger bones and lower cancer rates. In fact, people who most closely adhere to the Mediterranean diet live about six years longer that those who don’t.
Her most important diet advice? Here we go again: learn how to cook with olive oil. “Vegetables by themselves often don’t appeal to some people so they won’t eat them,” she told us. “But combine them with the right ingredients like antioxidant-rich oregano and cook them with olive oil and they taste wonderful. Eating, after all, should be a pleasure.”
The Ikarian Diet is just one of 18 factors that our science team believes contribute to longevity here. If you’d like to help us close in on the most significant factors, click here and put a check mark by the eight you think are most important. (If you already voted yesterday, you'll see the results of how the votes are coming in.)
Why are the lessons from the Ikarian Blue Zone so important? Our team has discovered that over one-third of everyone living here in the northeastern end of the island 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. 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.
Now there’s a stimulus package we can live with.
Live Large,
Sabriya Rice and Dan Buettner
Image Gallery
Our professional photographer, Gianluca Colla, tells the story of the life of the fishermen on Ikaria. To see the photos larger or read the captions, click on the image.
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As we mentioned before, we have three possible Blue Zones to investigate further.
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Daily Data
Print Daily DataWhat's new with the team today?
Expedition Team Daily Data
Name: Dan Buettner
Title: Team Leader
Age: 48
Pedometer Reading: 6,904
Favorite Exercise: Running, biking and yoga
Hours of Sleep Last Night: 5.5 hours
What I Had to Eat Yesterday
Breakfast - Yogurt, honey and nuts
Lunch - Greek Salad and french fries
Dinner - Goat, Greek Salad, french fries
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Dan’s Dilemma
Being good guests - again...
Thanks so much for your advice regarding paying for things on Ikaria. Over 60% of you suggested that we insist on paying for our own food and sundries and we agree.
Today, my final dilemma involves actually living this Blue Zones lifestyle. We've been discovering again the virtues of eating a plant-based diet all week. But tonight, we've been invited to a party in our honor. The people of Raches plan to slaughter a pig for us! Should we be gracious guests and eat the pork or do we hold our Blue Zones ground and eat only the greens and potatoes at the risk of offending our hosts?
(As you probably have figured out, the Ikarians have been such amazing hosts this whole Quest and we're very concerned that we don't offend them. As you also probably know, whenever you travel, it's important to recognize cultural differences and how your actions might be interpretted in their culture.)
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Mystery Photo
What is this?
- A cooking utencil
- A carved wooden cane
- An Ikarian toy
Answer is a carved wooden cane
Then, there is the long process of waiting for the tree to grow and for the branch to mature so that it is strong enough to withstand the stress of body weight. On average, this takes two years….and a lot of patience. The next steps are relatively fast. Once the branch is sawed from the tree, the bark is peeled and the cane is sanded to a smooth finish. A fine knife is used to carve a beautiful design into the head of the cane.
These canes are not only practical walking aids, they are family heirlooms. When the cane is no longer used, it is passed down to children and grandchildren and displayed like a piece of art in their homes until it might be used again.
Ask A Question
Have question for Dan or our team?
Use the comment feature at the bottom of this page to ask a question. We will post some of your questions here on the site.
Your Questions Answered
Question: What's the most important thing that you learned in Ikaria?
Answer: The most important things we learned were featured in today's video:
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.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to longevity, there’s no quick fix. Only things you do habitually or ritualistically, for years, have an impact on your life span. Help Blue Zones determine the Top 8 Factors of Longevity in Ikaria. Click here to vote for the ones you think contribute the most to the long and healthy lives.
Educators & Students
Expand your Blue Zones experience with ePALS around the world. Find Longevity under the purple Projects tab at www.epals.com and connect with classrooms on the right. You don't need to do the whole Longevity project, just find each other and Skype or email about your Quest adventures.
Educators
For ideas on how to present the Blue Zones content each day, check out the Daily Discussion.
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Educator Favorites
We've gathered our best education materials for you to use during the Quest
Quest Materials
Gives you tools to use during the Quest.
Daily Discussion
Provides ideas and talking point for the day.
Blue Zones Challenge
4-week health and fitness program for students.
Legacy Project
Multi-disciplinary research project for students.