What Blue Zone Locations Have in Common: Similar Diets, Lifestyles

• The places where people regularly live well into their 100’s have some important things in common.
• Walking a lot and getting plenty of rest can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
• Herbal teas, whole grains, wine, honey and beans are their staple foods.

Imagine how you can improve your health and longevity without strict diets, exercise routines, or expensive superfoods, supplements and pills.

Author Dan Buttner says he has found the disease not once but five times in the so-called blue zones of the world, where people tend to live very long and healthy lives.

His blue zone theory, which he has spent 20 years defending and explaining, is that these people are not actually health freaks, but rather go out of their way to stay healthy as they age. Not even.

Instead, they are gently guided to a healthy lifestyle every day. To an untrained observer, they may even appear kind of lazy, skipping naps and strenuous exercise. Their environment is set up so that health happens by chance.

“They live longer not because they are chasing longevity, but because they live longer.” continueButtner told Insider ahead of the film’s release. his new book (August 29) and Netflix documentary series (August 30), both aimed at unraveling the “secrets” of the Blue Zone.

People are laid back but not lethargic

Blue Zoners aren’t exactly couch potatoes. They do good things for their bodies, brains and moods throughout the day. They just don’t realize it.

Veggies, whole grains, and locally grown honey fill you up, so there’s not much space on your plate for processed foods or sugar. They spend time with their loved ones and feel a sense of purpose, control stress. Walk instead of drive just because there are too many hills or too expensive transportation. Longevity is easy because it’s organically built into the default choices Blue Zone people make.

“It’s a product of the right environment, which encourages them to move every 20 minutes, eat mostly whole foods and plant-based diets, and be more social,” Buttner said. Ta. “Look at the places around the world that are producing the health outcomes we want and mimic them.”

Here are some quick examples of the five blue zones.

Ikaria, Greece

On this island, about 130 miles east of Athens, halfway between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea, people have learned to eat the local cuisine because they have had to for centuries. This island has no natural harbor. Herbal teas made from sage and rosemary are rich in health-promoting compounds, and raw honey is never boiled, leaving the bioactive compounds in bee pollen intact. And if you ask 88-year-old Ikarian Vaso Palikos what tea she recommends drinking every day? Wine. Often an Icarian will drink just a glass or two with his companions at dinner. It’s even possible that there’s something unique about their wine, herb, and food combinations that is even more beneficial to their health (but Research on this idea still mixed. )

Loma Linda, California

America’s only Blue Zone, outside of Los Angeles, is home to a vibrant community of Seventh-day Adventists.they prefer to eat healthy whole foods like nuts, vegetables, legumes, and generally no meat or alcohol. They’re making it easier to maintain this healthy lifestyle by sharing potluck dinners at church and opening grocery stores that stock staples like whole grains and fresh produce. I don’t see any meat. (Some people make “meat” bread with oats, walnuts, and bread crumbs.)

Sardinia, Italy

About 270 miles west of Rome, this large Mediterranean island allows people to “exercise” just by walking around. Gardening and traditionally sitting on the floor in Okinawa, Japan, and splitting logs in the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, made the elderly mobile, strong, and engaged. After work, Blue her zoner enjoys an afternoon nap to relax before heading out to laugh and dance with her friends.

“It’s an environment that makes it easier for them to achieve their goals,” Buetner said. “We tend to underestimate it because marketers can’t get their hands on it, so there isn’t much to sell. It’s clearly 10 to 12 years longer.”