Entry #10

 

Blue Zones

I have been researching healthy foods recently and came across something interesting to share with everyone.  It is called geographical blue zones and is five geographically located places known for having the naturally longest life span in the world.  These places are Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California.

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Of these five places, Sardinia has the highest number of people who live to be over 100, they are known as centenarians.  Many residents of these blue zones believe diet and a high-activity lifestyle are the main reasons for increased life expectancy.  Selvi Rajagopal, MD, MPH, an internal medicine and obesity specialist with Johns Hopkins attributes this to a healthy way of eating that includes foods such as whole, plant-based foods, with limited animal meat.  This leads to fewer chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and dementia.

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The second key factor that many of these residents believe is leading to their long lives is having an active lifestyle while focusing on having a high quality of life.  For many of the residents, this means maintaining a stress-free environment,  strong and healthy relationships with family, connecting with their community, and having healthy social circles.  

If you are interested in getting some help to start a community well-being program you can contact a company called Blue Zones which has been in business for over 20 years.  They have already helped several communities take on issues such as homelessness, obesity, rising healthcare costs, and help improve the economy.  Click on the link above to check out their web page and learn more.  I believe this is something that all of us can work on to help ourselves live longer, fuller and happier lives.  

Statistics sourced from:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_zone

https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/the-blue-zone-diet-a-complete-scientific-guide/

https://www.bluezones.com/community/#section-7