Live Longer In Your Own Personal Blue Zone

National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author Dan Buettner set out on a mission with renowned longevity researchers to identify what they deemed, blue zones.

A blue zone is a geographical place where people live longer (up to and beyond 100 years) but with a higher quality of life. This means a less or no medication, non-sedentary lifestyle that goes beyond what most in the mainstream consider the unintended norm. Inhabitants of these blue zones refuse, by lifestyle alone, to be part of a society that has embraced illness rather than healthy living. It is mostly the result of not subscribing to Western culture’s dumbing down habits.

This geographical, healthy living discovery just may be increasing as more people realize that shunning the norm may be exactly what they need to get back to the norm. Learn how certain communities are thriving and how to live longer in your own personal blue zone to start enjoying an optimally healthy lifestyle today.

Some Stats

3 Recent statistics as reported by the Huffington Post are as follows:

• More than 35.7% of American adults are considered to be obese
• About 75 million American adults have high blood pressure
• Approximately thirty-four percent of Americans have high low-density lipoproteins

This is a small example of the enormity of how American health care is really American sick care. Many more stats can be found on how illness has become a normal way of life but few show a good example of how to avoid this. This is where the Power of 9 comes into play.

A Few of the Blues

From the research that Buettner and his team compiled it was shown that nine components were consistent in all the blue zone communities. These communities are a compilation that span the globe and are made up of specific locations in Greece, Japan, Italy, California and Costa Rica.

Before listing the Power of 9, these are some of the geographical blue zone locations and the dietary choices that makes each a haven for healthy longevity:

Sardinia, Italy – Italy is a place in and of itself that immediately encourages a wholesome quality of life. In Sardinia it is a diet of goat’s milk as well as wine, fava beans, chickpeas, almonds and flatbread or sourdough bread.

Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica – Corn, beans and squash are the major staples of the people living in Nicoya, Costa Rica. In addition, fresh herbs like cilantro as well as papayas, yams, eggs, and fresh cheese keep them in the blue zone range.

Ikaria, Greece – Here, residents eat lots of garbanzo beans, lentils, honey, goat’s milk, fresh fruit, wild greens and fish. This location is known as “the island where people forget to die”.

Okinawa, Japan – A laid back culture is what you’ll find in Okinawa aka the “Hawaii of Japan”. Here, turmeric, yams, seaweed and fish are staples found to enhance healthy living.

Loma Linda, California – Surprisingly, this location in the United States is an exception to a nation plagued by health challenges. Loma Linda, California touts a community with strict religious dietary beliefs that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, grains and nuts, small amounts of fish or meat, mostly water for beverages and no processed sugars.

The Power of 9

The power of 9 brings into focus a combination of how these blue zone inhabitants maintain healthy longevity not only with diet but also other applications. According to Dan Buettner’s book Blue Zones, the Power of 9 is as follows:

• Move Naturally – Utilize the environment around you for natural, purposeful (non-gym) movement
• Purpose – Understand what you are meant to do on this earth
• Down Shift – Implement routines that minimize stress and optimize health
• 80% Rule – Be mindful of the quantity of food you consume while halting consumption when feeling 80% full
• Plant Slant – Be mindful of the quality of food being consumed filling your plate with primarily plant-based options such as legumes and whole grains
• Wine at 5 – Centenarians (those who live to or above 100 years old) in these pockets of the globe consume moderate amounts of wine per day to improve longevity and heart health
• Belong – Participate in a faith-based group or a social community organization 4x/month which showed increases in longevity
• Loved Ones First – Maintain a strong focus on family first, with an emphasis on caring for elders and supporting children
• Right Tribe – Surround yourself with a strong social network that support and live out healthy behaviors

These principals are being applied to various communities with significant results. One example is Albert Lea, Minnesota which reported, “After one year, participants added about 2.9 years to their average length of life; health care claims for city workers dropped 49 percent. Businesses saw a 29 percent decline in absenteeism.”

 

Applying the power of 9 to your life may enable you to live longer in your very own personal blue zone. It is a fairly easy application that just may surprisingly turn your health around for the better, and keep it that way.