PEOPLE WHO LIVE TILL 100 HAVE THIS TO SAY ABOUT LIFE AND DIET

It’s way different than what we think

Photo by Vlad Sargu on Unsplash

Blueberries or no blueberries?

Meat-based diet or plant-based diet?

Carbonated drinks or no carbonated drinks

Black coffee or no coffee?

Celery juice or no celery juice?

Olive oil or no olive oil?

Give me a break now.

We shift our lifestyle more often in a single year than Donald Trump replenishes his orange glow concealer pack in the same duration. I am not sure about that but anyways.

Yes, it’s obvious that we all want to live a healthy life till our very last breath but what if “diet” was just a mere part of obtaining that goal. What if there are other things that are more important for our longevity?

As humans and other mammals grow older, their DNA is increasingly prone to breaks, which can lead to gene rearrangements and mutations — hallmarks of cancer and aging. Behaviors like smoking can exacerbate these breaks in DNA, the breaks themselves are unavoidable. “They are always going to be there, even if you’re super healthy,”

Research suggests that genes accounted for well under 7 percent of people’s life span, versus the 20 to 30 percent of most previous estimates. Since genetic lottery is something you can’t control, you are only with the option of cultivating a lifestyle that might make you a centenarian(person who has reached the age of 100 years).

Bluezones

Dan Buettner, founder of Bluzones with his team have identified five places in the world ­where people live the longest, and are healthiest:

• Okinawa, Japan
• Sardinia, Italy
• Nicoya, Costa Rica
• Ikaria, Greece
• Loma Linda, California

The whole project started with Sardinia being identified as a region with the highest concentration of male centenarians.

With Sardinia being identified as the first blue zone, Dan went on to identify four more zones as mentioned above.

It’s baffling in the first place since the idea is so simple at its core. Follow the lifestyle of people who live the longest. That’s it.

Dan with his team have distilled their research to 9 insights that form the core part of these five blue zones. Let’s have a look.

80% Rule:

Dan Buettner in his TED talk mentioned that people living in these blue zones stop eating when they are 80 percent full. How do you do that? Get smaller plates for your house next time. Cook or take only what is necessary.

People in Okinawa have this culture of saying “Hara Hachi Bu” before they start their meal. This Confucian mantra reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full.

The 20 percent gap plays a huge role in determining whether you will be overweight or not.

Can you control it? Yes, I would say.

Plant based diet

In Nicoya, Dan was invited by a centenarian for a meal at her place. He was served with rice and beans, garnished with cheese and cilantro, on corn tortillas, with an egg on top. A perfect Meso-American delicacy.

People in Ikaria(an island where people forget to die) consume potatoes, goat’s milk, honey, lentils, fruit and relatively small amounts of fish. People in Okinawa, too consume fish only 8 times a month with serving size not more than 75–100 grams. Keeping in mind that waters around Okinawa are an abundant source of seafood.

Buettner in his book “The Blue Zones Solution” mentioned that the Sardinians explain their exceptional longevity with “clean air”, “plant-based diet” or their habit of “making love every Sunday.”

Pesco-vegetarians of Loma Linda(yes there is a blue zone in the US), who ate a plant-based diet with up to one serving of fish a day, lived longer than vegans in the community.

In one of the podcasts, Buettner mentioned that a cup of beans a day can add 4 years to your expectancy. Many insights from this podcast later.

You can check out all the recipes suggested by the BlueZone team here.

Liquid (includes wine)

I was bewildered and happy at the same time! Fun fact — people in blue zones are moderate and regular drinkers of wine. They make sure that they consume a glass or two with dinner along with their family.

Sardinians have a wine made from Grenache grapes. It contains polyphenols (3X of normal wine)that we get through certain plant-based foods. It certainly sends some vibes in your blood but doesn’t mean that you have 6 glasses of wine on Saturday to make up for a missed week.

Research out there shows wine does decrease the mortality rate of cardiovascular diseases.

Red wine or white wine, you make ask?

Red wine has been widely acknowledged for its high concentration of resveratrol, a potent antioxidant found in grape skins. In fact, red wine has up to 10 times more resveratrol than white wine.

6 glasses of water a day.

A cup of coffee before noon. Coffee again is one of the richest sources of polyphenols.

People in blue zones avoid carbonated drinks and replace it with either coconut water or lemonade. Consuming something(carbonated drinks) is not wrong, it’s the excess consumption of it is what gets us into trouble.

Movement

You would be surprised to know that people in blue zones don’t lift iron.

Yes, you heard it right.

They seldom to go gym rather they have cultivated a lifestyle where they are engaging their bodies in practicing certain movements every 20 minutes. Going for a walk or practicing some rotational body movements is all you need. I felt so happy listening to this since I walk to my office every day.

One perfect example that I witness almost daily in my own life is my 62-year-old manager. He indulges himself in practicing certain light exercises including push-ups after every 3 hours at work. Astonishing to know that he finishes his day with a 10 km walk.

Dan mentioned, “If you are 80 years old and can walk a mile under 17 minutes, your life expectancy may increase by 6 years.”

Next time, try avoiding Uber for short distances. Take every opportunity to walk. Here are 12 benefits of walking.

Purpose

Everyone reading this probably have heard about this book called “Ikigai” — “something to live for, the joy and goal of living”. Nicoyans call it “plan de vida.”

Knowing why you are waking up in the morning is the biggest sense of moral fulfillment. Studies have shown that a sense of purpose in life can prolong your life. Dan is very specific about it since all the people in blue zones when asked about their purpose, were crystal clear.

As Jim Kwik mentioned in his book “Limitless” that purpose is sharing something with others that you feel passionate about. For Dan and his team, their purpose lies in sharing all the data and knowledge that they accumulated over the last 15 years studying these blue zones.

They didn’t stop there, they are working across 50 projects (cities) to implement what they learned from these hot spots. Result speak for themselves.

Purpose can be as simple as sharing what you learned using let’s say Medium. We just don’t see it that way because we have been told that life only has one purpose which needs some giant awakening to be aware of. Purpose can be about being honest with your friends because you feel passionate about that relationship and you value honesty over flattery.

Beer is certainly not confused with its purpose.

Down Shift

We are always rushing, but when asked why? We are pretty much clueless most of the time.

Somewhere deep in our brain, a voice echoes “Why are you doing this when you don’t love it?”. We ignore it. Suppress it. Stress develops and without our knowing, we start getting frustrated specifically when someone tells us a fact that we don’t want to hear.

People in these blue zones do have stress but they make sure to organize their life which nudges them to take short breaks. Some do it by taking a power nap and some indulge into a happy hour.

Groundbreaking research done at MIT by Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Joanna A. Christodoulou, Vanessa Singh, showed that our brains are more active when we take a break. Consolidating memories, reflecting on past experiences, and planning for the future is what takes place during these breaks.

Breaks keep our brains healthy and play a key role in nurturing our cognitive abilities.

While writing I follow the Pomodoro technique which involves a 5 minute break after every 25 minutes of work. I learned it from Tim Denning and I use Tomato-Timer for it(a great tool). This has taken my productivity through the roof.

Life is hard period. We deserve breaks.

Belong

This might not come as a surprise but people in blue zones are a part of some faith-related community. This has resulted in an increase in life expectancy by 4–14 years!

A 2010 review of 148 studies found that people who felt less socially connected had more risk of early death than those who smoked, drank, or were obese.

If you love being around animals, get in touch with a vet. If you love playing an instrument, join some community. If you love writing, engage with other writers on medium. If you are here on Medium only to write and publish without engaging with other writers or reading other articles, you are limiting your potential. More than that, you are avoiding the opportunity to form your tribe.

I recently joined Sinem Günel Facebook group. I met a lot of new writers there like Ben Atkinson, Olha Bahaieva.

Remember, a good story not read is like a missed opportunity that probably would have changed you a bit.

Belong to this community(Medium). People will help you to move forward.

Loved Ones First

Family first period. People in blue zones always keep their family nearby. There is always an urge to go out and live on your own but if possible keep your parents nearby. Stay connected.

As per Dan, if you surround yourself with your family and hang out with them quite often then that can add 3–4 years in your life expectancy. Isolation is bad for everyone regardless of age.

Yuval Noah Harari in his book “Sapiens” wrote about how a good marriage can increase your serotonin levels for permanent. This in turn might prolong your life. Parents in blue zones live with the purpose of making sure that they cultivate the right habits and mindset in their kids.

They prioritize their family.

Leo Tolstoy, author of classic pieces like “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina” said:

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way

Right Tribe

Okinawans have this word called “moais”, which means a group of 5 close friends. They spent their 20’s and 30’s wisely making the decision of choosing their moais. They stick with these people for their entire life. Don’t confuse yourself between an acquaintance and a friend.

If 5 of your friends are obese (BMI over 30) then you have a 50% chance of getting obesity. This same goes for smoking.

At the end of the day, we feel great when we meet someone from our tribe. You are in Paris looking at Louvre and suddenly you hear a familiar language. This subconsciously makes you feel good because you have someone around you from the same tribe at a place where you don’t belong.

Call it a community or a tribe, but it’s your moais, who will keep you grounded when you become highly successful.

Summary

think it’s pretty clear that “diet” alone will not fulfill our goal of becoming a centenarian. Don’t pursue it in the first place but rather make some conscious choices every day.

• 80 % Rule — stop eating when you are 80% full.
• Plant-based diet — consume as much as plant-based food.
• Right liquid — sipping a glass of wine every day with family is perfect
• Movement — cultivate a lifestyle which nudges you to get your body in some movement after every 20 minutes
• Purpose — it can be as simple as being nice to everyone and sharing how you can do that because many can’t.
• Down-shift — you deserve a break.
• Belong — join a community of people doing things that you are passionate about
• Loved one first — family first
• Right tribe — choose your friends wisely and stick with them for your entire life.