Tips on How to Live Till 100 from the Blue Zones of Sweden and Sardinia
Meat — yes. Gym — no.
I’m going to become a farmer on my balcony! We live next to a highway and are moving soon but I still plan to buy an IKEA vertical garden. This idea had been simmering in my mind like fish stew for a while. Now I just saw a cooking show and that was it. Let’s diversify those aloe pots!
I’ve watched the lifestyle series The Art of Living. When Famous Michelin star chef Niklas Ekstedt turned 40, he started searching for the secret of living beyond 100. In the show, he goes to six places with the largest number of centenarians in the world— the blue zones, to explore how they live and eat.
I watched two last episodes — in Sardinia (Italy) and Sweden, and couldn’t but notice the evident similarities between the two completely different regions. Here are the tips on how to live longer which you can apply in a million cities.
Take Your Goats for Grazing 10 Miles a Day or Work Around the Farm
Just bear with me.
Sardinia is the only place where men live as long as women. These guys don’t go to the gym. But they also don’t drive for hours or scroll newsfeeds. Finally, these people don’t multitask.
Their life is slower. The air is much cleaner and they engage in natural physical activity until very old age. Shepherds walk 10 miles every day to graze their goats. This hiking proves to be better than pumping iron.
These people also eat goat and sheep cheese such as pecorino. Instead of consuming the milk of barn cows that are pumped with antibiotics and hormones, they use the milk packed with probiotics from mountain goats that nibble local herbs.
You don’t have to take a trip of goats down Fifth Avenue but you can surely take more steps a day. And buy some cheese from free-grazing goats to boost your immunity as well. You’ll need it to last for a long time.
Your Seventies Are the New Fifties
In Sweden, pensioners’ social lives are quite active after their kids leave homes. They go bowling every week. A couple of times a year, they make big excursions. While they were talking to Niklas, these seniors had already planned a trip to Austria. The year before, 40 of them went to the Caribbeans!
They are independent of other people’s help for a long time. In an old Italian house, Niklas saw two 90-year-old sisters making pasta for lunch. In Sweden, he spoke to Britta, aged 94, who still drives a car.
Inhabitants of the blue zones actively participate in their communities. Britta often visits her 103-year-old sister in a care home and reminds her of their childhood memories. They had several brothers and sisters who all died. The youngest was “only 74” (older than most of our grandparents, I suppose).
A strong sense of purpose keeps you alive, whether it’s to have fun with others or help someone close to you. With this goal in mind, you lead a healthy lifestyle for a long time.
Above all, these societies don’t forget about their elders.
A Few Generations Under One Roof For the Sake of Everyone
The blue zones have another thing in common: tight family relationships. Until recently in the Swedish village know for longevity, three to four generations lived under one roof.
In Sardinia, an 80-something grandma is the Master Chef in the household. She cooks on an open-fire stove for the whole family while her daughter and granddaughter cut vegetables.
If older people live together with younger family members, they have a strong sense of belonging. They feel less lonely because they are still needed and surrounded by their closest. Also, children of different ages play together in the garden. The younger ones look up to the elder, and the elder learn how to take care of the younger.
For longevity, you don’t need to live with your own family but you surely need close relationships. People make your life fulfilled and comfortable, not what you own.
And you always have someone to prepare food with.
Choose, Grow, and Cook Slow Food
In southern Swedish town Vittsjö, people are poor, but they still live long because their portions are smaller and consist of very healthy food. A couple of restaurateurs moved to the neighborhood to start a slow life as farmers. Now they grow their own vegetables, breed chicken, and ducks on a field by a lake.
In a village on Sardinia, they don’t eat fish even though they live on a Mediterranean island. These people consume local meat and stay away from processed food and added sugar. As the seasons change, they use local vegetables that grow at the moment.
Our 80-something Italian grandma prepares soup with 7–8 kinds of vegetables. She never wanted to taste McDonald's hamburger because it isn’t home-cooked. But a kebab is a different story because it’s traditional cooking.
The key to healthy eating lies in smaller portions, as well as locally grown vegetables and meat. Canned food and sugar are a no-no. Home pots are a yes-yes.
And it’s remarkable how they manage it all.
You Don’t Need Time Trackers or Bucket Lists
In the blue zones, there is no hysteria of everyday city life. They don’t beat themselves up because they haven’t achieved enough for the day. They don’t rush, work in time slots, and multitask. They don’t feel inadequate because they need to do more.
These people do manual labor every day and are much calmer than city dwellers. Most of the villagers don’t spend vacations in exotic places and still don’t feel they are missing out on something.
The inhabitants pass a few hours a day preparing food instead of chilling by the TV. They don’t buy expensive entertainment but socialize with their local friends. They eat outside in the garden, overlooking the sea or the lake. Although their lives are much simpler, they are way happier and healthier than us.
There are many factors you can’t change in your lifestyle but you can decide how you spend your time once you close your home door. Why not prepare a meal with those you love? Happiness doesn’t have to be scheduled for next August in a hotel. It can feel cozy and warm like Grandma's lunch.
There is always something you can do.
Conclusion
If you want to live a long and fulfilling life, shift your perspective and dismiss 90% of what you read about productivity and happiness.
From just two episodes of a cooking show, I realized:
- These people don’t track calories and work out. But they are more physically active in a natural way.
- They don’t force individualism but have a strong social life until very old age. They often hang out with people they love.
- Elders are not cut out from reality but take an active part of the family’s everyday life. Old people take care of their older siblings.
- They don’t wine and dine in fancy restaurants or order takeout. Instead, they use local products and cook their own meals.
- They live at a natural pace of life where you don’t have to boost your productivity by delegating and eliminating distractions. They feel life is good without filters and marketing.
And this is where the key lies — in simplicity and moderation. In reaching out to others and being physically active. In growing your own food and appreciating it more because of the effort you’ve put into it. May these blue zones last for a long time in the future because they show us how life should be lived.
Speaking of which, I have to become a farmer.
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