Longevity combined with good health is almost everyone's dream. With our lifestyle, and especially our diet, we try to age as slowly as possible and keep up our performance. In exactly 5 places in the world, this actually works astonishingly well. This very mystery is what the term "Blue Zones" describes. We explain what the Blue Zones are and what the people who live there have in common.
What are the "Blue Zones"?
"Blue Zones" is a demographic term and describes five places in the world where people live longer than average, with above-average health and contentment. These regions were christened blue zones because the Belgian demographer Michel Poulain and the Italian ageing researcher and physician Gianni Pes circled these places in blue on the world map. In 2004 they published a report on the topic for the first time, which drew the attention of science writer Dan Buettner.
Today he is considered the Blue Zones expert par excellence. Two of the five blue zones are in Europe. They are in Sardinia (Italy) and Ikaria (Greece). The remaining areas are spread across the world: in Okinawa (Japan), Nicoya (Costa Rica) and Loma Linda (California). Although these places are so far apart, they have a few things in common. Genetics? Not quite: our genes are only responsible for about 25% of longevity. Now we ask ourselves: what is the key to a long, healthy and happy life?
What the people in the Blue Zones have in common
All Blue Zones are small and manageable, very natural, and the residents' lives are relatively modest. This has nothing to do with magic or chance, but with a clever and yet very simple lifestyle. They eat according to different principles, but the basis is the same: unprocessed, plant-based foods. Besides diet, exercise, stress reduction and community are the pillars of the long, contented and healthy lives of the residents in the Blue Zones.
Mindfulness is a big deal in everything they do! For example, family comes first. No member, however old or young, is neglected, and everyone is looked after. Friends are also counted almost as family members. As a result, social commitment is very strong. Every person in the community is part of society and has fixed tasks that contribute to living together. That includes growing their food: working in the fields and moving around in the fresh air keep them from getting rusty. If it all gets too much and someone feels ill, they rest and withdraw until they feel better. Blue Zone people are also united by their faith, even if it's a different one in each place. It gives them hope and, alongside their tasks in society, a spiritual sense of purpose.
Diet in the Blue Zones
In his book "The Blue Zones Solution", Dan Buettner lists the most important foods of the Ikarians. They eat olive oil, wild herbs, potatoes that are as unprocessed as possible, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, feta, lemons, honey and coffee. In Sardinia we also find the following staple foods: chickpeas, broad beans, flatbread, tomatoes, milk thistle, almonds, goat's and sheep's milk and red wine. Portions aren't large, since most products come from their own cultivation and are shared among the whole family.
If you look at the diets in Okinawa, Nicoya and Loma Linda as well as the Mediterranean one, one thing stands out: they all eat mainly unprocessed and plant-based foods. While the Mediterranean diet tends to be high in fat and low in carbohydrates, the food of the Japanese in Okinawa can be characterised the other way round: they eat high-carb and lower-fat. We can conclude that the distribution of macronutrients matters less than the actual foods, the amount and the kind that is eaten.
Live longer too!
To sum up: if you want to live longer, exercise regularly and eat as unprocessed and plant-based as possible. Find your purpose and help others, rest when your body needs it and spend plenty of time outdoors. Ideally avoid stress and find something that brings you calm and lets you switch off. Take life in a relaxed way and worry as little as possible. You can easily adapt your diet to your needs. With the Lykon X Frank Juice DNA Test, for example, you can find out how to optimise your lifestyle and your diet even further. Even though it's easier said than done, as we're strongly influenced by external factors, a break from everyday life now and then can do our body and soul good.
Living a long life in good health is almost everyone's dream. With our lifestyle, and especially with our diet, we try to age as slowly as possible and keep up our performance. In exactly 5 places in the world this succeeds astonishingly well. This very mystery is what the term "Blue Zones" describes. We explain what the Blue Zones are and what the people who live there have in common.
What are the "Blue Zones"?
"Blue Zones" is a demographic term and describes five places in the world where people live to an above-average age with above-average health and contentment. These regions were christened blue zones because the Belgian demographer Michel Poulain and the Italian ageing researcher and doctor Gianni Pes circled these places in blue on the world map. In 2004 they first published a report on it, which drew science writer Dan Buettner's attention to the topic.
He is now considered the Blue Zones expert par excellence. In Europe there are two of the five blue zones in total. They are in Sardinia (Italy) and Ikaria (Greece). The remaining areas are spread across the world: in Okinawa (Japan), Nicoya (Costa Rica) and Loma Linda (California). Although the places are so far apart, they have a few things in common. Genetics? Not quite: our genes are only responsible for around 25% of longevity. So now we ask ourselves: what is the key to a long, healthy and happy life?
What people in the Blue Zones have in common
All the Blue Zones are manageably small, very natural, and the residents' lives are relatively modest. It has nothing to do with magic or chance, but with a clever and at the same time very simple lifestyle. They eat according to different principles, but the basis is the same: unprocessed, plant-based foods. Besides diet, exercise, stress reduction and community are the pillars of the long, contented and healthy lives of the residents in the Blue Zones.
Mindfulness is a big thing in everything they do! For example, family comes first. No member, however old or young, is neglected and everyone is looked after. Friends are counted almost as family members too. This means social engagement is very strong. Every person in the community is part of society and has fixed tasks that contribute to living together. That also includes growing their food: working in the field and moving about in the fresh air keeps them from getting rusty. If it ever gets too much and someone feels ill, they rest and withdraw until they feel better. The Blue Zone people are also united by their faith, even if it is a different one in each place. It gives them hope and, besides their tasks in society, a spiritual purpose.
Diet in the Blue Zones
In his book "The Blue Zones Solution" Dan Buettner lists the most important foods of the Ikarians. They eat olive oil, wild herbs, potatoes that are as unprocessed as possible, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, feta, lemons, honey and coffee. In Sardinia, too, we find the following staple foods: chickpeas, fava beans, flatbread, tomatoes, milk thistle, almonds, goat's and sheep's milk and red wine. Portions are not large, as most products come from their own cultivation and are shared among the whole family.
If you look at the diets in Okinawa, Nicoya and Loma Linda alongside the Mediterranean way of eating, one thing stands out: they all mainly eat unprocessed, plant-based foods. While the Mediterranean diet tends to be high in fat and low in carbohydrates, the food of the Japanese in Okinawa can be characterised the other way round: they eat a lot of carbohydrates and less fat. From this we can conclude that the distribution of macronutrients matters less than the actual foods, the amount and the type eaten.
You can live longer too!
In summary: if you want to live longer, exercise regularly and eat as unprocessed and plant-based as possible. Find your purpose and help others, rest when your body needs it and spend lots of time outdoors. Ideally avoid stress and find something that brings you peace and lets you switch off. Approach life in a relaxed way and worry as little as possible. You can easily adapt your diet to your needs. With the frank. DNA test, for example, you can find out how to optimise your lifestyle and diet even further. Even though it is easier said than done, as we are heavily influenced by outside factors, an occasional break in everyday life can do our body and soul good.
