{"id":4499,"date":"2016-01-04T17:08:28","date_gmt":"2016-01-04T17:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nutrishield.com\/?p=4499"},"modified":"2021-06-24T12:30:05","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T11:30:05","slug":"blue-zones-healthy-longevity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.nutrishield.com\/?p=4499","title":{"rendered":"Healthy longevity in the Blue Zones"},"content":{"rendered":"

These three people have one thing in common. They live in a \u2018Blue Zone\u2019<\/strong>. A Blue Zone is an area or a population group where people live much longer and stay healthy into extreme old age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Healthy<\/td>\n\"Healthy<\/td>\n\"Healthy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Woman from Okinawa, Japan<\/span><\/td>\nMan from Costa Rica, Central America<\/span><\/td>\nMan from Greece<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Researcher Dan Buettner collaborated with National Geographic demographers and longevity experts to identify these longevity \u2018hot spots\u2019. He calls them \u2018Blue Zones\u2019 in his book of the same title. Inclusion on the list is based on either the highest life expectancy or the highest percentage of people to reach 100.<\/p>\n

We have come to think that illnesses like Alzheimer\u00b4s and cancer are inevitably linked to old age. But there are societies (and individuals) with diets and lifestyles different from ours which show that\u2019s simply not true. When illness is postponed, the ageing process slows and a longer life is the end result, but it is really just a bonus.<\/p>\n

So where are the Blue Zones and what can you learn from them that you can adapt into your lifestyle?<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

1.<\/span> Okinawa, Japan<\/h3>\n

The longest-lived population in the world.<\/p>\n

2.<\/span> The mountainous Barbagia region of Sardinia<\/h3>\n

which has the world\u2019s highest concentration of male centenarians.<\/p>\n

3.<\/span> The Greek island of Ikaria<\/h3>\n

with one of the world\u2019s lowest rates of both middle-aged mortality and dementia.<\/p>\n

4.<\/span> Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica<\/h3>\n

has the second highest concentration of male centenarians.<\/p>\n

5.<\/span> Loma Linda, California (unexpectedly!)<\/h3>\n

The town is mainly inhabited by Seventh-Day Adventists who live 10 years longer than the average North American.<\/p>\n

Other oft-quoted longevity hot spots have been claimed as Abkhazia in Georgia, Vilcabamba Ecuador, and Hunza Valley in Pakistan. However, serious scientific study has failed to confirm the basis for these claims.<\/p>\n

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These are very different societies, but all the \u2018Blue Zone\u2019 communities include significant numbers of people over 90 years who are upright, fit, have excellent vision and hearing, few signs of heart disease, memory loss or osteoporosis. They don\u2019t retire but continue to enjoy life and relationships fully.<\/p>\n

Contrast that with the comparatively rare individuals in our<\/span> society who may make it to 90 years old, but are too often frail and weak, and sustained in care homes through endless medications. It is surely quality of life we are interested in.<\/p>\n

The Blue Zone common denominators<\/h3>\n
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DIET\"Healthy<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n