Elixer of Youth
Would you believe me if I told you that yes, dotted around the world, there are mythical springs and fountains that if you drink their waters or bathe in them, then your youth will be restored?
Of course you wouldn't, but interestingly there are clearly identified zones in the world where there are significantly higher proportions of centenarians living than in the rest of the population and who demonstrate cognitive abilities of much younger people. These are known as Blue Zones and it is generally accepted there are 5 of them (as you can imagine these areas and the communities in them have been the subject of intensive studies down the years):
Sardinia, Italy
Okinawa, Japan
Loma Linda, California
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Icaria, Greece
Residents of these areas produce a high rate of centenarians, suffer a fraction of the diseases that commonly kill in other parts of the developed world and enjoy more years of good health.
So what is the secret? Dan Buettner in his well-researched book, "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest" identified nine lifestyle habits of these blue zone communities:
Moderate and regular physical exercise
Life purpose and having a reason for being
Ability to cope with stress in a healthy way
Moderate calorific intake - although they do not deprive themselves, they consume fewer calories than most other areas
They have a heavy plant-based diet - meat is consumed sporadically and usually as fish and lean meat
Light to moderate consumption of alcohol
They are spiritual - they use their religion to cope
Heavy focus on family and social support
They have wide social circles and very active social lives
Additional researchers have identified a significant 10th characteristic and that is geographic location and the resulting climate - fundamentally it is Mediterranean style climate and this combined with the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle is key.
Whilst we can't all up-sticks and move to a more 'favourable' climate we can look at our lifestyle and consider it against the above 9 characteristics - Where do you sit on the 'Blue Zone Continuum'?
