WHAT ARE BLUE ZONES ANYWAY?
Original LinkOK, so the Fountain of Youth is a fantasy. But how about a more practical and practicable reality? Would you like to add 10 healthier and more fulfilling years to your life? (Who wouldn’t?) That’s what the Blue Zones Quest is about.
“Blue Zones” are small geographic pockets inhabited by the world’s longest-lived populations. Dan Buettner launched the Blue Zones Quests in 2005 to study and research these rare regions, and to share what they can tell the rest of us about how to live longer and better.
(The term “Blue Zones” is an accident of history: In a meeting with Italian colleagues in 2001, demographer Michel Poulain highlighted on a map, with a blue marker, the region in Sardinia where an exceptionally large concentration of centenarians lived.)
So far, Buettner and his team have explored two Blue Zones regions: Okinawa, Japan and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. Buettner has also written about two other Blue Zones: the Barbagia region of Sardinia, Italy and Loma Linda, California. In each of these regions, people reach age 100 at rates significantly higher than the rest of us, and on average live longer, healthier lives. They also suffer about one fifth the rate of heart disease and cancer found in America.
Analyses show that lifestyle habits play a greater role in increasing your chances of longevity than genetics. Diet, exercise, spiritual values, even mental attitude are important determining factors.
Based on the Blue Zones research, nine key factors can help produce the same positive results for many of us. They are:
* Stop eating when you're 80 percent full
* Eat more veggies, less protein and fewer processed foods
* Drink red wine, in moderation
* Have a sense of purpose in life
* Maintain a spiritual or religious belief system
* Work less, slow down, take vacations
* Make physical movement a vital part of each day
* Create a healthy social network
* Make family a priority
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WIKIPEDIA ON BLUE ZONES
Original LinkFour Blue Zones have been discovered so far:
* Sardinia, Italy: One team of demographers found a hot spot of longevity in mountain villages where men reach the age of 100 years at an amazing rate.
* The islands of Okinawa, Japan: Another team examined a group that is among the longest lived on Earth.
* Loma Linda, California: Researchers, studied a group of Seventh-day Adventists who rank among America's longevity all-stars. Residents of these three places produce a high rate of centenarians, suffer a fraction of the diseases that commonly kill people in other parts of the developed world, and enjoy more healthy years of life.
* Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica: The Nicoya Peninsula was the subject of research on a Quest Network expedition which began on January 29th, 2007.
* Buettner is preparing for an expedition to the island of Ikaria, Greece, where he hopes he will discover the fifth "and possibly last" Blue Zone in the world. The expedition will take place between April 20th and May 1st, 2009 (see above).
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NHNE On Aging & Anti-Aging