Blue Zones and What We Can Learn From Them

“Blue Zones” are a hot topic lately among those in the health and wellness sector, but they should be a hot topic among all healthcare providers. Blue zones provide us with several lessons for good health that we can apply to our own lives to help not only give us a longer lifespan but more importantly a longer health span – meaning living longer in good health.

Blue zones are areas around the world that are known for having the most centenarians (people living to 100 years old or older). Not only are these people living to be older than other areas, but they are doing so with relatively low rates of chronic diseases. The term “Blue Zones” is a term coined by Dan Buettner, a New York Times bestselling author, explorer, and educator who has done extensive research on and travel to these zones. Most recently, Dan has produced a documentary titled “Live to 100, Secrets of the Blue Zones.” This film showcases the five Blue Zones of the world and discusses their differences and similarities and what we can learn from each of these unique places.

Fair warning in advance, although this is a bit of a spoiler alert, it is really a very basic summary, and this documentary is a must see - even when you know the general outcome as I already did from prior reading and research on the Blue Zones.

First, these five zones include: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; Loma Linda, California, USA; and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica.

From the Okinawans’ traditional consumption of low caloric nutritionally dense foods to their cultural practices that focus on fellowship with others and having a strong sense of purpose, it is not hard to see how these people have thrived. The Okinawans also have a saying that wouldn’t hurt us to adopt here in the U.S. – “Hara hachi bu” which means “Eat until you are 80% full.”

Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy has a diet that consists mostly of complex carbs. Their strong points are daily movement, strong faith, and a good control over stress, which is beneficial as chronic stress can cause inflammation and blood glucose spikes. According to this documentary, Americans exceed the global level for stress by 20%. In other words, we could learn a thing or two from Sardinians as well.

Loma Linda reveals a community focused on exercise, community and volunteerism, nutrition and faith and Ikaria, Greece showed dietary focus through things like herbal tea and raw honey and had a strong focus on community and celebration.

Finally, the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. According to this documentary, they have 3 ½ times the global average of centenarians and most aren’t on any medications. This community is poor but lives with great purpose, works hard and rests intentionally.

So, what can we take from all these Blue Zones that can be interwoven into our daily lives to ensure better health and wellness for those of us not living in these special places? Stopping eating at 80% is a good one but the common denominator for all these places was eating wisely, moving naturally, community and a sense of purpose and low stress.

Dan Buettner continues onward with a focus on creating a Blue Zone in America. Seems impossible right? Getting 330 million people to change their minds probably would be but he instead focuses on changing the environment and lifestyle. This is what we should do in our individual lives as well. First, I highly recommend watching this documentary to gain a better understanding of each of these commonalities of good health and longevity, plus, it is just a really well done film. Second, make simple changes to your environment to make the healthy choice the easy choice and focus on nutrition, movement, community and lowering your stress and you will be well on your way to lengthening your health span as well.