A recent effort by National Geographic in combination with the National Institute on Aging has uncovered a few special locations around the world that contain extraordinarily high numbers of people who live full of energy, without disease, and past the age of 100 in rates that far exceed anywhere else on the planet.
These very special areas, called Blue Zones, are currently being studied and dissected by experts in conjunction with the Blue Zones project. A book called Blue Zones highlights four pockets in Italy, Japan, the U.S., and Costa Rica while the Web site, BlueZones.com, highlighted an Island in Greece. The formal conclusion is that populations in these areas not only live longer, but they live better.
“An overwhelming majority of them still enjoy life,” reports Dan Buettner, the journalist at the front of the Blue Zones movement. This is radically different from some of pill-popping, hospital, and nursing home statistics so common in other parts of the western world.
Researchers and journalists picked apart virtually everything you can imagine, including foods, friendships, and daily activities, and they asked questions to cleverly gain insight into the centenarians’ perspectives on life. Some very interesting things popped up.
Each Blue Zone ate different foods. In fact, there was very little commonality other than the fact that all foods and drinks were minimally processed, and often picked fresh from their own yard that same day. Also, each culture placed great emphasis on near-daily gatherings with friends and family, which has been supported as a strong health and longevity factor in other research as well. Daily activity, rather than “exercise,” was part of life as they would often walk to a friend’s home, chop their own wood, or bike to the store.
But most interesting, and perhaps most surprising of all, Buettner says, “There’s not a grump in the bunch.” He adds, “These people were extremely positive, which we can associate with their longevity.” Especially considering that these populations ate such different foods, the case for optimism as the greatest common denominator in health and longevity is enhanced.
The people documented in these Blue Zones were truly spectacular examples of optimism. Ushi, age 104, in Okinawa, Japan, “Immediately welcomed you … you could tell that she made everyone happy around her-her family, her friends, and now even strangers.” “She was not worried about getting something in the future or sad that she had missed something in the past.” Kamada and Kamata, two more centenarians from Okinawa, say their secrets to longevity are, respectively, “Not worrying so much about your own problems” and “Enjoy today.” This sounds a lot like what Ekhart Tolle, calls the “Power of Now,” and what fans of yoga everywhere refer to as “being present.”
Marge, age 100, literally hits the ground running every morning. This California resident, whose first goal every morning is to drink six glasses of water during her power-walk, then bikes, volunteers, gardens, and cracks jokes like it’s her job, says her motto is, “A stranger is a friend we haven’t met yet.”
Visiting the Nicoya coast of Costa Rica sheds even more surprising light on the role of optimism, even despite a lack in traditional medical care. Buettner reports that Costa Rica spends “Only 15 percent of what America does on health care, but its people appear to be living longer, seemingly healthier lives than any other country on earth.” “They are so positive,” exclaims one reporter from the Blue Zones project. One hundred and four year old, Panchita, from the Nicoya Coast of Costa Rica, who prepared lunch for her guests on a traditional Indian clay oven, seems to have a “total acceptance” and “unwavering belief” of the circumstances life hands her. Rafaella, age 107, from the Italian island of Sardinia, was asked if she had any advice for younger people and responded, “Life is short. Don’t run so fast you miss it.”
BlueZones.com features an article that states, “Optimism and ‘effective coping styles’ were the most important factor in happiness in aging.” One of the first doctors recruited to help study the Blue Zones project, says plainly, “People who think they’re going to live longer actually do.”
There are probably an infinite number of ways to increase your optimistic outlook. One strategy that simplifies the idea is suggested by Blue Zones, “be likable.” Dr. Nobuyoshi Hirose, one of Japan’s pre-eminent longevity experts, suggests that likable people are more likely to have a social network, frequent visitors, and willing caregivers. Though we may be unsure which came first, optimism and likeability clearly go hand in hand. Dr. Hirose also says that likeable people seem to experience less stress and live purposeful lives, two more factors that tie together all nine lessons found in “The Blue Zone.”
James and Kim are certified nutrition and lifestyle coaches who assist pregnant moms and new parents. They can be contacted at FitForBirth@gmail.com or through their websites GetFitForBirth.com and Your SuperBaby.com
