Blue Zones: Creating Habits for Health and Longevity

Blue Zones: Creating Habits for Health and Longevity

Advances in technology, preventive medicine, and our understanding of health have played a part in extending the human lifespan considerably. Currently, the maximum life expectancy in developed nations is approximately 90 years.1 However, we are beginning to take a turn, with longevity decreasing specifically in the United States. For a nation that prides itself on being a leading developed country, our maximum life expectancy has dropped to 77 years.2 Americans have high rates of chronic stress diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Unfortunately, these rates are projected to increase. In this article, you will learn the importance of creating healthy habits.

What are Blue Zones?

“Blue Zones” is the non-scientific term given to geographic regions that house the world’s oldest individuals. The Blue zone areas of the world are where people live exceptionally long lives. Research found that genetics only play a 20-30% role in longevity.

Studies related to aging well and supporting your health reveal specific traits of individuals and culture groups that have steady rates of longevity and lower rates of chronic disease. These populations are commonly referred to as “blue zones”.  This term comes from Dr. Gianni Pes, a medical statistician from the University of Sassari, who researched centenarians in Italy. He referred to villages with the highest number of centenarians as “blue zones”. Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow, received a grant from the National Institutes on Aging and the National Geographic Society to research centenarians. He utilized this term to denote longevity hot spots he studied around the world.2

Dan Buettner went on to help produce a popular show that recently came out this year on Netflix called, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. His team journeys across the world to show us what we can learn from certain populations and the correlations to longer, healthier lives. It was an inspiring 4-part series that showcased several well-studied blue zones. It also highlights information that many naturopathic physicians utilize when approaching patient care.

Building Foundational Health

Naturopathic provider training heavily emphasizes a treatment approach called the Therapeutic Order, which instructs which therapies we choose for the greatest benefit and the least amount of harm. If you think of it like a pyramid, you will find the base of the pyramid focuses on the obstacles to health. Getting to the root cause of illness can allow the doctor and patient to work together to stimulate self-healing, which can look different for each patient. As we learn what each patient needs to support the foundations of health, we move up the pyramid with low-intervention therapies like sleep and exercise. We then transition to high-intervention therapies like pharmaceuticals and surgeries. This blog will focus on lower intervention therapies and habits foundational to health that have been studied across several blue zones.

Habits for Healthy Aging

Building foundational health is the key to living a longer, happier life. This requires daily movement, improved nutrition, good stress management, a supportive social circle, and a strong sense of purpose.

How Do You Build and Maintain Healthy Habits?

Building healthy habits is critical to living, aging, and managing long-term health conditions. But if you set new health goals, you know that changing human behavior is more accessible said than done.  Building healthy habits is not easy, but it’s worth it for you, and these three steps will help you.

1. Make a plan
2. Be accountable
3. Recognize your health success

Moving Your Body to Live Longer

A common theme across blue zones around the world is movement. More specifically natural movement. This looks like people opting for walking, biking, and public transport rather than driving. It looks like gardening and foraging for food, prepping and cooking food, washing dishes, and so on. It’s less of a focus on lifting weights in the gym, and more so about moving all day long. With the advances in technology, a more sedentary lifestyle emerges in developed countries, which can be a barrier to health.

How Can I Challenge the Barriers to My Health?

1. Regular low-intensity exercise, constant motion rather than adrenaline-infused workouts.
2. For those who are able and have a safe environment to do so, walking can be an easy, and cheap way to move. 30 minutes a day (or 10 minutes after each meal) can impact your mood and physical health. Go with a pet, buddy, or group for social interaction. Plan a walking meeting at work with co-workers to relieve stress at work.
   a. Hand cycling or rowing can be a good alternative if you use a wheelchair.
3. Set up a corner in your living space where you can sit to read, do work on the floor, or use a medicine ball. This can enhance the health and strength of your thighs, glutes, and lower back each time you transition from sitting to standing multiple times a day.

Prioritizing Nutrient Density

Another one of the the shared healthy habits among blue zones is a particular style of eating. This typically involves consuming fewer calories, eating slowly, and cooking at home with a largely whole-food, plant-based diet.

Loma Linda University Medical Center ran a health study called the Adventist Health Study -1 which looked at a community primarily comprised of Adventists. Adventists’ believe that a high quality of life is what God intends for his followers, meaning they prioritize nutrition, interactions with others, health, and happiness. They found this group lived longer than other Californians (7.3 years longer for men and 4.4 years longer for women) due to their health-first lifestyle. These effects were even more pronounced if they were vegetarian, living even longer (9.5 years for men and 6.1 years for women). Overall, this community had lower rates of colon cancer and heart disease compared to the average Californian.

This research showed that eating more fiber from a variety of sources developed a diverse gut microbiome. A healthy microbiome is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic inflammation. Additionally, it found snacking on 1-2 ounces of nuts can have a positive impact on health including lowering heart disease.

An important factor to consider is that folks in the blue zones tend to consume fewer calories and finish eating earlier in the day. Across all blue zones, the smallest meal of the day is typically in the late afternoon or early evening. When rounded up, they are eating less than 2,000 calories a day. This is a huge contrast compared to Americans, where the average woman eats 2500 calories and the average man eats 3200 calories. High-calorie foods and poor nutrient density are an obstacle to health.2,3

How Can I Improve My Nutrition?

1. 80% rule
   a. It can take about 20 minutes for your brain to realize you are full. Stop as soon as you no longer feel hungry or until you feel about 80% full.
   b. This will require eating slowly and focusing on your meal.
2. Try to eat 4-6 vegetable servings a day.
   a. Frozen vegetables are a great way to incorporate this into your routine.
3.  Fewer calories in the evening.
   a. Try heavier meals earlier in the day, and lighter meals as you get closer to the evening. This can aid in digestion and promote better sleep.
4. Prioritize balanced macronutrients for a healthy body
   a. Protein, Carbohydrates, Fat, Vitamins and Minerals,  Phytonutrients, Fiber
5.  Drink water

Stress Management

We cannot escape stress, as it is an important part of health. The longest-living humans experience stress, and they have routines to stop the stress cycle. Things like mindful moments to remember ancestors, napping, taking part in a happy hour, and gathering with people who you can laugh with, can stop the stress cycle. American culture is focused on accomplishment, status, and wealth—which is a good recipe for high stress. In the blue zones, researchers are finding that people who live the longest don’t overwork and don’t undersocialize. Making stress management one of the key healthy habits.

How Can I Better Manage My Stress?

• Practice mindfulness most days of the week. This means 15 minutes of focused attention, mindfully slowing down, and breathing to “downshift” your stress
• Unplug by putting electronic devices away, finding a cozy space or patch of nature, looking around you, and breathing
• Express gratitude. Research from Psychological Science finds that people who express gratitude improve the happiness and well-being of themselves, as well as the person they are thanking
• Take naps. According to a study by the University of Athens Medical School on the people of Ikaria in Greece, 30-minute naps 5x a week can lower stress hormones and reduce the risk of heart attack.2

Build Your Support System

Build a social circle that supports you in healthy eating, activities, and your emotional well-being. Laugh with friends. Strong social ties are known to relieve stress, give purpose, and develop a positive outlook. Frequent social interactions and close family* bonds can give our lives meaning and decrease the feeling of loneliness. Reduction of loneliness results in higher personal satisfaction and emotional competence. Americans are lonelier than ever and this is a factor that is decreasing our life expectancy. Social circles of long-lived people have strong health behaviors and more happiness—here are some things we can do:

*family can be chosen people

Building a Strong Support System

1. Find Your Tribe
   a. Find your people and make a bond, make a meal together, start a walking group, go on a vacation, or celebrate holidays with each other. Share in your joys and celebrate life together.
2. Volunteer
   a. Research finds that people who volunteer tend to have lower rates of heart disease and higher levels of happiness.6 You may also find your social circle here!
   b. VolunteerMatch and Meetup are online sites that can get you browsing for opportunities to participate. Don’t forget to prioritize experiences that bring you joy.
   • i. https://www.meetup.com/
   • ii. https://www.volunteermatch.org/search

Finding Your Sense of Purpose

A strong sense of purpose is a key healthy habit, and in blue zone communities is correlated with lowered risk of Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, and strokes. We tend to lead busy lives with demanding jobs (sometimes multiple jobs), lots of commitments, and sometimes even managing illnesses on top of that. This can challenge our sense of purpose. What is life’s purpose exactly? It can be an intention to live life a certain way, to express our passion, gifts, and values.4 Can you take a moment to wonder what you truly want and your reason for living besides work? Below are some prompts to help you determine your purpose with the help of Richard Leider, the author of “The Power of Purpose”.

How Can I Find My Purpose?

• • 1. Ask people who have known you since you were very young, “What are my special gifts?”
       a. How have these gifts persisted in your life? If you don’t know, ask 5 people who know you well and see what theme you find.
    2. Do you give and receive love?
    3. Are you authentically yourself?
    4. Do you make a difference in the world? Even a small one?
    5. How do you feel about how you are spending your most precious currency—your time?
    6. Do you resist getting up for the day or do you get out of bed with energy and purpose? What is your mood when you get up most days?
    7. Are you curious? What are you most curious about these days?
    8. Are there people around you who are leading the kind of life and doing the kind of work that you envision for your life?

Creating Healthy Habits Conclusion

Now that you’ve read this post, you have a few tools to incorporate into your day-to-day routine. This is not an exhaustive list and I encourage you to get creative and individualize these healthy habits. Remember, this is something you can explore with your naturopathic doctor as well. Thank you for taking the time to read these words. Now it’s time to get moving!

Resources

• • 1. Poulain M, Herm A, Errigo A, et al. Specific features of the oldest old from the Longevity Blue Zones in Ikaria and Sardinia. Mech Ageing Dev. 2021;198:111543. doi:10.1016/j.mad.2021.111543
    2. Buettner D. The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer. Disney Electronic Content; 2023.
    3. Wong SQ, Kumar AV, Mills J, Lapierre LR. Autophagy in aging and longevity. Hum Genet. 2020;139(3):277-290. doi:10.1007/s00439-019-02031-7
    4. Leider, R. A Guide to Unlocking the Purpose of Purpose. Inventure-The Purpose Company. 2015. https://richardleider.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Power_Of_Purpose.pdf
    5. Caron, C. (2023, June 29). Gratitude really is good for you. here’s what the science shows. Association for Psychological Science – APS.
       https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/gratitude-really-is-good-for-you-heres-what-the-science-shows.html
    6. Angela Thoreson, L. I. C. S. W. (2023, August 1). 3 health benefits of volunteering. Mayo Clinic Health System.
       https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/3-health-benefits-of-volunteering#:~:text=Reduced%20stress%20further%20decreases%20the,age%2C%20gender%20and%20physical%20health.

Dr. Montenegro’s approach to patient care begins with identifying underlying causes of disease which stem from social, emotional, physical, environmental, and spiritual factors. With these factors in mind, she works with patients to re-establish the foundations of health in an individualized way. Depending on the patient’s needs, they will journey to find how and where to apply food, hydrotherapy, movement, mindfulness, and nature as medicine. She graduated from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon with her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine in 2021.  Learn More Dr. Malina Montenegro