The Blue Zone People, Blue Zones And Keys to Longevity

I absolutely LOVE studying and talking about the Blue Zones and the Longevity of their people and sharing their secrets to Longevity. I LOVE studying the Blue Zone People and their diet and lifestyle – because it just seems to promote a sense of peace and tranquility. Something most of us are not that familiar with. I just feel that people living in the Blue Zones are just more connected to the important things in life – and that’s the caring of our mind, body and spirit! I studied the diet and lifestyle of the Hunza people for 2 decades and I feel the Blue Zones are a spin off of their diet and lifestyle to some degree. I’ve only studied the Blue Zones for about the last 10 years or so.

The Blue Zone people started out as people that lived in 5 areas of the world where the health and fitness of the people in those areas were just extremely outstanding and they live much longer and much healthier lives on into a much riper old age. They’re said to be very vibrant in health and in strength and even look and act many years younger than their actual ages. Blue Zones have now spread into the United States. It’s just a zone most any of us would just love to be a part of.

SO what do you do when you don’t live in one of the actual Blue Zones? You study the blue zone people and their diets and their lifestyle and if you’re smart – you do whatever you need to do – to live your life in your own little homemade blue zone. We kind of live the Blue Zone life in Round Knob Canyon – and have for years.

Where ARE These Blue Zones?

Blue Zones are beginning to spread. There are now several in the United States and have spread more than 30 communities so far. Below are the Blue Zones that have been around the longest and studied the most.

5 Blue Zones

Okinawa, Japan

Sardinia, Italy

Loma Linda, California

Nicoya, Costa Rica

Ikaria, Greece

The Happiest People In The World

The people in these 5 Blue Zones are said to also be the ‘happiest people’ in the world! So now – all we need to know is why they are the way they are and what can ‘we’ do to be more like ‘them’ …

The first thing we need to all be doing if we want to be ‘satellite blue zone people’ is SLOW DOWN – but MOVE. And by moving I’m not saying they belong to gyms and fitness groups. They don’t have any of the high priced fitness foo foo that is stuck under our noses on a daily basis when we turn on the tv in the evenings …

Their lifestyles are just lived in a way that they are just extremely physically active people. Where we may want to put in a garden and some of us may hire someone to come and turn the ground for us – they do all that physical labor themselves and they do it manually. And their benefit from their gardens and everything else they do isn’t the finished product – it’s the construction and production of every single thing they do. They don’t look for the quick fix and easy way out because that’s just not their style.

Blue Zone People Have A Sense Of Purpose

They all have a ‘sense of purpose‘. The people in Okinawa call it ‘ikigai‘ and the people of Costa Rica call it ‘plan de vida‘. But what both of those means is “why I wake up in the morning“. They have a ‘purpose’ to each day. I think this kind of describes my Geezer – he has a purpose for every single day and on the rare occasion he doesn’t have a manual project to work on – he is a bundle of nerves. He is NOT a piddler or a tv watcher. But the people of the blue zones all have a purpose for their lives and they try to incorporate things they love into every single day.

Blue Zones Practice the Power of 9

This fantastic list we found at Power 9 Blue Zone

#1 Move Naturally – DAILY

#1 Says that the people in the Blue Zones just move naturally. While for so many of us ‘sedentary’ is our natural state. Whether that’s sitting behind an office desk all day OR retired and watching tv. MOVE NATURALLY AND DAILY for at least 20 minutes a day.

#2 Know Your Purpose

What is it they say? We’re ALL here for a reason. I honestly believe that. I think I know my calling – but what’s YOURS? Why are YOU here? Do you know your purpose in life? We all have a purpose and if we don’t know what it is – we need to sit down and ponder that thought until we come up with our own answer.

#3 Have a Down Shift Hour

All of the people of the blue zones have a “downshift hour” each day and that’s just a time when they take a few minutes to an hour to ‘rewind.’ Whether that’s just taking a break to rest or setting down to chit chat with someone close for a bit. Geezer and I have a downshift hour almost every afternoon for 1 to 2 hours. We just sit and chit chat at the end of our work day and before we have supper. SO looking down this list of 9 power points of the blue zone people – the geezer and I actually live several of those points regularly so we’re doing good so far – how about you?

#4 The Crucial 80% Rule

4th on the list of power points to blue zone living for health and longevity is the 80% rule and that’s stop eating when you are 80% full. Geezer and I just fell off the blue zone wagon on that one because we love to eat and we eat too much. It is said that the blue zone people don’t set down to a table with full bowls of this and that and get refills when they finish one or two or three things on their plates but they fill their plates at the counter and they don’t overfill their plates and when that plate is empty they’re done. WHAT a SUPER RULE!!! People of the blue zone areas have their smallest meal of the day in early evening and that’s it for the day – they don’t snack in the evening. (Update on #4 – we have now mastered rule #4 and we’re feeling better and losing a few pounds.)

#5 Meat is a Condiment

Number 5 is that they ‘do’ eat meat – but they consider it more like a condiment and they eat only the healthiest and most lean meats and only about twice a week. Beans and lentils are the backbone of their diets. And they ‘say’ that snacking on a handful of nuts a day will add a few years to your life if you’re doing all these other things to be healthy … Well I’ll be doggies – pass the walnuts – and they’re already set out fresh – daily – in Round Knob Canyon – in a little bowl on the stove top!

#6 Welch’s Grape Juice Daily

I DO NOT CONDONE ALCOHOL OF ANY KIND. NOT EVEN ONE DROP EVER! Did you know the active ingredient that is supposed to make ‘wine’ so healthy is the grape juice? So for # 6 I suggest you substitute Welch’s Grape Juice. Drink a glass of Welch’s grape juice a day and you can have about 5 or 6 ounces – twice a day if you want instead of having it all at once.

#7 Being Part of a Faith Based Organization Adds Years to Your Life

There were 263 centenarians interviewed for the study by National Geographic on the blue zone people and of all of those 263 there were only 5 that did ‘not’ belong to a faith based organization. These researchers say that being a part of a faith based service at least once a week can add 4 to 14 years to your life. Now that’s what they say.

#8 Put Family and Loved Ones First

The people of the blue zones put their families and those they love the most – first in their lives and how in the world can you go wrong when you make that one of the rules you live by. So many people live lives where their life is ‘all about them’. I guess one of my biggest problems is probably putting ‘me, myself and I’ – way too far down my own list. But I’m right on track on this one too.

#9 Have a Close Knit Group of Friends

And they say that one of the 9 power points to living a healthy/happy life is being a part of a close knit/friends group. But they say ‘assess who you spend time with outside your own home and then to proactively surround yourself with the right kinds of friends’.

Blue Zone People Overview

So what I’ve learned from my little bit of studying the people of the blue zones the last few years is that they are very physically active – they take time for fun AND quiet times – they spend time relaxing and just savoring the moments – they fill their lives with love and laughter and when they eat – they eat healthy foods, like tons of greens and raw foods and fruits, nuts, veggies and very little meat. Doesn’t that sound like a very inviting way of life?

When they do add meat to meals they make it lean and healthy. Doesn’t that sound warm and fuzzy and so very refreshing? We really do pretty good according to this list. But we have plenty of room for improvement too.

For years before I heard of the Blue Zone people – I studied the lifestyles of the Hunza people – said way back then to be the healthiest and most vibrant senior citizens in the whole world. And the Hunza people live in the mountains around Pakistan.

When I first started studying these people – the geezer was always telling me it was their lifestyles – because they walked everywhere and did hard physical labor all day every day and they ate meager fair. But do you know what? I think THAT IS the secret to being healthy and fit – having a very active lifestyle – doing tons of walking and plenty of physical labor right around your own homes or just where ever – and eat a meager fair instead of stuffing ourselves with ice cream and fried foods, cookies and cakes and chips and all kinds of garbage.

We outside of the blue zones are absolutely killing ourselves – slowly but surely. We are committing suicide by fork and recliner and it doesn’t take Columbo to get to the bottom of THIS mystery.

My Health Library – Favorite Books and Videos

The Blue Zone People HAVE The Answer

You know what I realized in writing this blog today? Of all the hundreds of books I have on diet and health and fitness and natural healing/living – It’s the story behind the Blue Zone people that will pave our path to good health and fitness …

Studies show that by improving our diet and lifestyle we can add years of healthy living to our lives. Less than 25% of how long the average person lives is dictated by genes. So really – it’s up to us. We can change our diet and lifestyles if need be and live healthier/happier lives or we can buy our own ticket to an early demise.

Well I don’t know about YOU – but I’ve inspired MYSELF! It’s 100% Blue Zone living in Round Knob Canyon starting today – let the fun begin!

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