Sardinia, Okinawa, Loma Linda (California) and Costa Rica. Okinawa in Japan, Sardinia in Japan, Nicoya in Costa Rica, and Ikaria in Greece. Three of the five blue zones (Okinawa, Ikaria and Sardinia) are located in very narrow and steep areas that do not always have access to industrial roads.
The blue zones have the largest concentration of the world’s longest-lived people, many of whom are over 100 years old. The mysterious regions where, statistically, people live the longest. Summary What started as a National Geographic expedition led by Dan Buettner to uncover the secrets of longevity has evolved into the discovery of 5 locations around the world where people over the age of 100 permanently live, called the blue areas of the world.
National Geographic researcher Dan Buettner has led research teams around the world to uncover the secrets of the Blue Zones, geographic regions where a high percentage of centenarians live unusually long and fulfilling lives. Beginning in 1999, journalist and researcher Dan Buettner, along with National Geographic and a team of anthropologists, demographers and scientists, led a series of expeditions to discover the world’s longest-lived populations and find commonalities between these unique groups of people. Long-term studies of the world’s longest-lived populations have revealed commonalities, from living habits to environment. National Geographic reporter Dan Buettner decided to share his mission to share what makes these regions so healthy so that others can adopt their healthy habits, no matter where in the world they live.
In these geographic areas, people live longer and healthier lives than average. Not only do people live longer, they live better (100 years) than many young people in other parts of the world. The Nicoya people typically live longer than 100 years, and the Nicoya people have the largest number of centenarians in the world. People on the tiny Aegean island of Ikaria live eight years longer than Americans.
The Nicoya Peninsula has the lowest middle-aged death rate in the world and the second highest concentration of male centenarians. Rural Okinawans have fewer cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and dementia than Western civilizations, and Okinawan women also live longer than any other woman in the world. The largest island in the Japanese-controlled subtropical archipelago, Okinawa is home to the world’s longest-lived women.
Not only are people living in triple digits on a regular basis in these areas, but their minds and bodies are still functioning well. According to journalist Dan Buettner, compared to Americans, people in the Ikaria Blue Zone are half as likely to have heart disease, 20 percent less likely to develop cancer, and healthy people over 90 are more likely than anyone in the world. Buettner found that people who lived long, healthy lives in blue zones consistently lived lower-stress, happier lives, with strong family bonds, a sense of purpose, healthy spirituality, and adequate sleep.
People who live in these places also move a lot, have low stress levels, have social connections, and have a strong sense of purpose in life. They don’t eat a lot of meat, dairy, sugary foods or drinks, or processed foods.
When it comes to food, the blue villagers eat well, but not enough. Residents of the blue zone eat an average of five meals. Blue Zones habitants also eat some meat, averaging about five times a month and fishing once or twice a week.
Although it should be noted that in Loma Linda, California, the only U.S. city on this list, the blue zone effect is attributed to the prevalence of Seventh-day Adventists who tend to abstain from caffeine. Drinks alcohol and tends to be vegetarian. The blue zones, identified by Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain, are areas of the world where people think they live much longer than average above normal. Whatever you call it, knowing why you wake up every morning will make blue zone residents happier, healthier, and extend their lives for years.
These five locations are known as the Blue Zone (named after the blue circle the researchers drew to identify the first location on the map) and are home to some of the oldest and healthiest people in the world. The following five regions have been rated as the healthiest, happiest and longest-living regions in the world. Dan Buettner and his team of demographers, in collaboration with National Geographic and the National Institute on Aging, identified 5 regions with the highest geographically and demographically confirmed percentages of centenarians.
Sardinia has 10 times more centenarians than the United States, and for the most part people continue to mainly hunt, fish and gather food. Nicoya’s diet tends to focus on corn and rice cakes, and people are known to be extremely active in old age.