Life Lessons – Blue Zones Studies Of The Longest Living Can Help You NOW

What Do People From Around The World Who Live To Be More Than 100 Have In Common

Over the past few days, Dan Buettner, Blue Zones, and studies about people living to be more than 100 have really caught my attention.

I'm not sure how LONG I want to live (having seen the low quality of life some people suffer with in their latter years), but I DO want to live WELL.

Reading some of Dan's writing (and highly recommending his website: BlueZones.com) I want to point out these important items Dan talks about. Take care of THESE and your life expectancy (and quality of life) will expand.

And how does he know this? He studies what he calls Blue Zones – those pocket around the world where a large percentage of the population lives to be more than 100 years old.

Places like Loma Linda, CA; Sadinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; and Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica.

In Okinawa, 50 people out of 100,000 live to be over 100 years old where in most of the USA it's only 20.

And Mr. Buettner points out that only about 25% of longevity is due to heredity, genes, genetics… the rest is due to the choices people make every day.

Here are some of the findings:

Choose Activity, Not Exercise

In Sardinia where the rate of centenarians is 208 out of 100,000, many of the men are shepherds… they are out walking much of the day. And in Okinawa, they spend time in their gardens. And in Loma Linda (where a lot of Seventh Day Adventists live), they take frequent nature walks.

Each group has low-impact yet regular exercise. No spinning classes, no weight lifting, no marathons… just regular daily physical activity.

Recommended: Walk, ride a bike, take the stairs and not an elevator. Cut your grass, get out of your car to open your own garage door, and ditch the TV remote. Personally I park in the really large parking lot at Borders each week and make sure I walk from a far corner to the front door… hey, every step helps.

Eat Less

Easy steps here: stop eating when you are no longer hungry rather than stuffing yourself until you feel full. My wife keeps telling me that it takes 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain that you are full… so don't over do it.

Perhaps if you serve yourself at the kitchen counter and then put the food away BEFORE you sit down to eat, you'll eat less. And (I'm seen this recommended many times) use smaller plates and taller, thinner glasses.

With smaller plates, you will put less ON the plate AND it will LOOK like you've really filled it… play that little game on your mind: it really works.

With taller glasses, studies have show that people drink less. Use the short ones for water, but the taller, more narrow glasses for alcohol and soft drinks (IF you drink them at all). And this might surprise, you will eat less when you serve yourself from a smaller package – maybe it will feel like there's not much left and you want to stretch it… but serving from one of those jumbo bags will encourage you to serve yourself more.

Limit Meat

In each of Mr. Buettner's Blue Zones meat is eaten but at most a few times a month… NOT at several meals a week. Beans, whole grains, veggies, and other plant foods predominate.

And those who eat about two ounces of nuts five or more times a week (any kinds of nuts) cut their heart disease in half compared to those who rarely eat nuts. So keep a jar around the office and eat a handful once a day (but don't OVER do it!).

And one of the healthiest ways to replace meat? Eat Tofu. Some call it "world's most perfect food." I even read some people replace Thanksgiving turkey with Tofu (hey, I'll stick with turkey on Thanksgiving and eat other foods the rest of the time: turkey is one of my favorites)

Consider Wine

I'm going to show this to my wife to tell her why it's IMPORTANT for me to drink my red wine!

It seems that wine contains something called "flavonoids" which reduce inflammation (and inflammation has been linked to atherosclerosis, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease).

Not all wines are created equal (I've heard that both red and white can work) but I've also learned that some red wines are much richer in flavonoids than others.

Cultivate A Sense Of Purpose

People who are excited by life, have a purpose, know where they are "going," feel they are making a difference: they tend to live longer.

Those who know why they wake up in the morning, those who are excited to get moving (frankly I feel that sleep just "interrupts" all the things I have to do)… these people live stronger, happier lives and can add years to their lives.

It is said that the two most dangerous years in a person's life is the year he or she was born and the year of retirement – LOSING that sense of purpose weighs heavily on the person who has no reason to live.

How do you find it when you've lost it: through Work, Volunteering, or Religion – these three are key to many people.

And write down your purpose. People who know me know that I spend at least 3 hours each week in what I call DPS Times: Dreaming, Planning, Scheming Time: time to think, figure out what I want to do "when I grow up," what my "perfect life looks like" and then what my "perfect week looks like." Not only will you be able to map your own work MUCH better when you actually KNOW where you are headed, you will feel a weight come off your shoulders when you figure it out… and that weight is "stress."

De-Stress

OK… I have a real problem with this one. Type A, hard-charging, limited sleep, active kind of guy and I almost never slow down to unwind, take it easy, get rid of stress. Our American Lifestyle is poisoning us… and driving down the number of active, healthful years we spend here on Earth.

One thing I have instituted (and break rarely) is taking Sunday off. It's church time, it's time with my elderly parents. It's NAP time (one of my favorites – some days I make it through knowing I will nap on Sunday). It's wake up, read the papers, watch some TV next to Pam at our kitchen table, it's watch the Food Network or HG-TV or Home Makeover or Iron Chef America or Brothers and Sisters.

It's set aside as a different day. It helps me spiritually, physically, and with my family.

Sundays are good days.

And for others, grow a garden – guaranteed to lower your stress levels as you work in your garden AND the moderate exercise is good for you.

And for you, perhaps meditation, prayer, taking a nap, or taking a walk will help relieve your body of some of its stress.

And here's one that can fit in this category: get a sun tan. Seems that doctors are rethinking the idea of covering yourself with SP-one million since so many people are now Vitamin D deficient (which comes from the sun, among other places). Don't get burned, watch for skin cancers, but a healthy (and healthy-looking) tan can be good for you!

Embrace Your Spiritual Side

MOST centenarians have some form of spiritual connection.

And most people to go to religious services are one-third less likely to die during a certain period than those with no spiritual connection. And even those who are spiritual but don't actually GO to a service have less depression, better immune systems. lower rates of heart disease, and recover faster from surgery or an accident.

Put Family First

In the Blue Zones, those who stay connected to their families or actually live with them get sick less often than those with no ties.

They are also more likely to keep better mental and social skills than others.

So… if your kids are still home, play with them: it helps build your family bonds AND is good exercise.

What To Do Now?

One last thing: go sign up at BlueZones.com and take the Vitality Compass… it will give you your biological age, tell you your overall Life Expectancy and your Healthy Life Expectancy, and will give you suggestions for making things much nicer for yourself.

TOO many people eat themselves sick for 40 – 50 years and then wonder why they have heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Hey… it is MUCH easier to sell CURE than it is to sell PREVENTION but let me say this: if you never changed the oil in your car, if you never checked the battery, coolant, pressure in the tires… how long would your car last? Isn't your body worth more than that?!

To learn more, stay in touch with my blog – I'll keep you informed so that YOU won't have to do the heavy lifting. Charlie Seymour Jr's Blog – Click HERE To See More!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
A Work At Home Dad since 1983, succeeding in this economy

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Charlie Seymour Jr is an entrepreneurial evangelist and marketing-success coach helping individuals and companies (up to $100MM) explode their success through online and direct-response marketing. He specializes in blogging, podcasting, photography, video, and Facebook applications. Visit his blog at Charlie Seymour Jr's Blog to learn more about his successes.

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Life Lessons – Blue Zones Studies Of The Longest Living Can Help You NOW

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