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Blue zones are the areas of the world with the highest concentration of centenarians.
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Blue zone centenarians share some common traits, such as a healthy diet, moderate physical activity and a strong sense of community.
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Is there, then, a secret to living long and healthy lives?
In2004, scholars Giorgio Pes and Michel Poulain published a paper on some particularly long-lived populations. Their studies had led them to discover some areas of the world where the population was exceptionally long-lived, with concentrations of 90-year-olds or centenarians far higher than elsewhere. They called these regions “Blue Zones,” not because blue indicates longevity or life but simply because they used a blue marker to circle them on the map.
There are four blue zones: the Ogliastra in the province of Nuoro in Sardinia, the island of Okinawa in Japan, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, and Icaria in Greece.
How is it possible that regions so distant from each other and without any kind of relationship linking them were united by the presence of such high concentrations of centenarians?
Pes and Poulain traced common traits that characterize these communities:
– The importance of family
– Absence or low presence of smokers
– A semi-vegetarian diet rich in legumes
– Constant and moderate physical activity
– Membership in the community.
There is a way and a way to live long
One dream of mankind is to live as long as possible, which is then the realist version of immortality: knowing that sooner or later life ends, we all hope that it will last so long that it resembles an eternity.
What is less often highlighted are the conditions under which eventually this extension of life should take place. Americans for example distinguish between “life span” and “health span,” that is, between life span and health span. In fact, one thing we can all agree on is that it matters not only to live long but more importantly it matters to live well for a long time. And there is a big difference, because a long life with health problems is an unbearable ordeal while living longer (and then: longer than what? Than the national average perhaps?) in good health is what one should hope for.
Health at the center
It is no coincidence that the characteristic aspects of these mismatched populations by origin highlighted by the two scholars can be grouped into two categories: mental and physical well-being.
The first is ensured by belonging to a family with active roles: many of the centenarians studied spend a lot of time with children and grandchildren, with the result that they keep their mental faculties active, remembering and recounting and, above all, still and continuously feeling useful.
The second by a diet rich in vegetables and legumes, by the absence or low presence of vices, and above all by physical activity, albeit moderate (we are still talking about centenarians!).
Not surprisingly, mind and body have equal importance in the lives and longevity of these people. It is also unnecessary to remind us for the umpteenth time of the importance of movement, and this research only confirms it, moving its beneficial effects to an unprecedented level.
After all, that in order to live well and long there is a need to keep active and eat well, avoiding alcohol and smoking, is a well-known fact. What is perhaps even more interesting, however, is the role of community and a sense of belonging: ultimately feeling important and useful matters more than many accolades or many things we think of as fundamental, such as success or money (or sports achievements). Not that these are superfluous aspects of life: not having financial problems and being accepted and appreciated is most important, but in the long run it is much more so to feel loved and important. Or at least useful.
Maybe it won’t guarantee that we will be part of a Blue Zone while living far away from it, but it will enable us to achieve the dream of every human being: not to live long, but to live long and well. And these are two very different things.