Longevity

Achuthy Yahuchana shared an article about longevity and blue zones in one of the groups she manages on Facebook.  The article caused me to pause and do a little research into blue zones, and what they are.  What I discovered led me to dig a little more into the whys and hows of longevity. 

 

Below is a brief summary of what I learned:

 

Ten percent of longevity is determined by genes, the remaining ninety percent by lifestyle choices.

Blue zones are described as areas where people live exceptionally long lives.  There are only five such locations where this is pretty common throughout the world.  The five regions identified and discussed in the book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest, are outlined below:

 Sardinia, Italy (particularly Nuoro province and Ogliastra): one team of demographers found a hot spot of longevity in mountain villages where men reach the age of 100 years at an amazing rate.

 The islands of Okinawa, Japan: another team examined a group that is among the longest-lived on Earth

 Loma Linda, California: researchers studied a group of Seventh-day Adventists who rank among North America's longevity all-stars

Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica: the peninsula was the subject of research on a Quest Network expedition which began on January 29, 2007.

Icaria, Greece: an April 2009 study on the island of Ikaria uncovered the location with the highest percentage of 90 year-olds on the planet - nearly 1 out of 3 people make it to their 90s. Furthermore, Ikarians "have about 20 percent lower rates of cancer, 50 percent lower rates of heart disease and almost no dementia".

Residents of the first three places produce a high rate of centenarians, suffer a fraction of the diseases that commonly kill people in other parts of the developed world, and enjoy more healthy years of life.

The people inhabiting Blue Zones share common lifestyle characteristics that contribute to their longevity.

There seems to be six shared characteristics among the people of Okinawa, Sardinia, and Loma Linda Blue Zones:

Family – put ahead of other concerns
Less smoking
Vegetarianism – except for the Sardinian diet, the majority of food consumed is derived from plants
Constant moderate physical activity – an inseparable part of life
Social engagement – people of all ages are socially active and integrated into their communities
Legumes – commonly consumed

What seems to be shared among all of the people in the blue zones is that they share a very similar way of living.  A way of living that was quite common among the Abaryt or Hebrew people in Scripture.

These similarities are outlined below:

Exercise is natural, not with grueling hours at the gym or workouts that beat up and tear your

body down instead of encouraging natural flexibility, strength, and tone based off regular day to
day activities such as household chores, gardening, and taking regular walks. 

Spending time outdoors, not just for the needed vitamin D, but for exercise and fresh air also.

Sharing in community life where elders are generally celebrated and looked to for wisdom, are

Respected as valuable members of their communities, and as such impact the children around
them.

Having a sense of purpose.  In other words, not being treated as if they are too old to do

anything, including working.  Their skills and experiences are sought after and respected.

Eating wisely.  All of these groups enjoy diets that are surprisingly as close to nature as one can

get.  They consume lots of green vegetables and legumes.  They do not over eat.  They eat
wisely and in moderation.  Because of this, they have lower rates of obesity, diabetes, heart
disease, cancers, and mental disease.

Have a strong social understanding.  They have strong and supportive intimate as well as
communal relationships.  Family comes before community and community comes before
money and material things.  They maintain close friendships  and live in a supportive structure. 

It is very important to them to maintain and stay in touch with their spiritual and cultural
customs.  They look upon the customs of the Western world as wicked, and pretty much
unnecessary to living.

When interviewed, a group of centenarians living in the United States it was obvious that their “secret” to longevity was pretty similar to those living in the blue zones.  They stated the following as what has kept them alive and healthy 100+ years:

                Having a positive attitude, and not living life surrounded by negativity

                Eating less and wiser, over 75% are complete vegetarians
                Exercising the mind as well as the body, most walk daily as well as read
                Having a strong foundation in their belief
                Having a loving and supportive family
                Keeping their bodies as clean from smoking, drinking, drugs, and toxins as they can

 Many of the centenarians interviewed stated that they enjoy some of the modern conveniences like computers and such, but that they feel that today people are lazy, and unmotivated, and have no idea of what hard work really means.  They said that they feel privileged to have lived in times were life was more simple and people took care of each other, lived off the land, and wasn’t so worried about how much money they made as they were about keeping their families whole, healthy, and loved.   

It is well understood among them that the true secret to living life past 65 and into their 100s, is that to live as old as Mashah/Moses did, they have to live like Mashah/Moses did.