Recipe of the Week

Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.

My aim is to live a very long life, but one where I am physically able for as long as possible. The older I get the more I care about my health and how I can achieve that aim. I hope you are the same, and by reading this Newsletter every week Rosemary and I will try our best to keep you well informed, and inspire you to be the best you can be, no matter what age you are. 

I always try to bring you the latest pieces of solid information to help you on your health journey, where science has done all the hard work in providing us with well-researched evidence, so we can make informed decisions about how to lead a healthy life and to live longer.

Two such scientists are social biologists Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain. As recently as 2004 they identified a province in Sardinia as a region that had an extraordinary number of people living over 100 years. As the two men researched the area, they began to draw blue circles around the cluster of villages where these centenarians lived and they have become known as the 'Blue Zones'.

Further research has now identified five similar regions across the world that have a high number of centenarians and they have become a focus for much research and all are now referred to as a Blue Zone. What is it that makes these areas so unique that people live such a long and seemingly healthy life, free from the usual modern-day scourge of diseases and ill health?

They do all have some aspects of life that are common to all the areas and I am highlighting three here. Most of them will not surprise you, as they include so much of what we bring to you every week through this Newsletter, but it makes for interesting reading.
 

Okinawa, Japan
This is a group of islands 100 miles south of Tokyo where the elderly population enjoy what may be the longest life expectancy in the world - and are healthy in the process. They have the lowest frequency in the world of the three major killers in the West – coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Why? There are several reasons but some key ones have been identified differing greatly from the West. And it is of course linked to what they eat and how much physical activity they do:

• They eat a largely plant-based diet. A huge 70% of their diet is from plants.
• They believe you should leave the table only 80% full – giving time for the digestive signals that tell the brain they have had enough!
• They sit on the floor maintaining the ability to keep the joints very mobile.  A 100-year- old easily gets up to standing!  'If you use it you keep it!'
• They walk a lot and they think you should walk fast!
• There is no word for 'retirement' in their language. 

Sardinia, Italy
In a mountainous area in Sardinia there are 10 times the number of centenarians compared with most of the world. Scientists have been trying to piece together the main factors that leads to this phenomenon. Unusually, the men are just as likely as the women to live to be one hundred. In the West, statistically, women live longer. They live in a mountainous area where their houses are often 3 - 4 storeys high and therefore everywhere they walk involves an uphill climb. They have been found to literally move all day long!  Other factors include:

• They eat a lot of wholegrain foods, particularly pasta and bread. Sourdough bread particularly lowers the glycaemic load – that’s the estimate of how much a quantity of food will raise a person’s blood glucose level.
• They use minestrone soup as a staple part of their diet, full of a variety of vegetables.
• There are no nursing homes – the family take care of older members. There is a strong connection to older people – they are 'valued'.
• Their sense of community is a core value. They love a 'Happy Hour' drinking wine together!

Loma Linda, USA
Loma Linda is a city in San Bernadino County, California. It is encouraging that in the United States there is a community who are living long and healthy lives. This is a faith-based community called Adventists and they are socially very connected. They believe that by mixing with people who lead a healthy life, the whole community can follow.

• They eat a largely plant-based diet. 60% of their diet is fruit and vegetables and whole wheat grains. Only 5% is meat and fish.
• They believe unhealthy behaviours are contagious and lead to illness.
• They believe in plenty of rest so you can be at peace and have strong emotional health.

The particular attributes for each of these three Blue Zones overlap on this chart, giving us a clear picture of how to live a particularly long and healthy life.

What is clear from all these remarkable cultures is that they all lead vibrant, active and happy lives. 

All we need to do the same is available to us, and all we need to do is to copy everything they do! We just need to do it! Let’s create our own personal Blue Zone!

Did you know... 

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and is a fabulous holiday destination which is often overlooked being located between the better-known Sicily and Corsica.

It has been inhabited since the end of the Stone Age (around 20-10,000 years ago) with the indigenous Nuragic people flourishing from the 18th century BC to the 2nd century AD. The Romans then invaded and took over the Island for the next 700 years or so until the fall of the Roman empire.

Just two hours flight time from the UK, it is a great place to experience the very essence of Mediterranean life. Wherever you are on the island there are stunning coastlines with beautiful bays and beaches, vibrant yet uncommercialised towns and villages, and a mountainous interior with wonderful views, refreshing lakes and waterfalls. The island is scattered with around 7,000 ‘Nuraghi’ (mysterious stone dwellings dating back 3,500 years) as a permanent reminder of its prehistoric occupation, as well as numerous examples of Roman architecture.

And if you want to experience life in a Blue Zone, it's our nearest option!