What do the 5 Blue Zones have that make people live the longest in the world?

5 “Blue Zones” in the world

“Blue Zones” is a concept used to refer to geographical areas in the world where the environment is clean, the nature is beautiful, and is not polluted thanks to the protection of the community and local authorities. In addition, Blue Zones are also home to many aquatic species, with many green trees and rivers.

Evdilos village on the island of Icaria. Photo: Guardian

There are currently five areas in the world labeled “Green Zones”.

First is Icaria (Greece). Icaria is an island in Greece where people eat a diet rich in olive oil, red wine, and home-grown vegetables.

Second is Sardinia (Italy): Ogliastra is a province in the east of Sardinia – an Italian island, it is home to some of the world’s longest-lived men. Since Ogliastra is the most mountainous province in Sardinia, people here often work on farms, gardens and love to drink red wine.

Third is Okinawa (Japan): Home to the world's longest-living women, who eat a lot of soy foods and practice Tai Chi regularly.

Fourth is the Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica). The Nicoya people's diet often includes beans and a type of corn tortilla. People in this area also regularly perform physically demanding jobs even in old age and have a philosophy of life called "plan de vida" (often translated as "Why did I wake up this morning?" to reflect on one's existence and create the will to enjoy life to the fullest, to live a life worth living).

Fifth is the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Loma Linda, California (USA). The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a group of very devout people who are strict vegetarians and live in close-knit communities.

Kame Ogito, 89, collects seaweed at low tide in Motobu, Okinawa, Japan (Illustration photo: NPR)

What makes the Blue Zones famous worldwide is the longevity of its people. The results of many studies have shown that people in the Blue Zones have the highest life expectancy in the world, over 100 years old, which is 15-20 years higher than the average, and the people are completely free of chronic diseases. This is especially attractive to scientists and medical experts around the world, who have come here to find out the secret behind this longevity.

Nature is the source, the breath of life

Dan Buettner is an American explorer. After traveling to many places and exploring many lands, he studied the longevity in Blue Zones around the world. The results showed many interesting things. For example, the rate of people living to 100 years old, this rate in the Blue Zones of Okinawa in Japan is 6.5/10,000, while in the US, this rate is only 1.7/10,000 people. The most unique point in the Okinawan diet is fresh food every day with lots of vegetables and fruits. Plants are grown completely naturally. Residents also eat meat, but it is seafood and freshly caught seafood.

Unlike other regions in the Blue Zones, Okinawa's "longevity foods" are more modest in quantity, consisting only of brown rice, green tea, shiitake mushrooms and tofu. Researchers concluded that the Okinawan people's longevity is due to their natural and healthy diet, all movements and activities in life are connected to nature, taking place in the midst of fresh and open nature.

According to Buettner, survival is the intersection between longevity and active living. It is not just about living long but also about living attractively so that people can enjoy life. And the way to enjoy life is to live, enjoy, and blend into nature, into the ideal living space.

Thus, the factors that create the "Green Zone" are, in addition to a balanced diet and exercise regimen, a green living environment, close to nature, extremely fresh air and people nurtured and pampered by nature. In Vietnam, 2 decades ago, the founder of Ecopark created a living environment that is similar to the above Green Zones. That is the Ecopark Green City, nearly 500 hectares wide, but has more than 100 hectares of trees and water, a density of 120 trees/person, the air quality in Ecopark exceeds the EU's allowable standards (25 Mg/l of air) and is equivalent to the air quality in New Zealand - one of the places with the cleanest air quality in the world. That is also the reason why Ecopark increasingly attracts many residents, pulling them out of the narrow, stuffy inner city to a place where people are loved and pampered by nature.

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/5-vung-dat-blue-zones-co-gi-ma-nguoi-dan-song-truong-tho-nhat-tren-the-gioi-post264542.html