Blue zone foods to help you live longer

While many health factors feel uncontrollable, diet is completely in our hands and plays an important role in longevity. Even small changes in how we eat can affect our lives.

Dan Buettner, a National Geographic partner, founder of Blue Zones LLC, and author of The Blue Zones American Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100studied the daily habits of those who live in blue zones where people live about a decade longer than average (think Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; and Ikaria, Greece).

After compiling his research and distilling some of the lessons of the blue zones into his book, Buettner says the advice can be applied to your weekly grocery run—and it’s easier than you think.

Bottom line: “put down your whole plant-based food glasses and go to your grocery store,” Buettner says. luck.

With this basic principle in mind, focus on ingredients that you find tasty.

“Find the ingredients you like, and if you learn how to mix them together to make something delicious, you’re going to eat up to 100,” he said.

Here are five foods that Buettner says represent the blue zone lifestyle:

Beans

The seeds offer a unique mixture of protein and fiber, useful for building muscle and maintaining a stable blood sugar. They also contain folate and magnesium, important for cell growth and muscle growth. Most Americans don’t get enough fiber in their diet, and Buettner points to the microbiome’s reliance on fiber to function properly. One cup of beans provides about half of your daily fiber recommendation.

You can find beans for less than $2 a pound, he says, making them an easy addition to any diet.

In his book, Buettner recommends eating seeds every day, he writes “reigns supreme in the blue zones and is the basis of every longevity diet in the world.”

Nuts

Eat a few nuts a day, says Buettner, whether it’s almonds, pistachios, walnuts or cashews, to name a few. It contains protein and fiber and reduces the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and inflammation.

Whole fruits and leafy vegetables

One key to eating like you live in a blue zone is to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables every day, especially adding leafy greens, which are full of vitamins.

“People in the blue zones eat an impressive variety of garden vegetables and leafy greens (especially spinach, kale, beet and turnip tops, chard, and collards) when they’re in season; they pickled or dried the excess to enjoy during the off-season,” Buettner wrote in his book.

Sustaining sustainable dietary changes only works if people stick to their habits. And you’re more likely to stick with a habit if you enjoy it. Constantly finding your favorite vegetables and fruits during your grocery run takes the stress out of buying things you don’t want.

You sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes contain complex carbohydrates and protein, not to mention they’re cheap and easily accessible, Buettner said. They are filled with vitamins that are essential for strengthening the gut microbiome, which helps digestion and strengthens the immune system.

Turmeric

Turmeric, a common ingredient found in curries, is a major anti-inflammatory spice, and is used medicinally. digestive problems, liver problems, and wounds.

“And turmeric affects the hippocampus, which is a part of the brain that helps regulate stress hormones,” Dr. Uma Naidoo, a Harvard-trained nutritional psychiatrist and author of This is Your Food Brainsaid before Good luck. This helps prevent chronic stress that can lead to heart problems.

Consider adding spice to your next one cup of tea.

Buttner hopes people will see that eating in a way that promotes health and longevity is beyond reach.

“People tend to think [of] the very expensive foods, or even the expensive fresh produce, which is beyond the reach of many Americans,” he said. “In the blue zone, people eat the food of the farmers, so they eat the seeds and vegetables that grow in vacant lots and grains, which are cheap. You can buy that in bulk. “

Learn how to navigate and build trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter that explores what leaders need to succeed. Sign up here.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *