The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

by Dan Buettner

Try these common practices from Costa Rica’s Blue Zone. Have a plan de vida. Successful centenarians have a strong sense of purpose.

Drink hard water. Nicoyan water has the country’s highest calcium content, perhaps explaining the lower rates of heart disease, as well as stronger bones and fewer hip fractures.

Keep a focus on family. Nicoyan centenarians tend to live with their families,

Eat a light dinner. Eating fewer calories appears to be one of the surest ways to add years to your life.

Maintain social networks. Nicoyan centenarians get frequent visits from neighbors.

Keep hard at work. Centenarians seem to have enjoyed physical work all of their lives. They find joy in everyday physical chores.

Get some sensible sun. Nicoyans regularly take in the sunshine, which helps their bodies produce vitamin D for strong bones and healthy body function.

“smart” sun exposure (about 15 minutes on the legs and arms)

Embrace a common history. Modern Nicoyans’ roots to the indigenous Chorotega and their traditions have enabled them to remain relatively free of stress.

fortified maize and beans may be the best nutritional combination for longevity

Ikaria, apparently, was a mother lode for healthy centenarians.

“Have you noticed that no one wears a watch here? No clock is working correctly. When you invite someone to lunch, they might come at 10:00 a.m. or 6:00 p.m. We simply don’t care about the clock here.”

Here, we don’t. For the many religious and cultural holidays, people pool their money and buy food and wine. If there is money left over, they give it to the poor. It’s not a ‘me’ place. It’s an ‘us’ place.”

In addition to being a natural sweetener, honey may help control blood sugar levels, studies have found. Eating honey also has been shown to slow the oxidation of the “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood, which is a good thing.

local diet. Ikarians eat a version of the Mediterranean diet, a menu rich in olive oil and vegetables, low in dairy and meat, with some alcohol daily.

wild marjoram, sage (flas-komilia), a type of mint tea (fliskouni), olive tree leaf infusions, rosemary, and a tea made from boiling dandelion leaves and drinking the water with a little lemon.

SIESTAS Your kindergarten teacher may be onto something—napping is good for you. Any time you can rest and recharge is good,

people who took naps had lower coronary mortality than those who didn’t. The researchers defined “regular” naps as the kind that took place at least three times a week for about 30 minutes.

diet was also typical of the area: a breakfast of goat’s milk, condensed wine, sage tea or coffee, and honey and bread. Lunch was almost always beans (lentils, garbanzos), potatoes, greens (fennel, dandelion, or a spinach-like green called horta), and whatever seasonal vegetable their garden produced; dinner was bread and goat’s milk.

socializing brings us a fundamental satisfaction.

Wild mint fought gingivitis and ulcers, rosemary reduced the symptoms of gout, and artemisia improved blood circulations.

drinking wine along with a plant-based meal increased flavonoid absorption and doubled the healthful effects of drinking wine alone.

occasional napping decreased a person’s risk for coronary heart disease by 12 percent, but that regular napping decreased their risk by a whopping 37 percent.

HERBAL TEAS Ikarians drink herbal teas made from wild oregano, sage, and rosemary—all of which lower blood pressure.

chamomile tea contains properties that guard against platelet clumping; peppermint tea exhibits antiviral properties; and hibiscus tea may lower blood pressure.

“If someone tells you to come for lunch, it could mean show up anytime from noon to dusk,” she said. “There’s obviously a very low sense of time urgency here.”

herbal teas showed strong antioxidant properties as rich sources of polyphenols.

herbs are also mild diuretics; they make you pee.

diuretics lower and control blood pressure.

potatoes, goat milk, honey, beans (garbanzo, black-eyed peas, and lentils), wild greens, and comparatively low levels of fruit and fish consumption.

Ikarians consumed about six times as many beans a day as Americans, ate fish only twice a week, consumed meat five times a month, drank up to six cups of coffee a day, and took in about a quarter as much refined sugar

low dairy is associated with lower heart disease, and olive oil—especially unheated—lowers bad cholesterol and raises good cholesterol.

Goat’s milk contains serotonin-boosting tryptophan and is easily digestible for older people. Some wild greens have ten times as many antioxidants as red wine. And wine—in moderation—can be good for you

flavonoids, the artery-scrubbing antioxidants. It’s one of those 1 + 1...

Sourdough bread (which Gianni found to have been made with Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis), when eaten with a meal, actually reduces the rise in blood sugar levels after a meal.

potatoes, which are highly correlated with obesity in the United States, contributed heart-healthy potassium, vitamin B6, and fiber to the Ikarian diet.

LEAFY GREENS Salads offer a great way to eat a variety of vegetables, but the greens themselves also can be full of vitamins and minerals.

Greens contain vitamins (A and C), folate, calcium, fiber, and phytonutrients.

“Do you know there’s no word in Greek for privacy?”

“When everyone knows everyone else’s business, you get a feeling of connection and security.

we do eat better here than in America. But it’s more about how we eat. Even if it’s your lunch break from work, you relax and enjoy your meal. You enjoy the company of whoever you are with.

Okinawa, there’s none of this artificial punctuation of life. Instead, the notion of ikigai—“the reason for which you wake up in the morning”—imbues people’s entire adult lives.

The Nicoyans use the term plan de vida to describe a lifelong sense of purpose.

wine may follow that cup of tea, but you’ll drink them in the company of good friends.

$20 billion diet industry and $21 billion health club industry do in their effort to convince us that if we take the right pill, eat the right food, or do the right workout, we’ll be healthier, lose weight, and live longer.

Drink some goat’s milk. Adding some goat milk to your diet could provide a great source of calcium, potassium, and the stress-relieving hormone tryptophan.

Look for the freshest oil, as time can diminish its antioxidant power, and never cook with so much heat that the oil smokes.

Wild rosemary, sage, and oregano teas also act as a diuretic, which can keep blood pressure in

Take a cue from Ikarians and take a midafternoon break. People who nap regularly have up to 35 percent lower chances of dying from heart disease.