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100 Year Life

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  [23]100 Year Life | [24]Health
  The ingredients for a longer life
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  People from some of the longest lived communities in the world tend to
  have diets high in fruit and vegetables (Credit: Alamy)
  By David Robson 13th May 2020
  A handful of small towns have remarkable longevity. What is it about
  their lifestyle that can increase your chances of living to 100?
  O

  One is a town surrounded by tropical forest and beaches popular with
  surfers, two are craggy islands in the turquoise waters of the
  Mediterranean, the fourth is at the tail of the Japanese archipelago,
  while the last is a small city in California whose name means
  “beautiful hill”.

  At first glance, there might not seem much to link these five locations
  – Nicoya in Costa Rica, Sardinia in Italy, Ikaria in Greece, Okinawa in
  Japan and Loma Linda in California. They are scattered in different
  corners of the world and could not look more different.

  But for anyone wanting to live a long and healthy life, these are
  perhaps the five best places to have been born. These are the so-called
  Blue Zones, where people’s chances of living to 100 years old is
  [28]ten times higher than the US average.

  You might also like:

  • [29]Why we get nicer as we get older
  • [30]How our tastes change as we age
  • [31]Costa Rica’s plan for a long and happy life

  The term Blue Zone first originated with the Italian epidemiologist
  Gianni Pes and the Belgian demographer Michel Poulain, who were
  investigating rates of mortality in Sardinia. Marking regions of high
  longevity in blue in the early 2000s, they found a cluster of
  particularly high life expectancies in the province of Nuoro on the
  island. Working with the American journalist Dan Buettner, they since
  identified a handful of other regions across the world – work that
  spawned a best-selling book on the subject in 2008.
  Getting plenty of daily exercise may be one of the keys to the long
  life enjoyed by centenarians in Blue Zones around the world (Credit
  Alamy)

  Getting plenty of daily exercise may be one of the keys to the long
  life enjoyed by centenarians in Blue Zones around the world (Credit
  Alamy)

  In the subsequent 12 years, many scientists have continued their
  research into the Blue Zones, with many intriguing hypotheses about
  what might explain the longevity in these regions.

  The lifespan lottery

  Let’s first explore the general patterns. As Buettner explored in his
  original book, the lifestyles of people across the Blue Zones share
  certain characteristics.

  The first is diet. Particularly in the past, many people in the Blue
  Zones tended to eat in moderation. In Okinawa, for example, the elderly
  people follow the ancient rule of “Hara hachi bu” – eating only until
  the stomach is 80% full. (According to scientific studies, that
  translates to around [32]10% fewer calories than the current
  recommendations for the average adult.)

  And this seems to slow ageing.

  Long-term animal studies by Rozalyn Anderson, who researches metabolism
  and ageing at the University of Wisconsin, have shown that macaques
  following similar “calorie restricted” diets and have a markedly lower
  risk of age-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart
  disease. They [33]even look younger – the macaques’ fur took longer to
  turn grey, for example.

In Okinawa, the elderly people follow the ancient rule of “Hara hachi bu” –
eating only until the stomach is 80% full

  We don’t yet understand the full mechanisms behind these effects,
  though calorie restriction seems to reduce the build-up of the toxic
  free radicals that are normally the result of our metabolism, and which
  can damage our cells. Some scientists have argued that the body also
  experiences the reduced calorie consumption as a very mild stress,
  which shifts its signalling to focus on the maintenance of cells
  (rather than, say, building new tissue).

  According to Diddahally Govindaraju, a geneticist at Harvard
  University, in Boston, Massachusetts, this decreases the [34]risk of
  forming damaging mutations in our DNA, which could lead to diseases
  like cancer. “Calorie restriction appears to reduce DNA damage and
  improve DNA repair,” he says. “And genome integrity appears to be a
  feature among centenarians.” Besides being fairly frugal, the diets in
  the Blue Zones are mostly plant-based, which can contribute to greater
  heart health.

  Spiritual connection

  In addition to their eating habits, of equal importance are the social
  lives these centenarians enjoy: the people in the Blue Zones tend to
  live in highly integrated communities. It is now well accepted that a
  sense of social connection helps to reduce the effects of stress, while
  the responsibility of maintaining those friendships encourages greater
  overall mental and physical activity. In one meta-analysis, Julianne
  Holt-Lunstad, a psychologist at Brigham Young University, in Provo,
  Utah, found that [35]the quality of our relationships are as important
  to our health as exercise or diet.

  [36]Watch BBC Reel’s series of three films exploring the lives of
  Sardinia’s centenarians and the unique benefits of their genetic and
  cultural isolation.

  Religion offers one important source of social connection in the Blue
  Zones. The people of Loma Linda are mostly Seventh-Day Adventists, for
  instance, while the Nicoyans and Sardinians are Catholics, the Ikarians
  are Greek Orthodox, and in Okinawa, the locals practice the
  [37]Ryukyuan religion. Writing [38]a paper for the American Journal of
  Lifestyle Medicine, Buettner described how all but five of the 263 Blue
  Zone centenarians he had interviewed were part of some kind of
  spiritual community. (Read more about [39]how the Nicoyan way of life
  contributes to their longevity.)
  Social interaction and spirituality were both found to be common among
  100 year olds in places like Okinawa (Credit: Alamy)

  Social interaction and spirituality were both found to be common among
  100 year olds in places like Okinawa (Credit: Alamy)

  In addition to [40]the social connection they can provide, religious
  practices also offer a sense of purpose to life, and offer solace
  during upset, which together are thought to [41]add between one and
  five years to believers’ life expectancy. That’s bad news for atheists,
  of course, but there may be other ways that people without faith can
  enjoy the same benefits. Some cities already have [42]secular
  assemblies that offer time for contemplation, meditation and social
  support from like-minded individuals, which should, in theory, have
  many of the same life-enhancing effects without the belief of divine
  intervention. The [43]awe we experience in nature may also have similar
  benefits.

  Time for a brew?

  Beyond these broad similarities between the Blue Zones, some of their
  more unique quirks can also give us some hints at the secrets of
  exceptional longevity.

  When it comes to the specific elements of the diet, for instance, it’s
  interesting to note that on the Greek island of Ikaria, the population
  is known to [44]drink a few cups of tea and coffee a day, and this
  seems to be associated with reduced cardiovascular disease in the
  region. The finding would seem to fit with longitudinal studies from
  elsewhere showing that [45]drinking a few cups of these hot drinks a
  day can reduce the risk of problems like cardiovascular disease. This
  may be due to the fact they contain many micronutrients, such as
  magnesium, potassium, niacin and vitamin E, that act as antioxidants,
  mopping up toxic free radicals that may be behind many diseases.

  Greek coffee – made by boiling a fine grind in a tall narrow pot – is
  thought to be especially good for the body since it releases
  [46]polyphenols, known as chlorogenic acids, which [47]reduce
  inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation contributes to many
  age-related diseases, such as promoting the growth of plaques in your
  arteries that lead to heart attacks and strokes, so the regular
  consumption of an anti-inflammatory polyphenols like the chlorogenic
  acids could reduce that damage.

They don’t even eat as much fish as you might expect for people living on an
island – Christina Chrysohoou

  [48]These drinks are also associated with a lower risk of type II
  diabetes. Through various pathways, compounds that have
  anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties – such as chlorogenic
  acids – appear to stabilise our blood sugar levels, by [49]regulating
  our cells’ energy uptake and preventing them from developing insulin
  resistance – a precursor to diabetes. “It promotes the beneficial
  metabolism of glucose,” says Christina Chrysohoou at the University of
  Athens, Greece, who was a lead author on the study of cardiovascular
  disease in Ikaria.

  Caffeinated drinks certainly aren’t a guaranteed elixir of life. But
  combined with a moderate, low-calorie diet, they may contribute to a
  longer and healthier existence. Like the food in Okinawa and Sardinia,
  the diet in Ikaria is notably low in meat and high in fresh fruit and
  vegetables. “They don’t even eat as much fish as you might expect for
  people living on an island,” says Chrysohoou.

  Bitter-sweet solutions

  Along similar lines, the exceptional longevity of Okinawa’s residents
  has generated lots of interest in two of its most common ingredients:
  the sweet potato and the bitter melon – that may have life-extending
  properties.

  While rice is the staple carbohydrate for most of Japan, the [50]sweet
  potato has long been the most common carb on Okinawa since it was first
  introduced in the 1600s. Unlike foods such as white bread, it has a low
  glycaemic index, meaning that its energy is released slowly into the
  bloodstream. It is also dense with nutrients like vitamins A, C and E:
  antioxidants that can mop up damaging free radicals, and which also
  reduce inflammation.

  The sweet potatoes’ potassium content helps to reduce blood pressure.
  The tuber is also high in fibre (which is essential for a healthy gut
  microbiome) and low in cholesterol and saturated fat, all of which
  should reduce the risk of chronic disease. (Read more about [51]how a
  high-carb diet may explain why Okinawans live so long.)
  Greek coffee is thought to be particularly good for human health due to
  the anti-inflammatory compounds it contains (Credit: Alamy)

  Greek coffee is thought to be particularly good for human health due to
  the anti-inflammatory compounds it contains (Credit: Alamy)

  The bitter melon, meanwhile, looks a bit like a knobbly cucumber, with
  a taste a little like black tea. It is used in a variety of dishes –
  from salads and tempura to juice drinks. Like the Greek coffee drunk in
  Ikaria, it contains compounds that may [52]stabilise glucose uptake and
  metabolism, reducing the risk of insulin resistance and type II
  diabetes.

  There may be many more examples in years to come. Nutrient-dense marine
  organisms like [53]seaweed, algae and kelp – all of which are consumed
  in Okinawa – are also attracting increasing interest for their
  potential to stave off age-related diseases, for instance.

  A lifegiving landscape

  Less researched, but equally tantalising, is the possibility that the
  very place where these people live may hold some clues to their
  exceptional longevity.

  The Sardinian Blue Zone, for example, lies in incredibly mountainous,
  and breath-takingly beautiful, regions of the island – often called the
  “Selvaggio Blu” (Blue Wild) to describe the rugged terrain sweeping
  straight from the coast. Most of the centenarians living in Sardinia
  were farm workers, leading Pes and Poulain to speculate that [54]the
  steep slopes increased the physical activity of their already demanding
  day-to-day lives. They were athletes thanks to the natural landscape
  and a traditional way of life.
  (BUTTON)
  The village with the key to long life

  Across the Aegean, Chrysohoou has been intrigued by the presence of
  [55]low but significant levels of radioactivity on the Blue Zone in
  Ikaria. The island is essentially divided into two geologically
  distinct zones: the east, formed of sedimentary metamorphic rock, and
  the west, which lies on a bed of granite that leaks radioactive radon
  into its famous springs.

  Amazingly, the longevity of the population appears to be highest in
  those slightly radioactive regions, while the people in the east have
  slightly lower lifespans. (Those springs in the west of the island are
  even said to produce “immortal water” by locals.) This could be a mere
  coincidence but Chrysohoou points to research in the US, which have
  also found this puzzling correlation between low levels of
  environmental radiation and longevity.

Amazingly, the longevity of the population appears to be highest in those
slightly radioactive regions

  “The Rocky Mountain States, for example, have a lower prevalence of
  cancer death compared to the Gulf States,” says Chrysohoou – yet the
  background radiation in Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico is around three
  times as high as the natural background radiation in Louisiana,
  Mississippi and Alabama. A few animal studies have also found that
  [56]a very low dose of radiation can induce an anti-inflammatory
  response and DNA repair – possibly in the same way that the small but
  beneficial stress of caloric restriction can trigger protective
  mechanisms within cells.

  For the time being, the finding remains a curiosity. Many more studies
  would have to confirm that these patterns cannot be explained by other
  factors and their potential mechanisms; Chrysohoou certainly isn’t
  suggesting that radioactive drinks might be the elusive elixir of
  youth. “It is rather dangerous to expect that radioactivity is good for
  your health,” she admits.

  The moderation principle

  Clearly, exceptional longevity of the Blue Zones can’t be restricted to
  a single magic ingredient, but is the combination of many factors –
  some of which are shared between the regions, and some of which are
  unique to each individual place. While that may not be as enticing as
  the discovery of a miraculous anti-ageing elixir or superfood, there
  are nevertheless many ways we could learn from these discoveries.

  Eating moderately with plenty of fruit and vegetables, exercising
  plenty, drinking coffee and tea, and finding space for spiritual solace
  (whether that’s church or a long mountain walk) – these are things that
  we can all build into our daily lives.

  --

  * David Robson is the author of [57]The Intelligence Trap, which
  examines why smart people act foolishly and the ways we can all make
  wiser decisions. He is [58]@d_a_robson on Twitter.

  --

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