Think living a long and healthy life well into your nineties or even one hundred years old is only for those lucky few who hit the genetic lottery? Think again.
 
Lifestyle factors, i.e. the things you do everyday over the long-term – can add up to increase the number of quality years in your lifespan.
 
Look no further than the people of Blue Zones for proof of how powerful everyday habits are when it comes to staying healthy for the long haul.
 
The Blue Zones are regions around the world where people have very low rates of chronic disease and live longer compared to other populations.
 
They are located in regions of Greece, Sardinia, Costa Rica, Japan, and California, where a large number of Seventh Day Adventists reside.
 
Because these communities are home to the greatest number of people who live healthfully into their nineties and even hundreds, researchers have studied them to determine just how they age so healthfully.
 
Do you have to live in an actual Blue Zone to guarantee longevity? Nope! You can adopt some of the well-studied lifestyle traits of these folks to promote health and longevity right where you are.
 
Here’s the top 5 life “hacks” of the world’s longest living people:

​Eat a Plant-rich Diet
Blue Zone residents eat a mostly plant-based diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and whole grains. Animal foods aren’t avoided – they eat smaller portions of meat a handful of times per month.
 
You don’t have to become a strict vegetarian or vegan, but it’s important to eat a variety of plant foods daily - they contain fiber, vitamins, minerals, and powerful antioxidants that help decrease inflammation and protect you from chronic disease, like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
 
A simple rule of thumb is to fill half your plate with vegetables at every meal. Yep, every meal!

Include Healthy Fats
Eat heart healthy unsaturated and omega-3 fats in the form of olive oil, nuts, and fish.
 
Getting enough omega-3’s helps decrease disease-causing inflammation and keeps your heart and brain healthy.
 
Eating enough fat also keeps you feeling fuller longer, which can help prevent overeating that leads to weight gain - bonus!

Stop Eating Before You Feel 100% Full
Avoid the clean plate club. Eating slowly chewing your food thoroughly gives your brain and stomach time to register that it’s had enough to eat.
 
Blue Zone communities avoid overeating and eating beyond feelings of fullness, which again, can help prevent weight gain.

Drink Red Wine
Enjoying a glass of red wine a day increases your antioxidant intake, which is thought to decrease inflammation and help prevent heart disease.
 
Of course, moderation is key. Four ounces of wine is considered a glass and drinking more than that is associated with negative health effects.

Move Your Body Throughout the Day
​Have you heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking”? As in, it’s not good for your health to sit for extended periods of time.
 
Lack of physical activity and prolonged sitting is linked to weight gain, obesity, and increased mortality. Be sure to look for opportunities to add movement into your regular routines.
 
You might try:

• Stretching while you watch tv
• Take an after dinner evening walk
• Park farther away from your destination
• Choose stairs over elevators
• Take standing and stretching breaks at work
• Use a stand-up workstation, and fidget while you work (or dance!)

 
The world’s longest living people live active lives that include daily physical activities, like gardening, walking, and manual tasks.
 


RECIPE
 
Mediterranean Bean Salad
Ingredients

• 2 15-oz cans of beans, drained and rinsed (use black beans, cannellini beans, kidney beans or chickpeas/garbanzo beans)
• 1 english cucumber, chopped with skin on
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomato, halved
• 1 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup virgin olive oil (= longevity oil!)
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 whole cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano or 2 tsp fresh herb
• salt and pepper to taste

 
Preparation
 
1. Combine beans, cucumber, pepper, onion, tomatoes, and olives in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl or sealed jar with a lid, whisk or shake together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper.
3. Toss salad with dressing and enjoy at room temperature or refrigerate unused portions.
 


REFERENCES
 
Power 9: Reverse Engineering Longevity
 
Why People in “Blue Zones” Live Longer Than the Rest of the World
 
13 Habits Linked to a Long Life (Backed by Science)

So much of health is all about habits and actions, but where do these all stem from? What if we don’t have to make as many changes as we think we do? What if there was one powerful thing that makes a lot of difference?
 
That thing is mindset.
 
Mindset is sometimes called “the story we tell ourselves.” It’s our attitude toward things in our life. And we have control over our mindset.
 
And research is showing that it may be far more powerful than we thought.
 
Very interesting health mindset study
 
Here’s a quick story about a fascinating study.
 
Researchers at Stanford University looked at a bunch of people's health and wellness lifestyle habits, as well as health markers.
 
What they found was that the people who thought they were a lot less active had a higher risk of death than the general public. And, they also had up to 71% higher risk of death than people who thought they were more active. Even if they actually weren't less active!
 
How is this even possible that people who simply thought they were less active had higher risks, even if it wasn’t true?
 
There are a couple of ideas why. One is that maybe if we feel like we're less active, it may make us feel more stressed. And stress isn't good for our mental or physical health. Second, there may be a bit of a mind-body connection where the body embodies what the mind visualizes.
​
Researchers don't know why, but what matters is that there is a good mindset. So, let me give you a couple of strategies to boost your mindset for health.
 
Health mindset strategy 1 - Aim for good enough.
 
Almost no one eats perfectly seven days a week. It's inevitable that obsessing over the quality and quantity of everything we eat or drink isn't necessarily a great mindset to have.
 
It can bring on binging, shame, and guilt - none of these are great ways to get healthy. We want to get healthier by making better choices and building better habits. And these are usually best done incrementally - one step at a time.
 
So, instead of having a black and white approach where everything is good or bad, why not try aiming for good enough to empower ourselves to make better choices, instead of perfect choices.
 
Health mindset strategy 2 - Stop making tradeoffs
 
When you try to earn a gluttonous weekend by eating clean during the week, you're making a tradeoff. You're telling yourself that, as long as you're good most of the week, you can go wild on the weekend.
 
And that's not awesome because the mindset is jumping from one extreme to the other. You're controlling what you do all week, and possibly thinking about how to indulge over the weekend. Just live as though you're trying to do well every single day. Like you care about your health and wellness. You're doing your best, and that's good enough.
 
Conclusion
 
Mindset for health can be a powerful tool for better physical health. There’s a proven mind-body connection that research can measure.
 
Thinking positively, and dropping the black/white and good/bad labels, can help you reach your health goals.
 
How is your mindset for health? Which of these tips resonate with you the most? How are you going to implement them in your life? Let me know in the comments.

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