Is this diet the secret to a long and healthy life?
What if we told you that the secret to a long and healthy life doesn’t just come down to your diet, but where you live? And that there are pockets of the world – called ‘Blue Zones’ – where people aren’t just living longer, but better, too.
Greece’s Ikaria, Italy’s Sardinia, Japan’s Okinawa, Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, and Loma Linda in California have been pinpointed by researchers as specific areas of the world with the highest concentration of healthy centenarians.
And apparently, this isn’t just down to luck. Each of these five Blue Zones, despite cultural differences, share dietary patterns – showing that good food is essential for a long and healthy life.
As a result, researchers have coined the ‘Blue Zone Diet’, which mirrors the way people in these regions eat.
But does it really work, and is the Blue Zone Diet right for you? WH caught up with Dr Will Bulsiewicz, founder of 38TERA and registered dietitian and founder of CityDietians Sophie Medlin to find out more.
What are ‘Blue Zones’?
As mentioned, Blue Zones refer to five areas where people are most likely to live to 100 or older. The term was popularised by National Geographic journalist Dan Buettner and the areas he singled out are:
Ikaria, Greece
Loma Linda, California
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Okinawa, Japan
Sardinia, Italy
According to a 2016 study, the people who live in these areas reach the age of 100 at a rate that is ten times higher than in the United States. And one thing they’ve got in common? They've thrived on plant-based diets which are rich in whole grains, greens, potatoes and beans for centuries.
As well as living longer, researchers have suggested that people who live in these five regions also have lower levels of chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
‘Eating healthy is a really good way of helping us maintain good health in the short and long run,’ explains dietitian Sophie Medlin, adding: ‘A healthy diet is important because it helps with anti-inflammatory benefits which are linked to preventing long-term diseases.’
‘It also supports us with fuelling our body properly,’ she continues. ‘This means that all our metabolic processes are as efficient as possible, reducing the impact of free radicals and oxidative damage on the body, which helps our cells to be healthier for a longer time.’
What is a Blue Zone Diet?
Researchers believe following a diet which emphasises whole foods and limits highly processed foods can dramatically reduce chronic disease risk (and is a direct ticket to healthier ageing).
According to 'The Danish Twin Study', only about 20 per cent of how long the average person lives is dictated by genes, while about 80 per cent is influenced by lifestyle and environment.
With this in mind, some experts believe mirroring the way the people who live in Blue Zones eat could help you live longer and feel healthier, regardless of where you live.
So what is it exactly that links the way people are eating in Sardinia and Okinawa or Costa Rica and Greece? One of the main similarities, according to researchers, is that people who live in these regions follow a mainly plant-based diet, low alcohol intake and daily exercise.
The specifics of this vary, depending on each area's culture and traditions around food. But there are a few types of food people living in these areas consistently include in their diet.
Fruits and vegetables
We all know that getting our 5-a-day in is a good idea, but apparently, it's one of the simple things people who live in blue zones are doing to stay healthy.
This is a scientifically proven way to help you live longer, too. In fact, one study found that an increase in fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and all-cause mortality.
Beans and pulses
Beans and pulses are a staple in the diets eaten by every single area that's classed as a Blue Zone. A meta-analysis by Buettner, who came up with the Blue Zones concept, revealed that of 154 dietary surveys in all five Blue Zones, 95 per cent of 100-year-olds ate plant-based diets, including plenty of beans.
Black beans are very popular on the Nicoyan peninsula and in Ikaria and Sardinia, chickpeas, lentils, garbanzo and white beans are something you'll often see on the dinner table.
One of the key benefits of eating more beans and pulses is that they're high in fibre, something a lot of us don't get enough of. ‘90% of Brits are deficient in fibre,’ Dr Bulsiewicz says. ‘Fibre is the food that fuels our gut microbiome and it's a longevity nutrient.’
Wholegrains
Blue zone residents also consume a lot of whole grains, which refers to cereal plants such as wheat, barley and rye.
Again, these are high in fibre, so they have lots of the same benefits as beans and pulses, and they're also low in dietary fat. On top of this, they include lots of nutrients that promote good health, including B vitamins and folic acid.
Adding more whole grains to your diet has been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, according to a 2016 study, which is one of the reasons they might be helping people in blue zones live longer.
Healthy fats
Fatty foods are often villainised, but some of them are actually very good for us. People who live in Blue Zones opt for unsaturated fats, like extra virgin olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds and oily fish instead of saturated fats, such as butter and cheese.
Healthy fats – including olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish – are not only healthy for your heart but also help to support a diverse and robust gut microbiome.
Fermented foods
You might have heard about how good fermented foods are for gut health and our immune system function. Turns out, people in Blue Zones have been eating them for years.
Fermented foods contain probiotics, which are live beneficial bacteria that can help maintain a healthy balance of microbes in the gut. They include things like sourdough, often eaten in Sardinia, yoghurt in Greece and miso soup, which is popular in Okinawa.
‘Fermented food can increase the diversity of the gut microbiome, which is a measure of health, and it can also reduce inflammation,’ Dr Bulsiewicz explains.
Fish
People living in Blue Zones eat fish around three times a week, depending on supply and the time of year. The health benefits of this are backed up by the NHS, as they recommend eating at least two portions of fish a week, including one portion of oily fish.
The reason they recommend oily fish (like sardines or salmon) in particular is because it's rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for brain and heart health.
Meat
The Blue Zone diet isn't entirely plant-based. In fact, in the Nicoya Peninsula, at least half of the oldest Nicoyans are said to eat three to five servings of meat per week.
However, this is still significantly less than what most people eat in the UK and Blue Zone residents limit their red meat intake in particular. For example, people in Sardinia tend to only eat meat on Sundays and special occasions.
‘You can still eat meat on a Blue Zone diet,’ Dr Bulsiewicz says, adding that meat should be consumed infrequently and in moderation.
Red wine
Most diets don't recommend drinking but researchers have found that people in Blue Zones consume between one and two glasses of red wine a day. Some experts believe drinking a small amount of red wine could make you healthier. In fact, one study even linked wine to cancer prevention.
However, there's no clear-cut answer on whether drinking red wine will make you healthier or live longer and the potential negative side effects of drinking too much alcohol can be unsafe, so take this one with a pinch of salt. Especially since The World Health Organization has since published a statement in The Lancet Public Health, saying that when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health.
Water and tea
You don't need us to tell you that we should all probably be drinking more water. But people living in Blue Zones have apparently taken that advice on, as they consume plenty of water as well as other drinks like tea. Green tea, in particular, which is thought to have plenty of health benefits, is popular in the Okinawa region.
Key takeaways:
- Eat a diverse range of colourful plants, rich in fibre
- Limit refined carbohydrates like white breads, pastries and sweets
- Avoid ultra-processed foods where possible
- Minimise red meats and processed meats
- Enjoy fermented foods like natural yoghurt, kefir and sauerkraut
How does the Blue Zone diet work?
The Blue Zone diet isn't particularly prescriptive – there's no calorie counting or specific meal plans. Instead, it’s about filling your plate with beans, grains and an abundance of fruits and vegetables, while limiting meat intake and reducing refined sugars.
‘I think the Blue Zone diet gives us a roadmap for practical, achievable living in the 21st century that promotes our health,’ says Dr Bulsiewicz.
One of the things that makes this diet so healthy is that it includes very few ultra-processed foods, which are widely acknowledged to be bad for our health. In fact, a recent study published in the BMJ found that processed foods are linked with higher risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease-related mortality, common mental disorder outcomes, being overweight and obese and type 2 diabetes.
‘What I like about the Blue Zones is that it's trying to reorient us towards foods that aren't ultra-processed and that originate as something that you could recognise in nature,’ Dr Bulsiewicz says. ‘This provides us with nutrients like fibre that our body and gut need to thrive.’
Will the Blue Zone diet work for me?
It's important to note that the people who live in Blue Zones don't just eat differently, they also live differently. For example, they incorporate more physical activity into their day-to-day lives. In fact, almost all of the six regions that are classed as Blue Zones are in mountain areas, which means the residents spend a lot of time walking up and downhill, which is one of the reasons researchers believe they might live longer.
Plus, Blue Zone residents also tend to get more sleep, taking naps and allocating more time for rest than the average working person does.
Their approach to food is also very different. ‘It's likely that Blue Zones offer some much more longevity because the way that people eat and interact with their food is really different to most people,’ explains Medlin.
‘People often grow or are involved in the growing of their own vegetables, they mostly eat food that is grown in their locality and also people are very connected with their communities,’ she continues. ‘They share food and they work together with people and they feel very valued by their community even into a much older age.’
This means that there are factors at play – other than diet — which could be making Blue Zone residents so healthy: good food, social connections, sleeping well and keeping your body active and strong.
But this doesn't mean the diet isn't worth trying. ‘I think in general, Blue Zone diet approaches are suitable for most people,’ Medlin says.
‘That doesn't mean we should all be worried significantly about eating processed food occasionally and we do have to accept the environment we live in – we don't live in Blue Zones.
‘But we can take from Blue Zones some of the real positives – for example, eating plenty of plants, being cautious with processed foods, eating with our friends and family and making sure we are exercising regularly and eating locally.’
The bottom line: The journey of ageing is intrinsically tied to our nutritional choices.
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