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Alia Shoaib
- These are several regions in the world where people appear to live longer and healthier lives.
- These places, called Blue Zones, include parts of California, Japan, Greece, Costa Rica and Italy.
- These regions share several features including healthy diets, natural movement and a sense of community.
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There are regions in the world where people are believed to live the longest and healthiest lives.
These areas, dubbed Blue Zones, share several features in common, including eating primarily whole, plant-based and non-processed foods, do regular, low-intensity physical activity and have a sense of community and purpose.
Researchers Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain discovered the first Blue Zone, and the concept was built upon by Dan Buettner, who identified additional regions and conducted extensive research into these communities.
Buettner has explained that there is not necessarily anything unique about the genes or willpower of people who live in Blue Zones. Instead, they thrive due to an "interconnected web of characteristics that keep people doing the right things for long enough, and avoiding the wrong things," Insider previously reported.
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So what can we learn from the places where people live the longest?
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Sardinia, Italy
A grouping of villages in Sardinia, Italy, was the first Blue Zone to be identified after researchers found the highest concentration of men who lived to be over 100.
This region is home to male shepherds who typically walk five or more miles through the mountains daily, eat a primarily plant-based diet, and moderately consume local Cannonau wine.
The region is known for its strong family values, where elders are celebrated and all family members are cared for.
A village called Seulo held the record of having 20 centenarians living in it from 1996 to 2016.
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Okinawa, Japan
Okinawa, Japan, is home to the world's longest-lived women.
Its residents, who eat superfoods including tofu, miso, and seaweed, live by the Japanese concept of "ikigai," defined as a motivating force that gives people a sense of purpose and what a person can give to the wider world. Buettner suggests that this is a factor in the residents' long lives.
The island is also known for its tradition of "moai," which involves living within strong social networks. These networks are established from childhood, when groups of about five children are typically grouped together, and they persist through adulthood as a sort of second family.
In Okinawa, these groups meet regularly to provide each other with emotional and financial support and to gossip and spend time together.
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Loma Linda, California, United States
Some residents of Loma Linda, California, in the United States, live on average 10 more years than the average American.
The community, which has the highest concentration of Seventh-day Adventists, a Protestant Christian denomination, in the United States, lives on a plant-based diet taken directly from the Bible, which involves eating grains, nuts, and legumes.
Adventists don't smoke or drink alcohol and tend to remain active late into their lives. For some Adventists, red meat (especially pork), shellfish, refined foods, and Caffeine are also forbidden.
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Nicoya, Costa Rica
In this part of Central America, the average life expectancy is one of the world's highest at 85 – despite average incomes being among the nation's lowest.
The community has a strong sense of faith and family, with most older people living with their families and being respected sources of wisdom. According to Buettner, Costa Ricans have a "plan de vida" or "life plan," which gives elders a sense of purpose.
Other factors include a healthy diet of unprocessed foods, drinking hard water with high calcium content, and natural movement by walking regularly.
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Ikaria, Greece
The chances of living past the age of 90 are high among the residents of this Greek island, and the possibility of getting dementia is low.
The people of Ikaria live a naturally active lifestyle due to the mountainous terrain and have strong social connections due to living in small communities.
They eat a type of Mediterranean diet, with plenty of vegetables and fruit, and fast regularly due to their most common religion of Greek Orthodox Christianity.
Ikarians also regularly take an afternoon nap, which has been shown to lower stress hormones and reduce the chances of dying from heart disease.
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