Although we have a wide range of knowledge currently available about nutrition and health, we can all agree on one very basic truth: what you put in your body is important. After pouring in various studies, articles and opinions, it is clear. Food is a medicine and, like any other medicine, it can empower your body to do incredible things.
For example, food can even help you turn 100. As of 2021, over 70,000 Americans are celebrating their 100th birthday. And it turns out that what they eat is of utmost importance. The Blue Zone Project focuses on the five “blue zone” communities where people have the most incredible longevity in the world and studies how people over the age of 100 do it. I’ve been.
From the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica to Okinawa in Japan, people in these communities all share a variety of life-prolonging actions. Community, way of thinking, and movement are important. But there is nothing comparable to the power of food they nourish themselves. We dig deeper and round up the top five eating habits shared by people over the age of 100.
I’ve heard about the rules of 80% kitchen and 20% gym before, but this is another 80% guideline, 2500 years ago. In Okinawa, it is associated with a Confucian mantra called “Hara Hachi Bun”, but when you are 80% full, stop eating. As the Blue Zone project states, “The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full can be the difference between losing weight and gaining weight.”
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Intermittent fasting may be a form of this tactic, depending on the time of the meal. The idea here is that the human body should burn less calories later in the day. In the blue zone, people tend to eat their smallest meal last and don’t eat much late at night. After that, I don’t eat the rest of the day. Great news for those of us who like big breakfasts!
Beans, beans, magical fruits. Apparently, their magic extends to life expectancy. A bean-rich diet is at the heart of most lifestyles over the age of 100. This can mean broad beans, black beans, and even soybeans and lentils. For more information on how healthy beans really are, check out our study on the secret side effects of eating beans.
Perhaps this is not so surprising given the ongoing social shift from meat to plant-based diets. On average, people in the blue zone eat meat only five times a month. But what details might shock you here? The main type of meat consumed is pork.
This is another hack that is widely advertised in many health channels, but people over the age of 100 have confirmed it: in fact, one serving is important. According to the Blue Zone project, one serving is usually kept between 3 and 4 ounces. This is about the size of a playing card deck. Here are 18 easy ways to control the size of your part to figure out your serving size.
Cary Roberts
Cary Roberts is a food writer.read more
