CNN
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In some unique communities around the world, people live long, healthy lives, up to 100 years or older. The inhabitants of these areas, known as the “Blue Zones,” share a common environment and lifestyle, which scientists believe contributes to their longevity.
Sardinia, Italy, was where one of the first groups of over-100s was studied. Soon similar long-lived people were found in Ikaria, Greece. Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, CA.
Blue Zones walk, garden and bike rides as part of their daily routine. They are close with friends and family, have a purpose in life, cope well with stress, and are often members of social or religious groups. Stop eating.
Dan Boutner, who first brought the Blue Zone into the public consciousness in a National Geographic article and subsequent book, doesn’t like to call the Blue Zone eating pattern a “diet.”instead it is part Buettner believes a healthy lifestyle can be replicated by everyone, regardless of where they live and where they eat.
“The Blue Zone diet pattern is 98% plant-based, whole-food-based and high-carb. “You say carbs and people cringe, but the healthiest foods in our food system are complex carbohydrates.”
How a Healthy Diet Extends Life
Complex carbohydrates such as beans, peas, vegetables and whole grains provide vitamins, minerals and fiber often lacking in processed and refined foods. Additionally, according to the American Heart Association, dietary fiber is digested more slowly, and dietary fiber helps you feel fuller for longer.
With the help of researchers, Büttner spent dozens of hours looking for blue glows in traditional foods brought to England. America. He found it, but it was not of his own lineage.
“After all, my European ancestry didn’t result in a longevity diet,” said Buttner. Latinos and Native Americans “had a near-dead ringer diet, Blue Zone style.”
Buettner has compiled his findings in a new cookbook, The Blue Zones American Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100.
“We looked at the data and tried to find out exactly what Blue Zone people ate,” Büttner said. Vegetables, tubers, nuts and beans. In fact, I would argue that beans are the cornerstone of any longevity diet.”
blue zone diet Mediterranean style, wins gold every year As the best overall diet for health. But there are also differences between the Blue Zone’s dietary pattern and that of the Mediterranean, Buetner said.
“People in the Blue Zone do not eat as much fish as the Mediterranean diet prescribes, eating only 3 ounces three times a week.” Meat is only eaten five times a month. There is no milk in the zone either.”
Instead, people eat goat and sheep’s milk cheeses such as feta and pecorino.
One of the most visually striking recipes in the book is made from purple sweet potatoes. Buettner believes this is an important longevity staple for the people of Okinawa’s Blue He Zone.
“Until 1975, the diet of Okinawans was based on purple yam,” he said. “I would argue that we have produced the longest living population in human history.”
Blue Zone recipes were also found in galagiechee cuisine, a cooking method developed by the descendants of enslaved Africans who settled on the sea islands of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It can be thickened with benu seeds, a traditional version of sesame seeds brought in by the United States.
There is no meat in any of the recipes in the cookbook, including “brisket” made with seitan, a plant-based meat substitute that mimics the flavor and texture of chicken. It was sampled by Bhuttner’s meat- and potato-loving father, Roger, who traveled around the country with him.
In addition to Including recipes with lesser-known ingredients, Buettner has filled his cookbook with stories of chefs creating and promoting heirloom dishes.
Serine Mbaye, a Senegalese chef who puts a Creole twist on her native cuisine at a New Orleans restaurant, told Buttner a story about how slave traders fed their enslaved ancestors cowpea and palm oil.
why? It had to weigh at least 125 pounds to ship to the Americas. If the slaves didn’t eat and gain weight, they were shot, Mbaye said. In their honor, Mbaye has created a tastier version of “The Last Meal” with added fresh vegetables and spices.
For those who might find making these 100 recipes tedious in today’s fast-paced world, Buettner pointed out that many can be put together in less than 20 minutes. Or in any programmable pressure cooker.
“Most of the one-pot meals in the books also freeze very well,” he said. The result is a meal full of healthy carbohydrates, micronutrients, and a variety of fiber.
“And for under $2 a serving, it makes me feel better and, according to my dad, tastes a lot better than a small hamburger.” Buetner added. “What do you have to lose?”
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