Blue Zones and More! Live Long and Live Well!

Have you ever heard of the Blue Zones (a few great videos here)? The Blue Zones are 5 locations where people live the longest in the world! I have often mentioned them during my classes and lectures, so it's about time I wrote a post! SO here's a bit about them:

Dan Buettner, along with National Geographic and others, set out to learn about the culture of the areas of the world that have the greatest number of centenarians (people who live to be at least 100 years old). Here six characteristics that tie these cultures together:

• Mostly plant based whole foods! A lovely variety of colorful foods! Lots of beans and nuts!
• Strong social (friend and family) relationships - the oldest people are most honored and valued!
• Physically active, not "exercise", rather movement to live: building, gardening, stirring :)
• Strong sense of purpose and handle stress well (I'll link here to Lisa Damour's take on resilience in Untangled, with the related post title "Family Dinner" which surely happens every night in all of the Blue Zones!)
• Faith and faith-based communities
• Health is contagious! as in you tend to have similar health outcomes with the friends and family with whom you spend your life.

BONUS: The Japanese, in particular, and perhaps others, have several methods to not eat too much: a) prepare everyone's plate, and put the rest away (rather than family style), b) use smaller plates, and c) aim for 80% full (they have a special name for this: "hari hachi bu").

This is cool too...in one or more of these cultures, there is no word for "retired".

Today, Time had a great article highlighting the Blue Zones!

5 Places Where People Live the Longest and Healthiest Lives These areas are known as Blue Zones time.com

Here are three great lists of Benefits of Eating Less Meat, and Things That Happen When You Stop Eating Meat. You can use these resources to convince yourself or your loved ones to make a change, or pat yourself on the back for the great changes you have already made. Enjoy!

10 benefits of eating less meat | Fox News Going green isn't just good for the environment: reducing your meat consumption benefits your whole body. "The average American who switches to a healthy ... www.foxnews.com

Meatless meals: The benefits of eating less meat - Mayo Clinic Meatless meals are an easy way to eat healthfully and save money. www.mayoclinic.org

7 Things That Happen When You Stop Eating Meat People stop eating meat to lose weight, gain energy, reduce heart disease risk, and lots of other reasons. What happens to your body when you go plant based? www.forksoverknives.com

5 BIG reasons to make your meat portions SMALL 5 Reasons to Eat LESS Meat 1. Reduce CANCER risk 2. Bone health 3. Weight loss, heart health, blood pressure and cholesterol improvemen... fresh-you.blogspot.com

COMMENTS: which of the benefits most impact you? For me, I knew the health benefits, so it was when I was truly educated about the astounding environmental impact of this lifestyle change, that I decided I would use my power to help save the Earth!

BONUS RECIPE (because everyone loves recipes!):
Cocoa Balls!
1 c ground flax, 1 c walnuts, 1 c dates, 1/4 c unsweetened cocoa, 1/4 peanuts
Blend in food processor ~2 min, form dough into balls, and enjoy!
...similar to other recipes, but this is how I made them today :) OTHER FLAVORS