English Version | Age of gold going on blue

09 Dec 2021
By Sara Andrade

How we choose to live can increase or decrease our average life expectancy (and quality) of life. It's just that, when it comes to longevity, not everything that glitters is gold. Sometimes it's blue. Gaining time? This way.

The golden years sometimes seem more of a dull golden tone and less of the luminous hue we always imagined it to be. And whose fault is it? No, it's not the passage of time. It's ours. How we choose to live can increase or decrease our average life expectancy (and quality) of life. It's just that, when it comes to longevity, not everything that glitters is gold. Sometimes it's blue. Gaining time? This way.

There are hundreds of shades of blue, but there is a hue that is not sky, navy, or baby, it is geographic: a longevity blue that indicates regions of the world where the percentage of centenary population exceeds the average for the rest of the globe. Called Blue Zones, they are spaces that not only stand out for their extended life expectancy, but also for its quality. Living well until age 100 and beyond it's in Icaria (Greece), Loma Linda (California), Nicoya (Costa Rica), Okinawa (Japan) and Sardinia (Italy). It all started with a demographic study carried out by medical doctor Gianni Pes and professor Michel Poulain, who pointed out on the map, with circles drawn in blue, Italian villages in Sardinia, identifying them as areas with higher numbers of longevity. Writer Dan Buettner wanted to go deeper into the theme and discover other destinations of the genre, interested not only in identifying these areas of the world where people live more, live better, but also why: “It all started in the spring of 2000 when I was leading a series of educational projects called “Quests” in which a team of scientist investigated some of Earth’s great puzzles.”, explains Buettner to Vogue Portugal. “I had heard about Okinawa’s unusual longevity a few years earlier and thought it would be a great quest to investigate what their secrets to good health and long life were. We spent ten days studying, exploring and summing up what we found. That was what sparked the excitement, five years later, I returned to Okinawa with a new team. I’d just written a cover story for National Geographic about the “Secrets of Long Life,” which profiled three areas of the world with concentrations of some of the world’s longest-lived people-areas we dubbed “Blue Zones”. I was determined to delve deeper into the lifestyle of Okinawa.  During these explorations we were always thinking, how can we bring these teachings back to our communities? This is how the Blue Zones Project was born.” The explorer, producer, speaker, and author of more than a dozen books (many related to this topic) and contributor to publications such as National Geographic and The New York Times, also responsible for coining the term Blue Zones, turning it into a multidimensional project and digital platform (bluezones.com), he joined a team of demographers, anthropologists and epidemiologists to better understand the commonalities of these communities and identified nine characteristics that could explain and, ultimately, make you gain time. And health.

But isn't longevity something dependent on genes? It's true that genetics play an important role in determining our average life expectancy, but it's a small fraction in this quest to buy time on Earth. The conditions for a longer and better life depend, to a great extent, on variables that can be easily manipulated by each one of us. “I argue that your environment is the most important factor in one’s health”, argues the expert. “There is not a pill for longevity or a fountain of youth but only about 20% of how long the average person lives is dictated by our genes (biology), whereas the other 80% is dictated by our lifestyle and environment. Making the choice to set up your environment for health is the best step. This can be done by making small nudges across your personal life, home, and office.  Find a group of health-conscious friends, de-convenience your home so you are gardening and doing housework by hand, get a standing desk or do your meetings while walking, get a dog and put fruits and vegetables on the counter in sight so the healthy choice becomes not only easy but unavoidable”, sums up Buettner. These can be the key factors in prolonging life and maximizing your well-being. You may not be able to cross out all these Power 9, that is, the powerful nine that make it possible to score more years, but reading them is realizing that many are within reach of an immediate change (often, just a matter of change of mind). Reading them is also realizing that almost none of them will come as a surprise – exercise, a balanced diet, mental health have, of course, a fundamental role in longevity. But perhaps they come up with contours slightly different from what is expected.

“There is not a pill for longevity or a fountain of youth but only about 20% of how long the average person lives is dictated by our genes (biology), whereas the other 80% is dictated by our lifestyle and environment." Dan Buettner

For example, one of the factors in this list is moving around, but it doesn't mean hours in the gym in high intensity training mode: here, natural and moderate movement is envouraged, including exercise included organically in your daily routine, whether through hiking, gardening, walking and all kinds of activities you can do to articulate your skeleton instead of delegating to machines (tasks as simple as washing the dishes by hand or skipping the elevator in favor of the stairs), since physical activity prevents certain chronic conditions such as heart problems, diabetes and is associated with maintaining mental health. Another factor is related to a plant-based diet, that is, in these areas, the diet is mostly vegetarian, and the consumption of animal protein is rare and done in small amounts, often even reserved for special occasions. Meat and fish are refused in favor of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and good fats, such as olive oil and avocado, which, unsurprisingly, are good for general well-being (biological and psychological), in addition to fighting cognitive decline. Regarding meals, the 80% rule is also applied, that is, eating until you are 80% satisfied and opting for several light meals throughout the day, avoiding eating at night. Drinking one to two glasses of wine a day in a social situation is common practice in these regions and moderate consumption is encouraged, as it is associated with reducing the risk of various health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, some types of cancer, diabetes and cognitive decline. In addition, it is good to relax, particularly when in social mode: in these Blue Zones, the management of the unavoidable stress is delegated to activities that help reduce it, such as naps, praying, being with friends and family – in fact, prioritizing family and not neglecting the social connection, opting for circles with healthy lifestyles and behaviors, are items that occupy two of the places on this list. Another is spirituality: faith and religion, which vary from community to community, can add years to the average life expectancy because, regardless of beliefs, it promotes well-being. The last item, but not the least, is the idea of ​​purpose, a sense of life that moves us. “I would argue that Plant Slant (diet) and Purpose are the most important of the Power 9,” ​​argues Dan Buettner. “What we eat is connected to how we feel, how healthy we are and what mental state we are in. It’s hard to be happy and healthy while eating junk food no matter what the other parts of your lifestyle are. I also think Purpose is powerful and often overlooked. We have a society in Western Society that looks at retirement as a time to sit around, relax, play some golf and do anything but work. In the Blue Zones the elderly feel a sense of purpose and responsibility to help raise the kids and support the community. This purpose is their reason to get up in the morning and can add up to 7 good years to your life. One of the most dangerous years of your life is the year you retire because of a sudden lack of purpose.”

Ikigai, they say in Okinawa, and plan de vida, in Nicoya, is broadly the reason why we get up in the morning, an intention that makes us want to live, the purpose that can be found in work, family, a greater goal, which have an impact on a series of psychological variants, such as happiness, self-esteem, gratitude and this ability to see life as a glass half full. Dan Buettner's purpose is also to take some of these Blue Zones around the world, implementing the learning he brought from these five paradises on Earth a little to the rest of the globe, perhaps thinking that Planet Blue might one day be also Longevity-Blue. But there are many obstacles: “Modern conveniences are holding us back. There is a button to do everything these days (order food, order a ride, close your garage, wash your laundry). These conveniences take out much of our natural daily movement. People spend a lot of time in their cars as cities aren’t designed for the pedestrian but rather the automobile. We need to make major changes to how we design our world if we want to make a Blue Zones Planet.” The project, like any study that goes viral in the best sense, also had its dose of criticism and skepticism, but with a team of scientists behind it and a reasoning of indicators already mentioned in parallel scientific studies – admit it, between healthy eating and moderate exercise, as well as human connection, is there a variable that doesn't resonate with so much other expert advice? –, the desire to “manipulate” time seems something that is not in any science fiction film, but rather within our reach. Above all, the manipulation of time with health.

Freddie Mercury asked who wants to live forever. All, but only if that extra time is quality time. For Dan Buettner, time “something we only have a certain amount of that we should be looking to maximize, like the longest living people in the world who live long without suffering many of the ailments you see in the elderly in other parts of the world.” In other words, extra time is precious but, above all, the important thing is to make the spending of that time available to us precious. “To live to 100 you still need to hit the genetic lottery. Living a Blue Zones Lifestyle stacks the deck in your favor to live into your 90s happy and healthy. It is all about having health in this time. Is extra time really worth it if you are in pain or stuck in a bed unable to enjoy it?” 

Translated from the original on Vogue Portugal's Time issue, published December/January 2021-22.

Sara Andrade By Sara Andrade

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