The Blue Zones: What Do the World’s Longest-Living People Eat?
By Terri Chrisman, M.Nutr, Dip.ACLM; Adapted from an article originally by Dr. Paula Singmann and Niklas Oppenrieder
Amidst rising obesity rates and lifestyle diseases in the Western world, certain regions known as “Blue Zones” stand out for their residents’ longevity and health. This article delves into the dietary habits of five such areas: Okinawa (Japan), Loma Linda (California), Nicoya (Costa Rica), Sardinia (Italy), and Ikaria (Greece). By examining their predominantly plant-based, unprocessed diets, we take a glance at the benefits of whole foods over animal products and highly processed items in promoting health and longevity.
What are Blue Zones?
The Western world is in the grip of an obesity epidemic. Over half of Europe and America is overweight or obese (1). 70% of deaths are attributed to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease (2). But it’s not all gloom and doom.
In this article, we will discover distinct regions of the world where people are free of the affliction of obesity and lifestyle diseases past the age of 100.
These regions of health are called the Blue Zones.
To date, five geographic regions have been identified as Blue Zones:
Okinawa in Japan
Loma Linda in California
Nicoya in Costa Rica
Sardinia in Italy
Ikaria in Greece
The Blue Zones are geographically far-flung but their inhabitants have a lot in common when it comes to their lifestyles, particularly in the area of nutrition.
Image: World Diabetes Atlas, 2021
The traditional diet of Okinawa, Japan
Let’s take a closer look at the Okinawa Blue Zone, a Japanese island. What did their traditional diet look like around the year 1950?
The food intake graph shows that 76% of the diet in Okinawa was made up of vegetables, around 15% was rice and grains, and 6% legumes. All other foods including animal products and sweetened or processed foods account for just a few percentage points (3). As a result, the people of Okinawa die much more rarely from diseases of ageing like cardiovascular diseases, cancer, or dementia compared to other Japanese people or Americans.
Image based on original illustration here: https://www.bluezones.com/explorations/okinawa-japan/
Reduced risk of all-cause mortality in Loma Linda, California
Loma Linda in California is another Blue Zone. In studies of this population, it was found that the vegetarians and vegans in the Loma Linda community had a reduced risk of all-cause mortality and died less frequently due to cardiovascular diseases than those who ate meat.
Average blood pressure and the risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer were also lower for vegetarians (4).
If you look at the diets of the Blue Zones and break down their commonalities into just a few principles, they are very simple and easy to understand. They also meet the body’s optimal nutrition requirements.
Blue Zone diets are wholesome and plant-based
The most prominent feature of the diets eaten in the various Blue Zones is that they are especially rich in plant-based foods.
The people living in the Blue Zones all consume various seasonal and fermented vegetables and fruits, whole grain products, and legumes – quite literally a colourful variety of plant-based foods.
The low energy density and the high fibre content of these foods mean that people in the Blue Zones eat to satiety without taking in too much energy. In addition, their diet is beneficial to their gut microbiomes.
The whole food fats they eat, such as avocado, nuts and seeds are also plant-based and have anti-inflammatory properties. The second important common feature of Blue Zone food is that most of it is unprocessed or whole. This means whole natural foods where very little or nothing is added or removed, the opposite of white (or refined) flours and convenience foods with many additives. Eating whole foods means that people in Blue Zones consume sufficient amounts of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fibre, counteracting deficiencies and inflammation.
Meat, fish and dairy consumption in the Blue Zones
Meat is eaten in four of the five Blue Zones, but the average meat consumption is less than 2.1 ounces (60 g) five times per month and equates to about 2% of total calories (3).
In contrast, people in Europe consume about 200 g of meat per day on average. German men, for example, eat about 5.5 ounces (156 g) of meat, cold cuts and meat products per day on average. German women consume about 2.9 ounces (84 g) per day on average (5).
In the Blue Zones, up to three servings of fish are eaten per week, but only in small amounts. When people in Blue Zones consume dairy products, it is generally in the form of fermented milk from sheep or goats (6).
Processed and sweetened foods in the Blue Zones
Processed and additionally sweetened foods are nowhere to be found in the regions with the longest lifespans. This is why we refer to their overall dietary choices as whole foods.
Summary
In conclusion, the healthiest diet minimises the consumption of highly processed and animal products and maximises the consumption of whole food plant-based products. The populations of the Blue Zones are our role models for living long and healthy lives.
Communities with the longest average lifespans primarily eat whole plant-based foods and limit their consumption of animal products and highly processed foods.
Whole or unprocessed foods mean that very little is added to or removed from the “original” food. Examples of highly processed foods include refined flour and convenience foods with many additives.
People who practise whole food, plant-based nutrition not only live longer than average – they also stay healthier longer. It is less likely that they will suffer from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and dementia than other groups.
The diets of people who live the longest focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and plant-based oils. Red and processed meat such as cold cuts are rarely eaten, and dairy products and fish are consumed in small amounts if they are consumed at all.
Science supports this nutrition lifestyle. Studies repeatedly show that the more colourful, plant-based and less processed the diet, the healthier the person.
Additional Information:
-
Terri Chrisman M.Nutr, Dip.ACLM is a Medical Content Creator at PAN and part of the online education team responsible for the PAN Academy. She is an Australian citizen living in the USA who has travelled and lived all around the world. She is a qualified nutritionist and certified in lifestyle medicine, and is vastly experienced in creating educational content on the topics of nutrition, health and sports.
-
WHO European Regional Obesity Report 2022 [Internet]. [cited 2023 Feb 15]. Available from: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289057738
GBD Results [Internet]. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. [cited 2023 Feb 5]. Available from: https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results
Okinawa, Japan [Internet]. Blue Zones. [cited 2023 Feb 18]. Available from: https://www.bluezones.com/exploration/okinawa-japan/
Rizzo NS, Sabaté J, Jaceldo-Siegl K, Fraser GE. Vegetarian Dietary Patterns Are Associated With a Lower Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: The Adventist Health Study 2. Diabetes Care. 2011 May;34(5):1225.
Meat: per capita consumption in Germany 2021 [Internet]. Statista. [cited 2023 Feb 18]. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/525324/meat-per-capita-consumption-germany/
Food Guidelines [Internet]. Blue Zones. [cited 2023 Feb 18]. Available from: https://www.bluezones.com/recipes/food-guidelines/