How to live longer? Try out the 'blue zones' diet

There are many types of diets that are introduced in the world today, all of which seem to offer the same things. One certain diet has not only been shown to improve a person’s health but to also improve their life expectancy.

One of the mysteries in life is how to live for a long time, but there seems to be no definitive answer for that. It can mainly be attributed to a person’s surroundings or climate, and the food and drinks they take. Some would even attribute it to their mental health. However, Express reports that one kind of diet has been shown to help improve a person’s life expectancy: The blue zones diet.

The blue zones diet refers to the blue zones or parts of the world where people are known to live very long and healthy lives, such as Okinawa, Japan, Ikaria, Greece, Sardinia, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica and Loma Linda, California. What these people eat in the blue zones are what helps them increase their life expectancies. Their diet is mainly plant-based and has less sugar, meat, and dairy compared to the other types of diets.

The blue zones diet includes beans, leafy vegetables, olive oil, cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower and kale, as well as whole grains and nuts. Beans are the prevalent ingredient found in a blue zone diet. They are high in fiber, protein, and probiotics. It is recommended to eat around half a cup of beans per day. Nuts make for a good snack in a blue zones diet due to having a lot of fiber, magnesium, potassium, and protein. Olive oil is rich in healthy fats and antioxidants.

As far as drinking is concerned, people in the blue zones are known for drinking plenty of water. A cup of coffee or tea and a glass of red wine for dinner - everything in moderation and should be low in refined sweeteners when it comes to coffee and tea.

Meanwhile, a popular diet plan that is also known to help increase a person’s life expectancy is the Mediterranean diet. This is due to the fact that many of the countries along the Mediterranean, two of which are included among the ‘blue zones’ have been known to have long life expectancies among its locals.