“I’ve found a person does not need protein from meat to be a successful athlete. In fact, my best year of track competition was the first year I ate a vegan diet.”
— Carl Lewis, Track and Field athlete, nine gold and one silver Olympic medals, 10 World Champion medals
Blue Zones are calling my name. The magazine Worthwhile arrived in the mail with an article on Blue Zones. The Parade insert in the Sunday Dispatch (Jan. 12) ran an article on Blue Zones. By then I was intrigued and continued reading at their website (bluezones.com).
Dan Buettner teamed up with the National Geographic Society and the National Institute on Aging to study global areas where a significant number of people were living healthy lives beyond 100 years. Other studies showed longevity was largely not determined by our DNA but more so by lifestyles and locale. I’ve known at least two people who were convinced they would die at the age their parents died. Both lived long beyond the age of their parents. What lifestyles and locales produce longer lives?
Searching life expectancy websites including the World Bank, Center for Disease Control and Insurance Companies, I found pretty much the same information. The average life expectancy in the U.S. is 78.69 years; United Kingdom, 80.9; and Canada, 82.30. The U.S. ranks 43rd among 224 countries and 29th among 44 developed countries. Americans have about the same life expectancy as those in Bangladesh.
Life expectancy by state, with slight variations, puts Hawaii at the top with 81.5 years, Mississippi at the bottom with 74.6 and neighboring states Alabama at 74.9 and Arkansas at 75.4. OK, that’s a little depressing, but there is something you can do for yourself and maybe the people you care about to up your chances of living a long, healthy, happy life.
Here are nine suggestions from the Worthwhile magazine: Hold loved ones in esteem, meaning commit and connect to family. Having a sense of purpose can add up to seven years to your life. Find your “tribe,” the world’s longest-lived people found social circles that supported healthy lifestyles. Move naturally by low-intensity physical activity; avoid mechanical conveniences where possible. Walk more. Sit less. Decompress your body and mind with downtime, even 15 minutes. Eat slowly and just enough, not more. Choose a plant-based diet or with only occasional meat servings. Moderate alcohol, being one glass of wine daily with food/friends.
The article said, “Most of the centenarians interviewed by Buettner belonged to a faith-based community. Attending gatherings four times monthly can add for to 14 years of life expectancy.” I’m going to add in: wear your seatbelt. I’m appalled at the people who don’t wear seatbelts.
Doing the math, I’ve been a vegetarian for 48 years. (Where did the time go?) There are several kinds of vegetarians; technically I’m a pescatarian. I eat fish and shrimp. You can be a flexitarian and occasionally eat small amounts of meat. Vegans eat no animal products at all. There are more sub-categories, but basically the diet is plant-based. You can also forget vegetarian if you like and just commit to “beans and greens” a couple of times a week. Cut out some sugar, put less on your plate, increase whole grains, don’t smoke, move more. Don’t try changing everything at once. Maybe try one or two changes at a time; then add something else. You can do it.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.