(As Transcribed From Mini-Med Minutes Podcast)

 

Welcome back to Mini-Med Minutes.

 

And today, we are actually going to be lacking the meds again. 

 

We’re going to be talking about Blue Zones because I think talking about it is important when discussing nutrition and diet, and subsequently potential supplementation.

 

If you don’t know what the Blue Zone is, it’s an actual term and it refers to the 5 places on Earth where people suffer from fewer chronic diseases and have a longer life expectancy than the rest of the world.

 

And it was coined by author Dan Buettner, a national geographic fellow in 2004. He and his team identified 5 unique regions where people not only lived longer than average but also enjoyed remarkable health into their later years. 

 

And the name originated from the blue circles that were drawn around these regions on a map by Buettner and his team, highlighting areas where people had exceptional longevity.

 

And those regions are:

 

1. Okinawa, Japan
2. Sardinia, Italy
3. Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
4. Ikaria, Greece
5. And Loma Linda, California, in the US

 

So what makes these places so different?

 

There’s 3 Major Things.

 

The first one being of course, Diet and Nutrition.

 

Across all 5 regions, the dietary patterns… are strikingly similar.

 

They focus on whole, natural foods, while minimizing processed items and excessive sugars.

 

First and foremost, Blue Zone diets are predominantly plant-based.

 

Meals typical revolve around vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes, all of which are easily accessible in their own distinct local environments.

 

For example, in Okinawa, Japan, nutrient-dense sweet potatoes and soy-based foods like tofu are abundant thanks to their climate which they can farm all year long.

 

Similarly, Sardinia, Italy rely on beans, garden vegetables, and barley as staples, which thrive in their mountainous terrain.

 

Along the same lines as beans, Legumes, which of course includes beans, as well as peas and lentils are a central part of all Blue Zone diets.

 

They’re rich in fiber, protein, and essential vitamins which makes them very nutrient dense. Like you get a lot of value out of them per calorie of food.

 

Another example are frijoles, or black beans which are super abundant in the diets of Nicoya because the warm tropical environment, again, allows for year-round growth.

 

Nuts are also big in these Blue Zone regions. They grow abundantly in the mediterranean regions of Ikaria, Greece, and Sardinia, Italy.

 

They have walnuts, almonds, pistachios, all of which contain healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals to support heart health and reduce inflammation.

 

Loma Linda, California also benefits from an environment that is conducive to growing nuts throughout the year.

 

Another interesting aspect of Blue Zone diets is their moderate consumption of alcohol, particularly red wine. 

 

In Sardinia, the climate and terrain are perfect for cultivating Cannonau grapes, which are rich in antioxidants, particularly resveratrol. 

 

So there’s lots of locally consumed red wine available that people drink in moderation… usually with meals and in the company of friends and family. 

 

In fact, many Blue Zones, especially those around the Mediterranean, incorporate moderate alcohol consumption as part of their social fabric. So there’s definitely a cultural aspect to this that helps.

 

Another thing I find very interesting is the practice of mindful eating.

 

My mom actually used to say this a lot and I actually don’t know if she got it from this but…

 

The Okinawan concept of “hara hachi bu”, which encourages people to eat until they’re about 80% full.

 

Doing this naturally reduces calorie intake, obviously, which promotes a healthy body weight and lessens the burden on the body’s systems over time. 

 

Because we know excessive weight causes all sorts of problems down the line, particularly when your waist circumference reaches certain thresholds. 35” for a woman and 40” for a man.

 

So when weight loss medications like Ozempic, Mounjaro, Zepbound, etc hit the market, it was a game changer.

 

But these people are able to do it strictly through lifestyle modifications. Though for them less of a modification and more of, they grew up that way.

 

And it’s kind of a beautiful thing, if you think about it.

 

These people are taking advantage of what’s around them. They’re eating local foods. They emphasize quality over quantity. They know their dietary limitations. They incorporate foods into their social interactions.

 

And then you think of what the opposite might look like…

 

Eating imported foods that may have required processing to preserve shelf life for transportation.

 

Shopping strictly for deals and in abundance.

 

Eating highly processed trendy foods.

 

Making sure we got our money’s worth at a buffet.

 

Binge drinking at social gatherings.

 

What does that sound like these days? I’m not even going to answer that one.

 

But you see what I mean.

 

The second major factor that makes these places so unique is physical activity and environment.

 

This one is extremely unique.

 

We all know that exercise is important for all sorts of health benefits. Cardiovascular fitness, brain health, flexibility.

 

But the people in these regions have movement, woven into the fabric of their everyday routines.

 

In other words, they don’t necessarily go to the gym.

 

They just inherently have an active lifestyle, from walking, to gardening, to doing manual work.

 

In all 5 Blue Zone regions, daily walking is a common denominator. It’s just the way of life in these places. 

 

Sardinia has rugged hills, trekking that each day would definitely put some meat on my legs.

 

Over there, it’s a natural way of getting around. Walking is transportation over there. If you live in a big city here in the States… sure. 

 

Walking to you might be a mode of transportation, but if you told me that we’re going to walk to the mall that’s nearly 2 miles away, I’m going to laugh at you.

 

That is a workout.

 

Gardening is another form of physical activity that is prevalent in Blue Zones. 

 

A lot of people in these areas grow their own food, which contributes to both their healthy diets but also keeps them physically active. 

 

In Okinawa, Japan, for instance, it’s common for the elderly to tend to their gardens every day, bending, digging, and harvesting vegetables well into their 90s and 100s. 

 

It’s very smart. It hits recommendations to increase VO2 max as we discussed last week. It’s a steady, moderate level of activity, which promotes flexibility, strength, and endurance. 

 

In addition to walking and gardening, many Blue Zone residents engage in traditional forms of work that keep them physically active. I don’t know the statistics but I think there’s probably fewer paper pushers and software engineers there.

 

In Nicoya, for example, people still perform manual labor like farming or woodworking, well into old age. 

 

In Ikaria, Greece, daily chores like tending to livestock or maintaining homes require physical effort, but are viewed as normal, I’d call them… life-sustaining tasks. 

 

So they don’t need structured workouts if they live like this.

 

They don’t have to schedule a time at the gym.

 

And what I think is great is that not only are they physically doing something… they’re accomplishing a task.

 

For instance, they’ll spend say 2 hours planting a beautiful garden. They’re going to walk to dinner later with their friends and talk about what they did, and how they did it over a glass of red–locally sourced wine.

 

Whereas, young me, would go to the gym. Jogged on a treadmill looking at numbers go up on a screen, later to throw some weights around and accomplish not a lot more than… just throwing weights around.

 

And then later talk to no one about it because that’s just boring to most people.

 

Unless you surround yourself with people who does the exactly the same thing.

 

But at the end of the day, I’d walk away with nothing but a pump, which I do love… but having an awesome garden would be cool too.

 

The third major difference between the Blue Zones and the rest of the world are their social and community life.

 

Across all five regions, close-knit family ties, deep friendships, and a strong sense of belonging play a crucial role in supporting mental, emotional, and even physical health.

 

In Blue Zones, family is at the center of life. 

 

Multigenerational households are common there, where you have elderly parents live with their children, and grandchildren. 

 

I think of it as a built-in support system where the elderly are not only cared for by multiple younger generations but they also remain active in family life.

 

They look after, and are entertained by grandchildren, they can be involved in meals, they can share decades of experience with future generations. 

It gives them a sense of purpose. Like, they still have a function and they’re not just going about their every day routine which is very common when there’s no external factors that would move you to do anything otherwise.

 

Friends are also extremely important. 

 

In Okinawa, the concept of “moai” is a perfect example—these are small, lifelong social groups that provide emotional and even financial support to each other. 

 

Since they were little, Okinawans form very tight-knit friendships… and these relationships last throughout their lives.

 

These social circles help to reduce stress, combat loneliness, and provide companionship, which are critical factors in maintaining both mental and physical health.

 

You have someone to talk to about things. You have someone to do activities with. You don’t have to walk alone, you can get help with your garden, with your woodworking.

 

It’s also possible that faith and spirituality play a role as far as the social aspect goes. In Loma Linda, California, the majority of the residents belong to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 

 

There’s studies show that having a spiritual practice or… belief system can significantly reduce stress and provide comfort during difficult times…which contributes to better mental health and longer living.

 

My favorite and perhaps the most profound aspect of social lives in Blue Zones is the emphasis on having a sense of purpose as mentioned before—what the Nicoyans refer to as “plan de vida” or the Okinawans call “ikigai” is one of my favorite concepts.

 

Ikigai is something I use to identify kind of where I am in life and if it’s where I want to be and it’s actually very cool. It’s depicted as a 4 circle venn diagram where the goal is to be at the center or at the very least encompass as much of the circles as you can.

 

I definitely encourage looking into it. If I do a video instead of a podcast of this later, I’ll definitely include it.

 

So what’s the take away here? What’s the modern lesson?

 

Personally, I think it would be very difficult to live like a Blue Zone without being in a Blue Zone.

 

It’s definitely an effort of an entire community and it’s multifactorial.

 

It’s also very simplistic and the more modern lifestyle is definitely a lot more complex and influenced by a lot of things like trends, social media, technology, and convenience.

But… There are some practical lessons to take away from this to at least get as close as we can to what they’re doing.

 

Moving Naturally Throughout The Day. 

• Walking or biking instead of driving short distances
• Taking stairs instead of elevators
• Doing active chores like gardening, cleaning, yard work
• Be involved in hobbies that include movement like hiking, dancing, or even playing with your kids or grandkids

 

And then there’s diet. I forgot who said it but…7 word diet. “Eat Real Foods, Mostly Plants, Not Too Much”

• Maybe reduce portion sizes of animal products. Like having a “Meatless Monday”
• Adding more legumes like beans and lentils into your diet. Super Affordable, very nutrient dense. To me, super yucky. But try.
• Snacking on nuts and seeds instead of junk food. I don’t even have to give examples of junk food, I think we all know what those examples are. And I actually think this is a lesson of mostly willpower.

 

And then there’s the social aspect.

• Schedule time with your friends to go and do stuff, or heck, call them, on the phone, like with sound, instead of text
• Participate in community groups, clubs, or volunteer work

 

Lastly, find a sense of purpose.

• Look up ikigai, reflect what’s meaningful to you
• Set some long-term goals to work towards

 

Incorporating these Blue Zone-inspired habits doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your life. 

 

You can just make small changes, little by little.

 

Because a little bit is honestly better than nothing at all.

 

Make it a lifestyle and not a chore.

 

Wrap Up

 

Remember, the key to longevity isn’t just about adding years to your life—it’s about adding quality to those years. 

 

I hope these insights inspired you just a little bit to do something, maybe one thing a little different than before.

 

I know just making this episode makes me want to reflect back on my own ikigai.

 

If you found this episode to be useful to you, definitely consider following the podcast. If you’re looking for text based articles you can find them on PharmacistNutrition.com.

 

And if you’re looking to reach out to me you can find contact info there as well. I promise if you have a question, the message will definitely reach me.

 

As always, thanks for tuning in and I’ll see you next time.

 

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