Blue Zones: Eat Reasonably
As I continued to consider the four areas that make up the health habits related to living to 100, I would have thought that nutrition was going to be the key. After much reflection, it’s not. However, it doesn’t mean you should live on a diet of sweets, deep-fried foods, and a lot of ultra-processed foods.
Eat a Selective Plant-Based Diet
Do I mean you have to be a vegan? No. But as North Americans, we just don’t eat very many minimally processed vegetables. By minimally processed I mean you cut them up, season to taste, and cook. It can be stews, soups, side dishes, or whatever.
While the types of plant-based foods vary by culture, there are several foods in common:
- Beans, lentils, and nuts of all types are an important source of fiber and protein. Soups and salads are perfect delivery systems, but so is chili—as spicy as you like it.
- Root vegetables are important: potatoes, especially sweet potatoes and yams, carrots, and purple yams called ube.
- Green, leafy vegetables: lettuces, cabbages, and greens of all types, such as coleslaw or collard greens with bacon. Eat some every day.
- Lean meats for additional protein.
- Wine, if you drink it, even though it’s a processed grape.
Make those the foundation of your diet along with healthy oils such as olive oil and some whole grains, and that’s it. Remember, this isn’t a weight loss program; it’s a way to eat for life.
Two More Important Points
Don’t overeat. Eat just enough and no more. The Okinawans eat to feel 80% full and that’s where they stop.
Get to a normal body weight, no matter what it takes or how long it takes, and stay there. It’s easier to move around if you’re leaner, and you’ll have fewer complications of degenerative disease.
The Bottom Line
What you eat is important to live well, whether to 100 or not. It’s not difficult, but it may force you to think about how you can do that until it becomes a habit. The sooner you figure that out, the more time you get to live well. Next week I’ll finish this up with the most important secret of living to 100, Blue Zones or not. It surprised me.
What are you prepared to do today?
