Blue Zones

[8/31/23] Dan Buettner, the man who popularized the idea that there are five Blue Zones around the world where people live some of the longest, healthiest, happiest lives, says people living in those zones all share five common traits.

"It is this interconnected web of characteristics that keep people doing the right things for long enough, and avoiding the wrong things," Buettner said.

Blue Zone residents, whether they're home in Loma Linda, California; Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; or Nicoya, Costa Rica, all eat very little meat. Instead, they subsist on a largely plant-based diet filled with beans, nuts, and cruciferous vegetables, which Buettner has written about in a new book, "The Blue Zones secrets for living longer."

Blue Zone diets, which bear many resemblances to the healthy Mediterranean diet, are only about 50% of the Blue Zones longevity equation,  Buettner estimates.

"It's the scaffolding, this collagen," Buettner previously told Insider. "That keeps people eating the right way for long enough."

Here are the other four core principles that sustain life in the Blue Zones.

Move regularly, about every 20 minutes

Going to the gym is not a Blue Zones tradition.

"They don't exercise," Buettner said. Instead, people in Blue Zones are "nudged" into movement in little bursts throughout the day, by force of habit and, also, necessity.

"They're walking, or they're in their garden, or they're doing things by hand," he said.

In Buettner's home state of Minnesota, he credits shoveling the walks in winter, digging, weeding, and watering a garden in the summer with keeping him spry.

"I don't have a garage-door opener — I open it by hand," he said. "To the extent that I can, I use hand-operated tools."

He turned the inside of his house into a little mini Blue Zone, where he's getting up and moving all year round.

"I put the TV room on the third floor," Buettner told me, "So every time if I want a snack, I'd go up and down stairs."

The technique is one he's honed by studying life in the Blue Zones.

"It's being mindful of how to engineer little bursts of physical activity," he said.

Research has shown that such little energetic busts throughout the day can do a lot for overall fitness. One study published in 2019 showed that even 20-second, vigorous stair-climbing exercise "snacks" spread out over the course of a day could improve fitness.

"It's a reminder to people that small bouts of activity can be effective," study author Martin Gibala told Insider when his team's research came out. "They add up over time."

Live with purpose

In Japan they call it "ikigai," and in Costa Rica it's a "plan de vida." The words literally translate to "reason to live," and "life plan," respectively, and both concepts help residents of the Blue Zones feel there's a reason to get up and do what needs to get done each morning.

Studies also suggest that a sense of purpose in life is associated with fewer strokes and less frequent heart attacks among people with heart disease, as well as more use of preventive care.

One 2017 investigation from researchers at Harvard concluded that a sense of purpose in life is associated with better "physical function among older adults," including better grip strength and faster walking.

Enlist help from your friends 

Good health and happiness can be contagious, and obesity can too.

In Japan's Blue Zone, people form social groups called "moai" to help them get through life.

"Parents cluster their children in groups of five, and send them through life together," as Buettner explained in a video. "They support each other, and share life's fortunes and woes."

The trend is not unique to the Japanese. In Loma Linda, California, Blue Zoners (many of whom are Seventh-day Adventists) are more likely to share home-cooked, vegetarian potluck meals than meet one another over a Chipotle burrito or McDonald's fries.

Make 'the healthy choice the easy choice'

Buettner has created 75 Blue Zones "Projects" across the US, where cities and towns enact policies that change the entire environment people live in.

"We're genetically hardwired to crave sugar, crave fat, crave salt, take rest whenever we can," Buettner said. "We've just engineered this environment where you don't have to move. You're constantly cooled down or heated up ... and you cannot escape chips and sodas and pizzas and burgers and fries."

In cities from Minnesota to Texas, he's helped create healthier communities where policies favor fruits and vegetables over junk food, people form walking groups to move around town and shed pounds together, and many quit smoking, too.

All of this, he said, adds up to troupes of "biologically younger" people, who not only weigh less but suffer fewer health issues as they age.

"At every decade, you have more energy," he said.

This story was originally published in 2019, when Buettner's Blue Zones Cookbook was released. It has been updated.

Read the original article on Insider

[9/1/23 - Now I see there's a series on Netflix called "Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones".]

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[9/29/23] Here's another good article on the Blue Zones diet.  It's by Stephanie Thurrot writing for Today.

[8/30/23, posted 9/29/23] ABC News interview with Dan Buettner

[9/29/23] Here's Dan's original National Geographic article from November 2005, "Secrets of Long Life"

[2/25/24] Four Blue Zones

strengthen your knees

My left knee has been bothering me lately, so this article may be just what the doctor ordered...

How to Strengthen Your Knees If You Have Aches and Pains from Running

 It’s hard to talk to non-runners about running without having them ask the inevitable question, “What about your knees?” It makes sense: The repetitive impact of running can be tough on your lower body, and running has long had a bad rap when it comes to knee injuries.

But running on its own isn’t as bad for the knees as people previously thought. Runners who logged the most mileage in a study published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research actually had less knee pain than the other participants.

That said, “the knee is the anchor of our running gait, thus taking on the brunt of the impact with every step of our run,” says Bethann Wittig, an RRCA-certified running coach, NASM-certified personal trainer, and Fitness and Personal Training Coordinator at Rutgers University.

Knee injuries are still common—they account for 28 percent of injuries in runners, according to data published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. “The most common knee injuries are overuse injuries: too much distance, intensity, frequency, or a significant change in terrain that overstresses the tissues around the knee,” says Ben Reuter, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., author of Developing Endurance. And given its location halfway between your hip and your foot, your knee is susceptible to problems in both areas.

That’s why “strengthening the muscles that surround our knees is key to stability and injury prevention,” says Wittig. “The knee is involved in the full running gait cycle: When we flex it, the hamstrings contract; to extend it, the quadriceps come into play. All of these interconnected muscles need to be strengthened in order to protect that knee.”

When there are weakness or imbalances in those muscles, it can lead to issues like runner’s knee, or pain under your kneecap (which accounts for approximately 25 percent of running-related injuries, according to research from Orthopedic Reviews); patellar tendinitis, or pain below your kneecap and at the top of your shin; and iliotibial band syndrome, or pain on the side of your knee.

Your knee isn’t working independently from the rest of your body, so a consistent, whole body resistance training program is important for strengthening all your muscles, so they can withstand not just the repetitive muscle contractions or running, but also be better able to absorb the forces that come with each foot strike, says Reuter. 

How to use this list: Wittig and Reuter both recommend incorporating knee-strengthening exercises twice a week to get the full benefits. If you’re feeling any knee pain, take a day or two off of running and do these moves instead. If you’re looking to use them as a preventative workout, perform this workout on an easy running day or rest day. Start with your body weight and then add weight once you're feeling confident with your form. Perform each exercise for the reps and sets listed. They are demonstrated by certified personal trainers so you can learn the perfect form. You will need a towel and a resistance band.

Squat

person standing

person squatting

How to do it: Stand with feet just wider than hip-width apart, toes pointed slightly out, and hands clasped at chest. Sending hips back, then bend knees to lower down as far as possible while keeping your chest lifted. You should lower down until thighs are at least parallel to floor. Press through heels and engage glutes to return back to the starting position. Repeat. Do 3 sets of 10 reps. 

Why it works: “A squat is a compound movement that strengthens the knee by focusing on large lower body muscles: the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes,” says Wittig. This move helps improve knee mobility and strength.

Reverse Towel Lunge

person standing

person lunging forward with one leg

How to do it: Stand with feet hip-width apart with a towel or slider under right foot. Slide right foot back as you bend left knee, allowing left hip to flex, and lowering left knee to floor. Press left heel into the floor, then drive upwards to return to standing. Do 1 to 2 sets of 8 to 10 reps on each side.

Why it works: Reverse lunges focus on balance and stability through the knee joint. “They’re great for the knee because your front leg remains safely anchored while the exercise improves stability with the unilateral movement,” explains Wittig.

Single-Leg Deadlift

person standing

person leaning forward with one leg back

How to do it: Stand with feet hip-width apart. Lift right foot just off of the floor, making sure not to let right hip shift out to the side. With a microbend in left knee, hinge at hips as right leg lifts straight out behind you and lower chest toward the ground. Continue until chest and right leg are nearly parallel to the floor in a straight line. Pause, then squeeze glutes to return back to starting position. Do 1 to 2 sets of 8 to 10 reps on each leg.

Why it works: Single-leg deadlifts improve stability and strength through the posterior chain (your back, hips, glutes, and hamstrings)—which will protect the knee joint—as well your core and ankles. “Single-leg exercises work your balance, are specific to running, and are less likely to overload the body,” says Reuter.

Lateral Banded Walk

person crouched

person crouched and walking to side

How to do it: Loop a resistance band around your ankles. Starting with the feet shoulder-width apart and the knees slightly bent, take 15 steps to the right, then 15 steps to the left. That’s 1 set. Move slowly, stepping wide enough to feel the band’s resistance, and think about pushing the knees out (rather than allowing them to collapse inward). Complete 2 to 3 sets of 30 total reps.

Why it works: You’ll feel these in your glutes—specifically the gluteus medius, which helps stabilize your hips and pelvis while running, which is important for equal transmission of forces from the heel through the knee to the spine during training, says Wittig. “Glute activation is shown to reduce the rate of knee injuries,” she adds.

Lateral Lunge

person standing

person lunging to the side

How to do it: Start in a standing position, then step to your left foot way out to the left, send hips back and bend left knee until hamstring is about parallel to the floor as right leg stays straight. Push off the right foot and return to the starting position, then repeat on the left. Complete 20 total reps, alternating legs. Do 1 to 2 sets.

Why it works: Runners move in the sagittal plane (forward and back), but training in all planes of motion decreases the risk of overuse injuries, says Wittig. “Lateral lunges train the frontal (or side to side) plane of motion while strengthening the muscles around the knee,” she explains. They also “put less direct load on the knee joint compared to traditional squats and lunges.”

Step Up

person standing holding weights in front of a small boxperson standing on box with one leg lifted

How to do it: Stand in front of a step or bench. Step up with right foot, then drive the left knee up toward your chest so hip and knee form a 90-degree angle. Return to start. That’s one rep. Do 8 reps on each side. Repeat for 3 sets total. Add a set of dumbbells for an extra challenge as you progress.

Why it works: Another compound movement, step ups—when controlled with a slow lowering (or eccentric) movement—are key for building deceleration of the leg for the running gait cycle, says Wittig. “This is the job of the posterior chain, including the knee joint,” she explains.

Split Squat

person standing with leg on box behind them

person squatting with one leg

How to do it: Stand a foot or two in front of a bench, box, or step. Reach right foot back and place the toes on the bench. Bend left knee to lower as far as you can with control. Push through left foot to return to standing. Do 2 or 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg.

Why it works: This kind of resistance training for the knee and hip joints moves you beyond the range of motion that you generally move through while running while challenging your stability and strengthening your lower leg muscles, says Reuter.

Ashley Mateo is a writer, editor, and UESCA- and RRCA-certified running coach who has contributed to Runner’s World, Bicycling, Women's Health, Health, Shape, Self, and more.

spiritual wisdom

In 1445, Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type, individual letters that could be moved around a printing press to change what words were transferred to the blank page. Empowered by this revolutionary technology, he printed the very first book ever published: the Bible. Before the printing press, monks painstakingly hand-copied every edition of the Bible, often taking three years or more to complete the task. Gutenberg could produce 180 copies of the book in the same amount of time.

After Arabic movable type was produced, the first printed edition of the Quran rolled off the presses in Venice, Italy, and was exported to the Ottoman Empire in 1538. By the early 1800s, Hindu scripts were likewise being mass-produced. As religions the world over embraced Gutenberg’s invention, sacred books became more available, and less expensive, than ever before.

For centuries, religious texts were often the only books in a household. Children learned to read by tracing their fingers down the pages, and in the evenings families would convene to hear stories of faith, love, and devotion. Collected here from a variety of religious texts are words of deep wisdom from cultures around the world, made ubiquitously available online through technology that Gutenberg never could have dreamed possible.

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When there is harmony between the mind, heart, and resolution, then nothing is impossible.

~ Rig Veda

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

~ The Bible, James 3:13

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

~ Tao Te Ching

Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.

~ Tao Te Ching