HOW CAN YOU ENTER THE BLUE ZONE?

A ‘Blue Zone’ is geographic area where people live longer and healthier lives.  Centenarians are the hallmark of these Blue Zones: Sardinia (Italy), Okanawa (Japan) and Nicoya (Costa Rica). Why? How? and What?

Here are 4 traits that these longevity hotspots share:

1. Eating Legumes.  Yum!  Beans are a dense and delicious protein that can be easily added to salad, soups & grains.
2.  Constant moderate activity.  While hitting the gym or the mat is crucial for healthy minds and bodies, so is walking, less sitting while working and opting for stairs over elevators.  It’s summer, get out there and keep moving. Rescue a dog and voila, you now have extra walks in your day!

3. Family.  Dwellers of the Blue Zones put family in front of other concerns.  How can you make a change in your daily life to reach out, re-connect or deepen a relationship with a family member?

4. A Semi-Vegetarian diet.  As Michal Pollan prescribes, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” If you eat meat, look for grass-fed, USDA organic, wild-caught and pastured.

and, here’s my No. 5 for those of us that live in an industrialized world of cheap, chemically derived, toxic personal care products: read your labels, avoid parabens, pthalates, PEGs, SLSs.  Educate yourself in buying green and clean by visiting The Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Database

xo, juju