How to Live Longer!

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My friend, Jennifer Salter of Lifeline Personal Training (www.lifelinepersonaltraining.com), sent me an article called How to Live Longer.  Well, who could resist that?  The article references a book by Dan Buettner called The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest.

According to Buettner, blue zones are certain locations in the world where people are known to live measurably longer than the rest of the world.  These include areas in Japan, Italy, Costa Rica and California.

Apparently, the secret to living longer is not just about diet and exercise but also your social and physical environment. The way he puts it, "People in the blue zones live rewardingly inconvenient lives. They walk to the store, to church and to their friends' homes.  They do their own yard work, hand-knead their own bread dough."

Unfortunately, this is not something that most of us can emulate.  We don't have the time or desire to live this way.  Luckily, the author thinks that we can make changes in our own environment to create our own 'personal blue zones' to increase our life span. 

Here are his "9 Tips for Longevity":

1. Be Active Daily
2. Eat less
3. Slow Down, Rest, Take Vacations
4. Eat More Fruit and Veg; Less Meat and Processed Foods
5. Make Your Family a Priority
6. Have a Good Social Circle
7. Drink Some Red Wine
8. Encourage Your Own Spiritual or Religious Beliefs
9. Have a Mission or Purpose to Your Life

In general, these are behaviours that are associated with not only a longer life but a more enriched life!
  
For more information, see www.bluezones.com

Reference: Buettner, D.  2008. The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest, Des Moines, IA: National Geographic