by Matilda Charles
In several parts of the world there are large populations that regularly live into their 90s and even pass 100 years. They’re called Blue Zones, those parts of the world where seniors live longer, healthier lives. It started as a National Geographic project to look for the secrets to longevity. They were able to identify five locations: Loma Linda, California; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; and Okinawa, Japan.
Fascinated scientists began to study these over-100 people and concluded that they had nine commonalities. They are:
To read the study about the Blue Zones, go online to www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov select PubMed from the dropdown menu and put ‘Blue Zones’ in the search box. Look for the authors Buettner D, Skemp S. The heading includes ‘Lessons From The World’s Longest Lived.’