During his Tedtalk lecture,” How to Live to be 100+,” Dan Buettner discusses ways that people can increase their life expectancy. He references something called the Danish Twin Study and says that roughly 10% of a person’s longevity is dictated by their genes, whereas the other 90% is dictated by our lifestyle (Buettner par. 1). There is so much conflicting advice and data on what people can do to make themselves live longer that most Americans really have no idea what it is that they should be doing. Buettner teamed up with National Geographic and the National Institute on Aging to find geographic areas where people are living longer and figure out exactly what it is that these people are doing that increases their longevity. He calls these
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As Buettner points out, there is no actual diet for longevity. However, he had this to say about the diets of people in the Blue Zones:
Instead, these people drink a little bit every day, not a hard sell to the American people. They tend to eat a plant based diet. Doesn’t mean they don’t eat met, but lots of beans and nuts. And they have strategies to keep from overeating, little things that nudge them away from the table at the right time. (Buettner par. 34)
Eating a plant based diet is something that would be very possible here. Because farming and farmers markets are very prevalent, people are able to access fresh fruits and vegetables with relative ease once they decide that they want to adopt this way of eating. Learning tricks to keep from overeating would probably be a little more difficult, but it is still something that could be accomplished with some small changes in lifestyle. Regarding the people of Okinawa, Buettner says, “Instead of serving family style, where you can sort of mindlessly eat as you are talking, they serve at the counter, put the food away, and then bring it to the table” (par.18). This is something that could easily be incorporated into everyday life. It even makes cleanup a little easier since the food will already be put away when everyone is done eating! The Okinawans also have an old adage that was invented by Confucious, known as Hara, Hatchi, Bu diet (Buettner par. 19). Hara, hatci, bu is simply a saying that reminds them to stop eating when they are 80% full so that they don’t overeat. While this would be something that would be hard to get used to, once it becomes a habit it would become second
As Buettner points out, there is no actual diet for longevity. However, he had this to say about the diets of people in the Blue Zones:
Instead, these people drink a little bit every day, not a hard sell to the American people. They tend to eat a plant based diet. Doesn’t mean they don’t eat met, but lots of beans and nuts. And they have strategies to keep from overeating, little things that nudge them away from the table at the right time. (Buettner par. 34)
Eating a plant based diet is something that would be very possible here. Because farming and farmers markets are very prevalent, people are able to access fresh fruits and vegetables with relative ease once they decide that they want to adopt this way of eating. Learning tricks to keep from overeating would probably be a little more difficult, but it is still something that could be accomplished with some small changes in lifestyle. Regarding the people of Okinawa, Buettner says, “Instead of serving family style, where you can sort of mindlessly eat as you are talking, they serve at the counter, put the food away, and then bring it to the table” (par.18). This is something that could easily be incorporated into everyday life. It even makes cleanup a little easier since the food will already be put away when everyone is done eating! The Okinawans also have an old adage that was invented by Confucious, known as Hara, Hatchi, Bu diet (Buettner par. 19). Hara, hatci, bu is simply a saying that reminds them to stop eating when they are 80% full so that they don’t overeat. While this would be something that would be hard to get used to, once it becomes a habit it would become second