Have you ever heard of the “blue zones” before? If you have never heard of the “blue zones” they are areas of the world where, on average, people live into their 90’s and 100’s. Not only are they living to a ripe old age, but they are also living healthy, vibrant, active and medical assistance free lives.

There are five blue zones in the world, and they are:

• The Italian island of Sardinia
• Okinawa, Japan
• Loma Linda, California
• Costa Rica’s isolated Nicoya Peninsula
• Ikaria, an isolated Greek island

Dan Buettner was the one who coined the phrase “blue zones” when referring to these locations after thoroughly researching them for a period of five years. Buettner discovered that the commonality of the people living in these areas was their way of life. Sorry to disappoint if you thought it was going to be a secret fountain of youth that they all discovered. The good news though, is that you can achieve a life, with some effort, very close to the inhabitants of these places.

The common secrets of those who live in the blue zones are that they do not rely on allopathic medicine and modern technology to help them live longer.

Perhaps you have heard the phrase “Let food by thy medicine, and medicine be thy food” as famously said by Hippocrates who was an ancient Greek physician. It is interesting to note that as a physician, Hippocrates was not into medicine as we know it today, but instead, he recognized the valuable role that nutrition could play.

A diet that is full of various fruits, colourful vegetables, healthy fats and avoidance of processed foods is the key. Foods that are found locally, which include fish, nuts, and little to no meat are all common habits of those in the blue zones. Sugar plays no part in their diets as it can cause inflammation, excessive weight gain, and diabetes.

What research and plain observation have shown is that most people in the blue zones are an ideal weight and therefore no obese, do not suffer from diabetes, and incidents of heart disease are rare to none.

This is a rarity in North America. Most of the senior population is plagued with a reliance on allopathic medicine which goes hand in hand with a medicine cabinet full of prescriptions, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, to name a few ailments caused mostly from a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet.

Is it too late to do anything?

While it can take a while to turn the ship around, just making small daily improvements can help, and word of caution is to not just stop taking medications you have been prescribed all in one shot. Start with your diet. If you are eating lots of processed foods or ready-made meals, start opting for more daily helpings of fresh fruit. This means whole fruits as opposed to fruit juices, which are okay in moderation, but they contain way too much sugar to be consumed more than occasionally. The fibre in a whole fruit will do you far more good than fruit juice alone.

Start drinking more water.

Flushing out the toxins from your body by drinking water, perhaps with a squeeze of fresh organic lemon. Add some veggies. This can be done by adding a sliced tomato or some sliced cucumbers to your plate at dinner, or lunch. Many have been raised with the idea that a meal needs to be starch, meat, and maybe a vegetable. But any meal can be as simple as a salad with some sliced chicken on top, or even just some salad toppings of sunflower seeds and a little dressing and a few chunks of cheese. Healthy oils like coconut oil and cold-pressed virgin olive oil can be great fats to add to your diet.

Bread is something you may want to consider cutting out. Most wheat is so processed now, that it can actually cause inflammation.

Cut. Out. Sugar.

Sugar is so very destructive to the body, and it is not needed. If you need a little something to sweeten your tea or coffee, opt for a little Stevia, but over time you will get used to not having sugar.

I encourage you, that even with starting out with cutting out sugar – your body will thank you and begin to reward you greatly!

Exercise.

Start out with a five-minute walk, and then increase it by five minutes a week if you have not been exercising. Park a little further away from the door of the store you need to go to. You do not need to go to the gym every day to get a little exercise in.

The road to better health is not paved with pain and suffering. In fact, achieving better health will likely relieve a lot of the pain and suffering you may be experiencing.

Start today, start small, and you can achieve great results.