Plant based diets
Studies on blue zones, areas where people live to over 100 years old, found that all of them eat a rich array of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are packed with disease-fighting nutrients. In this category we include beans as the cornerstone of most centenarian diets is beans. Favorites include fava, black, soy and lentils as they are rich in fiber and protein. Phytochemicals and nutrients found in fruits and vegetables, including a variety of colors, support a healthy body.
Meats can still be on the menu but consider them as a side or ingredient, and choose the leanest, finest meat you can afford. If you are grilling, minimize charing as this creates bad free radicals that wreak havoc on our bodies cells. Limit portions to the size of a deck of cards and try eating no more than twice a week. This is consistent with the USDA’s MyPlate recommendations to make fruits, vegetables and grains the majority of your intake.
If you find it hard to avoid meat, trying eliminating it for just one day, and focus rather on salads, stews, and combining beans with nuts or grains for a heartier meal. Eating nuts—a handful a day – provides essential fats, and can give you an extra 2-3 years of life expectancy!
If you are looking at a better quality of life, and a longer more exuberant life, I’d follow these people’s example!
Whether you call it commradiere, team work, or group motivation, its all the same thing, we succeed in living a healthy lifestyle when we surround ourselves with others who want to make healthy choices a part of life. According to the Blue Zones project, finding the right tribe can add years to your life than just about anything else. Over the next few months, Ill share habits of the world’s longest lived people. These people were either born into or purposefully choose to create social circles that support healthy behaviors. Related research shows that certain behaviors are contagious, so you attract and stimulate strong social circles by proactively surrounding yourself with the right tribe: people who share your desire to do activities that strengthen your body and fuel your brain, individuals that challenge you to learn and grow intellectually, creatively and spiritually, and people who share the behaviors that you want to be a part of your healthy life. If this is not your family or closest connections, begin by building one at a time, and your right tribe will grow.
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