Dan Buettner Shares The Wisdom Of Centenarians
“Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge. Remedies from chemicals will never stand in favor compared with the products of nature, the living cell of the plant, the final result of the rays of the sun, the mother of all life.” -T.A. Edison
Book Summary:
It’s true, you know. You are what you eat. I used to be a professional dieter, but over the last year I changed my mind about food being public enemy number one.
Contrary to popular opinion, food is not meant to make you fat.
If we do it right, It’s meant to bring enjoyment, long life, and health. So, I’m going to continue with the plan. I fast most days by restricting my eating window to eight hours, and eating a mostly plant based diet.
Eating food is no longer a science of counting calories, restricting certain foods, or even combining foods- it’s an adventure.
There is a certain freedom that comes with eating the foods we were meant to eat all along.
Three Reasons You Will Enjoy Reading "The Blue Zones"
1. The Wisdom of the Centenarians:
In 2005, Dan Buettner wrote the cover story for National Geographic about the “Secrets for Living Longer.” Since then, he has been on a quest to educate his readers about the power of healthy food. In his research, he talks about the lifestyles and eating traditions of different cultures from all over the world.
“We analyzed more than 150 dietary studies conducted in Blue Zones over the past century, and then we distilled those studies to arrive at a global average of what centenarians really ate.”
2. Good Rule of Thumb Advice Without Being Too Preachy:
Buettner teases out the common threads of eating habits and lifestyles found in these different cultures - called “blue zones” - and serves them up in a way that inspires the reader to consider a new way of eating.
“See that 95 percent of your food comes from a plant or a plant product.”
“Satisfy your occasional cheese cravings with cheese made from grass-fed goats or sheep. Try Sardinian pecorino Sardo or Greek feta. Both are rich, so you need only a small amount to flavor food.”
“Buy only small eggs from cage-free, pastured chickens.”
“Blue Zones eat at least four times as many beans as we do, on average.”
3. The Science of Fasting:
My personal #1 benefit that comes from fasting is that it seems to allow for appetite control. It’s a mystery how that works, but it does indeed work for some reason. It makes sense that the body needs a break from digestion of food to restore and reset.
“Recent scientific evidence shows that fasting, even for a day, can recalibrate insulin release, giving the pancreas a break.
It can temporarily lower cholesterol and blood pressure. And fasting undeniably works as a short-term way to lose weight, break food addictions, and perhaps even cleanse the digestive tract.”
Deeper Thoughts:
I can’t lie - Reading about the lifestyles of those folks who live in the blue zones made me a little envious. It’s not just the food that makes for the health of these folks - it’s more than that. It’s the lifestyle.
While diet is important, it’s not the silver bullet. Things like community and living with simplicity are also key factors.
If we are mindful about living with health, there’s not one reason those of us who live outside of these zones can’t create our own blue zone. It may look a little different, but it’s totally possible - and worth the effort.