Home to the world's longest-living men.
A cluster of villages in a kidney-shaped region on this island makes up the first Blue Zone region we ever identified. In 2004, the Blue Zones research team set off to investigate a rare genetic quirk carried by its inhabitants. The M26 marker is linked to exceptional longevity, and due to geographic isolation, the genes of the residents in this area of Sardinia have remained mostly undiluted. The result: nearly 10 times more centenarians per capita than the U.S
But even more importantly, residents of this area are also culturally isolated, and they have kept to a very traditional, healthy lifestyle. Sardinians still hunt, fish and harvest the food they eat. They remain close with friends and family throughout their lives. They laugh and drink wine together.
Core Values they have:
Eat a lean, plant-based diet accented with meat: The classic Sardinian diet consists of whole-grain bread, beans, garden vegetables, fruits, and, in some parts of the island, mastic oil.
Put family first: People who live in strong, healthy families suffer lower rates of depression, suicide, and stress.
Celebrate elders: Grandparents can provide love, childcare, financial help, wisdom, and expectations/motivation to perpetuate traditions and push children to succeed in their lives.
Take a walk: Walking five miles a day or more as Sardinian shepherds do provides all the cardiovascular benefits you might expect.
Drink a glass or two of red wine daily: Sardinians drink wine moderately. Cannonau wine has two or three times the level of artery-scrubbing flavonoids as other wines
Laugh with friends: Laughter reduces stress, which can lower one’s risk of cardiovascular disease.
Drink goat’s milk: A glass of goat’s milk contains components that might help protect against inflammatory diseases of aging such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
This is an excerpt from Blue Zones: Lessons For Living Longer From The People Who’ve Lived The Longest by Dan Buettner, copyright 2008, all rights reserved.
Comments