“One of the healthiest islands in the world”
Longevity secrets might not be so secret after all. National Geographic researchers discovered that the healthiest centenarians (people who live over 100) are living in 5 areas in the world, also called “the blue zones”. The people in these blue zones live longer, happier, and healthier lives than people in the rest of the world.
The blue zones are:
- Sardinia – Italy
- Ikaria – Greece
- Okinawa -Japan
- Nicoya – Costa Rica
- Loma Linda – USA
“I thought I died and went to health coach heaven”
Last month I was lucky enough to stay at an organic farm on the island of Ikaria (yes, one of the blue zones in Greece and also called “the island where people forget to die”) for a few days. I thought I died and went to health coach heaven!
The farm is owned by Giorgos and Eleni Karimalis, who have travelled to several countries to educate people about the Ikarian lifestyle, diet, and regenerative way of farming. Their farm in the mountains of Ikaria has been in the family for over 500 years.
Giorgos and Eleni grow grapes and olives on their farm, but pretty much everything else that they eat themselves. They just pick it from their garden and cook it from scratch. It’s the ultimate place for a health coach to go on a holiday…. ehm, do research, so I can share the longevity secrets with you.
Longevity secrets, straight from Ikaria “the island where people forget to die”.
When sitting down with Giorgos and talking about longevity and the secret of the Ikarians reaching record-setting ages, he mentioned 3 principles:
1. Eat good food
As a health coach, of course, I totally agree with this. Eat real wholesome food, full of nutrients. Try to limit your intake of processed foods. You can read more about that in my blog post here. On Ikaria, they eat the Mediterranean diet, which is heavy in vegetables and healthy fats and contains smaller amounts of dairy and meat products. Well, they sure must be onto something. Research suggests that people on a Mediterranean diet reduce their cancer risk and have lower mortality rates.
One of the most important ingredients in the Mediterranean diet is extra virgin olive oil. Make sure you get the real deal to enjoy the benefits. Unfortunately, there are a lot of ‘fake’ olive oils around, in which lesser quality oils like soybean oil have been added. That’s
2. Prepare your food properly. Don’t eat fried food.
Try to eat most of your vegetables raw. When you cook your vegetables, don’t overcook them, as it will decrease those nourishing nutrients. Fried food is usually fried in unhealthy hydrogenated vegetable oils. Consuming these fats increases your mortality risk.
3. Eat with others
The sense of community on the farm was great. Especially around dinner time. Family, friends, and neighbours dropping in to say hello, share a plate, and have great conversation, not to mention enjoying the organic wines. You feel connected and eat a lot less than when you would be on the couch in front of the tv. When you’re playing couch potato, you’re more likely to overeat because you’ve got no awareness around your food. You’re being distracted by the tv. I actually agree with Giorgos when he stated that removing the couch from houses will solve many health issues.
While I was staying at health coach heaven in Ikaria, I picked up some great Ikarian recipes during a cooking class with Eleni, who is such a clever and talented cook. Her recipes have been featured in several cookbooks promoting the Ikarian diet, even the one from Dan Buettner himself, the author and National Geographic adventurer who discovered the blue zones.
During the cooking class, Eleni continued on Giorgos’ healthy lifestyle principles, sharing her centenarian grandmother’s longevity secrets:
4. Eat simple
Yes! I can’t emphasise this enough. Don’t overcomplicate your diet. You’ll be less likely to fall off the wagon or get food stress. Keep it simple and healthy.
5. Be active, work every day. But also, take a break when needed.
Move naturally. Find ways to stay active. Don’t run marathons or pump iron; just work around the house, garden, walk, cycle, or walk when talking on the phone.
The villages on the island are ghost towns in the afternoon and work gets done when it gets done. The Ikarians are a lot less stressed than us to-do-list people. They don’t really look at the time but let sunrise and sunset determine their schedule. Life slows down drastically as soon as you hit the island, which takes some time to get used to. (Especially when you sit down at a restaurant and for the first 30 minutes you’re wondering if there’s table service at all… ) Just be in the moment, take a break. Find ways to shed stress, whether it’s meditating, napping or going to happy hour.
6. Only look ahead, not back.
You can’t change the past, so there is no point in stressing about it. You can’t control the future either. Be in the present moment, it’s all you have. Or as Eckhart Tolle says: “When you make the present moment, instead of the past and future, the focal point of your life, your ability to enjoy what you do – and with it the quality of your life – increases dramatically”.
7. Community
Stay social. Build a social network that supports you and your healthy behaviours. You’ll feel more motivated and confident when you’ve got some loyal friends that have got your back. Friends with a similar attitude towards food and lifestyle can lift you up!
8. Spirituality
Ikarians have traditionally been Greek Orthodox Christians. But spirituality doesn’t necessarily mean organised religion. It can be just any type of practice or mentality that connects you with other people and the universe, like meditation or going for a walk. Giorgos for example practices Qigong every morning and it was great to join him. Such a great start of the day!
Spirituality is when you quieten down and look inward to get clarity and intention. It reminds you that you’re connected to something larger than yourself.
9. Live with family when you’re old
The power of love. Put families first, including committing to a partner and keeping aging parents and grandparents nearby. Not only the grandparents benefit from this, but also the grandkids that are learning from them. Old and healthy traditions are passed on to new generations and don’t get lost.
One of my favourite things during my farm stay on Ikaria was sipping on fresh herbal teas, as I absolutely love my teas! Eleni would go and pick some leaves from the garden and make the most beautiful teas with medicinal properties that tasted delicious. I got so inspired by this, that I planted Lemon Verbena, Oregano, Basil, Rosemary in the garden as soon as I got home. Hopefully, I’ll be having some fresh longevity teas from the garden soon, so I can sip on my tea while dreaming of Ikaria and my wonderful farm stay. I can’t wait to go back!
Which of the 9 longevity secrets are you going to implement in your life?
Would you like to become a happy and healthy centenarian? Is your current lifestyle going to help you reach this goal? Have a good look at your diet, exercise routine, your attitude, the way you practice self-care, and your outlook on the world. Keeping it simple is key in this process.
Even simple lifestyle changes can be difficult though. Make it easy for yourself and start with just one lifestyle change this week. Which of the 9 secrets will you pick first?
