‘CAN you live to 100?’
This was the subject of discussion at the Milken Institute Globel Conference, with experts sharing different approaches on how to increase our lifespan and the number of years we can live in good health.
Among the panel of longevity experts was Dan Buettner, an author and National Geographic fellow who has dedicated himself to studying the world’s longest living people.
He coined the term ‘Blue Zones’ to refer two five spots dotted across the globe where people routinely live to the ripe old age of 100 – if not longer.
They include Okinawa in Japan, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Ikaria in Greece, Sardinia in Italy and Loma Linda in California.
Dan listened as one his fellow panellists, businessman Peter Diamandis detailed how he lifts weights, aims to load up on protein and sleep, and takes a cocktail of off-label rapamycin, quercetin and berberine supplements.
The longevity guru, however, seemed to favour a more natural approach to stalling the process of ageing.
“I have two revolutionary supplements to tell you all about,” Dan told the audience.
Far from being in pill form, Dan listed three foods that can be found in any supermarket, which act as “powerful supplements” to help you live longer.
“If you want to take a supplement, take about 80 black beans a day,” Buettner said.
He pointed to a 2004 study that surveyed hundreds of elderly people in Japan, Sweden, Greece, and Australia, showing that generally, people who ate more beans tended to live longer.
“We found that people who actually make it to 100 eat a cup of beans a day,” Dan claimed.
Other foods people ate didn’t seem to have the same link to longevity.
The hearty, protein-rich staple are a cornerstone in diets of inhabitants of Ikaria, Sardinia and the Nicoya peninsula.
Dan has previously sung the praises of a three-bean minestrone soup enjoyed daily by a Sardinian family who hold a Guinness World Record for longevity.
“If you don’t like beans, we also found that people who eat between 15 and 30 walnuts a day are living about three years longer than people who don’t eat walnuts,” Dan went on.
“And you don’t even need a prescription,” he quipped.
A small handful of nuts is the snack of choice for most Blue Zoners, with Seventh Day Adventists living in Loma Linda, California, often favouring walnuts or almonds.
Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Bergen and University of Glasgow found that eating nuts, as well as whole grain food and fruit, can increase your life expectancy.
“What about olive oil?” Peter asked.
“I’m all for olive oil,” Dan replied, giving Peter a fist bump.
Olive oil is a staple of the Mediterranean diet, which has been touted for its longevity boosting properties.
Meanwhile, a recent study by Harvard researchers linked olive oil to a lower risk of dementia-related death.
Researchers found that people who consumed more than half a tablespoon of olive oil per day had a 28 per cent lower risk of dying from dementia, compared to those who never or rarely consumed it.
Replacing the teaspoon of the margarine or mayo you’d use with the same amount of olive oil could improve your odds against the brain-robbing disease, researchers suggested.
The Blue Zones are five regions across the world where people regularly live to the ripe old age of 100, largely thanks to their diets and daily habits.
The term was coined by author and National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner, who made a name for himself studying the world’s longest living people.
The Blue Zones include Okinawa in Japan, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Ikaria in Greece, Sardinia in Italy and Loma Linda in California.
According to Dan, inhabitants of these swear by nine lifestyle tips.
Dubbed the ‘Power 9’, the longevity guru argued that they can provide “instructions and clues for how we can set up our lives to live longer”.
They include:
Read more on the Power 9 tips here.
