How to become a centenarian – 9 lessons from the people who’ve lived the longest.

Late last year in my Meet the Neuroscientists interview series, I spoke to Charlene Levitan who studies centenarians for the Sydney Centenarian Study.  Her research has revealed that only about 30% of longevity is determined by our genes. As Dr Levitan pointed out:

We can’t choose our parents, but we can choose our lifestyle.

In another longevity project, National Geographic writer Dan Buettner has uncovered the places around the globe where the residents have the greatest life expectancy and where more people reach age 100 than anywhere else.  In his book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, Buettner describes five ‘blue zones’ of of longevity:

• Barbagia region of Sardinia – Mountainous highlands of inner Sardinia with the world’s highest concentration of male centenarians.
• Ikaria, Greece – Aegean Island with one of the world’s lowest rates of middle age mortality and the lowest rates of dementia.
• Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica – World’s lowest rates of middle age mortality, second highest concentration of male centenarians.
• Seventh Day Adventists – Highest concentration is around Loma Linda, California. They live 10 years longer than their North American counterparts
• Okinawa, Japan – Females over 70 are the longest-lived population in the world.

Dan Buettner and his team of Blue Zones researchers spent time in each of these zones, and  have identified nine secrets to longevity.  Mind you, I’d say they’re more common sense than secret!

1. Move Naturally: 
The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it. They grow gardens and don’t have mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.

2. Purpose: The Okinawans call it “Ikigai” and the Nicoyans call it “plan de vida;” for both it translates to “why I wake up in the morning.” Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy

3. Down Shift
 : Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour.

4. 80% Rule
:  “Hara hachi bu”  – the Okinawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it. People in the Blue Zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don’t eat any more the rest of the day.

5. Eat plants: Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Meat—mostly pork—is eaten on average only five times per month.  Serving sizes about the size of deck or cards.

6. Drink Wine: People in all Blue Zones (except Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly.  Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink one to two glasses per day, with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all weekend and have 14 drinks on Saturday!!

7. Belong
: All but five of the 263 centenarians we interviewed belonged to some faith-based community.  Denomination doesn’t seem to matter. Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.

8. Loved Ones First: 
Successful centenarians in the Blue Zones put their families first. This means keeping aging parents and grandparents nearby or in the home (It lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too.). They commit to a life partner (which can add up to 3 years of life expectancy) and invest in their children with time and love (They’ll be more likely to care for you when the time comes).

9. Right Tribe:  
The world’s longest lived people chose–or were born into–social circles that supported healthy behaviors, Okinawans created ”moais”–groups of five friends that committed to each other for life. Research from the Framingham Studies shows that smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness are contagious. So the social networks of long-lived people have favourably shaped their health behaviours.