Publication: Blue Zone No. 1: Nicoya Peninsula (CR)
Sunday 15 March 2009 -
No 1 Blue Zone on the list (worldwide): Costa Rica`s Nicoya Peninsula. This confirmation came from Dan Buettner as freelance
writer for National Geographic, who spent seven years doing research for his
book "The Blue Zones; Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who`ve Lived the Longest."
Almost worldwide, the prospect of living to an age of 100 sounds like a
mixed blessing. While a long life is generally good, many people worry
that it also equals losing health and mental function. But that
is not true for the "blue zones".
In four hot spots around the
globe, people live to 100 in great numbers. But it`s not only about
longevity—they live with strength, vitality and happiness. Residents of
the blue zones regularly exercise, tend their gardens, are active
members of their communities, eat delicious food and even have sex!
To find out what they`re doing right—and we`re doing wrong—Oprah and Dr. Oz looked at Dan Buettner, a freelance writer for National Geographic who spent seven years doing research for his book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who`ve Lived the Longest.
Read more about the dialogue with Dr. Oz during the Oprah Winfrey Show if you sail to the website of Oprah Winfrey.
The first blue zone on the list is Costa Rica`s Nicoya Peninsula, a
small region located about a two-hours trip on bumpy roads from the
national capital of San Jose. Nicoya is the biggest blue zone on
earth—home to literally hundreds of centenarians.
To see what
makes the residents of the Nicoya Peninsula so vital, Dr. Oz and Dan
paid a visit. There, they met 102-year-old Panchita, who still chops
wood every day for cooking; 86-year-old Filippa, who sells her home made
tamales; and 95-year-old Serillo, who was cruising by on his bike as he
visited his neighbors.
But to meet one of the oldest Nicoyans, Dan took Dr. Oz on a hike deep into the rainforest.
After hours of soggy trekking, Dan and Dr. Oz met Patrone—who says he`s an astonishing 107 years old!
Dan says one of the secrets of Nicoyans` lifespan can be found in the
water that flows through the hills. Their water is among the hardest in
Costa Rica—which means it`s chock-full of minerals. "Hard water means
stronger bones. It also means your muscles are probably working better,
especially when you get old," Dan says.
Dr. Oz says hard water
has proven benefits. "Calcium, magnesium and water—it relaxes your
arteries, it builds bone strength and it has a huge benefit across the
board in how your body functions," he says.
Having strong
bones is actually one of the most important ways to live a long life.
"One of the biggest killers of older people in this country is simply
falling down and breaking a bone," Dan says. "If you take calcium and
couple it with vitamin D, your bones don`t deteriorate as quickly."
To re-create the benefits of the Nicoyans` calcium-rich water, Dan
suggests eating eggs and dairy. You can get calcium from other sources
too, including leafy green vegetables like kale and broccoli.
While visiting Patrone, Dan and Dr. Oz enjoyed a meal prepared by his
65-year-old daughter. Families stay together in Nicoya, which is
another important key to living a long life.
For lunch, she
made corn tortillas from scratch. First, she soaks the corn in ash and
lime to break it down. Then, she smashes it in a metate—a Central
American stone mortar. Then, she cooks the corn patties without oil.
"It`s a lot of hard work, and there`s no electricity, so she can`t do
it any other way," Dr. Oz says. "And it`s a good workout."
This daily process of cooking tortillas is like an automatic workout.
"You know, most Americans don`t really exercise. A very small
proportion," Dan says. "But in Nicoya, they`ll be making lunch and it`s
like doing 25 reps with the free weights."
Dan and Dr. Oz`s next stop is the home of 99-year-old Jose, who tells
them about his typical day. Jose says after breakfast he tends his
garden and clears underbrush around his corn crops.
When he sees
Jose squatting down and using a machete to cut weeds around his corn
plants, Dr. Oz is dumbstruck. "He`s whacking through this stuff better
than any lawn mower you can buy. It`s remarkable," he says. "I`m
looking at a 99-year-old man doing a better job than I could taking out
the underbrush here."
Dr. Oz asks to examine Jose further and
finds that his daily chores have built up strong chest, stomach and leg
muscles, which are crucial for aging well. Dr. Oz explains that the
quadriceps—the large group of muscles on the front of the thigh—allow
you to bend your hips and extend your knee and are crucial for walking.
"If you can`t walk a quarter-mile in five minutes, the chance that
you`ll be dead in three years is three times higher than if you can,"
he says. "It`s a big deal."
One exercise you can do to
strengthen the quadriceps is a basic squat. Make the motion of sitting
in a chair, but don`t sit all the way down. "Just go down close to it
and get back up," Dr. Oz says.
For those who are too weak for
this exercise, Dr. Oz recommends repeatedly sitting and standing in a
chair without using the armrests. "It`s simple things like that," he
says. "And [the Nicoyans] make it part of their life."
Another crucial factor to Nicoyan longevity is diet. On his land, Jose
has 14 different kinds of trees that produce ripe fruit all year long.
But
the real secret may be in what Dan calls the "Mesoamerican trifecta"
that is the predominant diet in much of Central America—and has been
for 3,500 years! The diet consists of lightly salted corn tortillas,
beans and squash. "It`s arguably the best longevity food ever
invented," Dan says.
Another important aspect of the Nicoyan
diet is that they tend to eat their larger meals in the morning, with
progressively smaller meals throughout the day. This not only leaves
Nicoyans craving fewer calories during the day, it also lets them
transition into sleep much more easily when darkness falls. "A hundred
years ago, when the sun went down, the brain would start making more
melatonin. And with more melatonin, you`d get tired, you`d get drowsy,"
Dr. Oz says. "Today, the reason half of us don`t sleep normally is
because the last thing we see is a computer screen or the tube. That
actually does the opposite to your brain—it stimulates it. So of course
you can`t fall asleep. You`ve got to glide to sleep."