Suvadin, Home

9 Simple Ways to Live to 100 Years
9 Simple Ways to Live to 100 Years

Only 10% of how long the average person lives is dictated by our genes. The other 90% is dictated by our lifestyle. The average human body is capable of living for about 90 years.

Only 10% of how long the average person lives is dictated by our genes. The other 90% is dictated by our lifestyle. The average human body is capable of living for about 90 years. But in America, most people only live to 78. We are leaving about 12 good years on the table. Scientists found five "Blue Zones" on Earth where residents reach age 90 or older.

1. Sardinia, Italy

2. Okinawa, Japan

3. Nicoya, Costa Rica

4. Ikaria, Greece

5. And the 'Seventh-Day Adventist Community' in Loma Linda, California

Here is what they found:

1. They don't exercise: None of them exercise; at least the way we think of exercising. Instead, they set up their lives so that they're constantly nudged into physical activity. Sardinians live in vertical houses, up and down the stairs. They don;t have any conveniences. There's not a button to push to do yard work or housework. If they want to mix up a cake, they're doing it by hand. In Sardinia, they have this area where men live the longest, where people not only reach age 100, they do so with extraordinary vigor. Places where 102-year-olds still ride their bike to work, chop wood and can beat a guy 60 years younger than them.

2. They have a purpose: They have vocabulary for "sense of purpose." In the Okinawan language, there is no word for "retirement." Instead, there is one word that imbues your entire life, and that work id "ikigai." And roughly translated, it means, "The reason for which you wake up in the morning." For a 100 year old fisherman in Okinawa, it was continuing to catch fish for his family three times a week. For a 102 year old woman, her "ikigai" was simply her great-great-great-granddaughter. When asked about what it felt like to hold a great-great-great-granddaughter, she put her head back and said, "It feels like leaping into heaven."

3. They relax: Each of these cultures takes time to downshift. The Sardinians pray. The Seventh-Day Adventists pray. The Okinawans have this ancestor veneration. When you're in a hurry or stressed out, that triggers something called the inflammatory response, which is associated with everything from Alzheimer's disease to cardiovascular disease.

4. They eat less: The greatest diet suggestion ever invented is known as the "hara hachu bun me" diet. It is simply a little saying the Okinawans say before their meal to remind them to stop eating when their stomach is 80% full. That's because it takes 20 minutes for the "full" feeling to travel to our  brain. And they have all kinds of little strategies to keep from overeating. Okinawans eat off of smaller plates, so they tend to eat fewer calories at every sitting. 

5. They eat a plant-based diet: A plant based diet full of vegetables with lots of color in them. Okinawans eat about eight times as much tofu as Americans do. Experts say tofu contains all nine essential amino acids and is a great source of iron. It doesn't mean they don't eat meat, but they eat lots of beans and nuts as well.

6. They focus on family: The foundation of all this is how they connect. They put their families first and take care of their children and their aging parents. Seventh Day Adventists schedule 24 hours a week with their loved ones and God. And then hardwired right in their religion are nature walks.

7. They have strong relationships: They also belong to the right tribe. They were either born into, ot they proactively surrounded themselves with the right people.

8. They pray: They all tend to belong to a faith-based community. Numerous studies have found a link between praying regularly and living longer. One study found that attending services regularly can add an average of 4 years to a person's life. The Seventh Day Adventists celebrate their Sabbath from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. It's "a 24-hour sanctuary in time," they call it.

9. And they drink (But just a little bit): These people drink a little bit every day, not a hard sell to the American population. Studies show drinking red wine reduces the risk of heart attacks and lowers stress.

While life expectancy is increasing around the world, it declined in the U.S. for the second year in a row. When it comes to longevity, there is no short term fix, in a pill or anything else. But when you think about it, your friends are long-term adventures and therefore, perhaps the most significant thing you can do to add more years to your life, and life to your years. 

- Source: TED.com


 

More form the Internet

loading...