Wildwood 

Submitted without opinion.
some quotes provided if you don't clink links.

The source referenced for the article is:
"continental trekking cyclist" who authored a cover story for Natl Geo magazine, helping to popularize the term Blue Zones for long lived active adults, 100+. Sardinia, Okinawa, Ikaria (Greece), Nicoya (Costa Rico), Loma Linda CA USA

a primarily homegrown, plant based diet is about half of the equation

move consistently throughout the day, live with purpose, do it all with a little help from their friends.


The author of the concepts is a cyclist. Only one man's opinion. I guess.
not a word about mileage, zone training, intervals, HIIT, cadence, resting heart rate, anaerobic threshold, recovery to resting HR, steroids, HGH, weight training etc, etc.


maybe more than one way to longevity with health.

warning: headline is misleading, article states 'healthy diet is only half the equation'.

Blue Zones Dan Buettner: the Secret to Long Life Is Not Diet, Exercise (insider.com)

edit: Maybe the takeaway is = if you do homegrown and move regularly, you live longer. ...with a little help from me friends.

wolfchild

The thing about centererians from blue zone areas is that none of them do anything special and try to live to 100 years old. They just go about living a normal daily life eating a normal diet and they don't obsess themselves about performance, FTP, calorie counting, supplements and rigid structured diet and training plans...Meanwhile over here in western countries people are obsesssed with finding a secret to longetivity or some magical diet plan which doesn't even exist.

smontanaro 

Coincidentally, we just watched most of it last night. Still need to finish the Albert Lea episode. In general, I agree with his ideas, but towards the end, I think he was reaching a bit on some of the longevity-increasing activities/foods.

TakingMyTime

So if I eat healthy, exercise regularly and try to keep my outlook on life rosy... (Now you're telling me I have to move to a blue zone too?)

joesch

IMO blue zones are just places with more healthy air, so close to the ocean or big body of water, in the trees for good air, etc. They include Loma Linda, CA but that can be very unhealthy area with smog conditions. You are in Losal which is close to Pacific so should have good air most of the time, maybe not close to 405 during max traffic. YMMV

Totally agree with healthy diet (but all food / diet types, not just vegan or vegi) and staying active.

smontanaro 

Hopefully not. The last episode is about turning Albert Lea, MN into a blue zone.

Wildwood 

How far can Loma Linda be?

John E

I disagree, in the sense that Blue Zonies eat plant-centric diets, avoid overeating and under-exercising, and consume far less refined junk food than mere mortals do.

50PlusCycling

Okinawa is one of the Blue Zones. I go to Okinawa frequently to enjoy the beaches. But Okinawa is the most impoverished prefecture in Japan. It has a high percentage of smokers, people drink a lot, pork is the most popular dish, and the region has the highest salt intake in the world. Okinawa’s longevity comes from an economically-enforced moderation when it comes to food and vice, and regular physical activity. Okinawa is very much an agricultural and blue-collar economy. People don’t go to gyms, and they aren’t picky about what they eat.

downtube42

I don't think people obsessing over FTP are doing so with longevity in mind.

I think few of us are considering longevity our primary life objective, then going about pursuing lifestyles that obtain that objective. Neither do the blue-zone people.

What we do is, consume a few sound bites then maybe eat an extra vegetable or two.

wolfchild

While it's true that people from blue zone areas consume a lot of vegetables, legumes, grains and fruits...they are not vegeterian...Animal products such as meat, dairy, eggs and fish are also part of their diet and many of them also smoke and drink alcohol...The only exception to this would be 7th day adventists from Loma Linda who follow vegeterian diet and avoid alcohol for ideological and religious reasons.

rsbob 

My wife and I believe and follow the Blue Zone approach with diet, exercise and friendships. Not to say I don’t cheat on occasion with sweets being my downfall. Salad with chicken for dinner. 51 miles today at 17.7 Average speed with 1500’ on tired legs from yesterday’s hammerfest. Now for a piece of carrot cake.

PeteHski

Genetic scientists have now figured out how the aging process works and how to slow it down and even ultimately prevent it. I recommend reading “Lifespan” by David Sinclair. (Real science btw, not guru speak)

In simple terms, if we follow a largely plant-based diet, avoid smoking and take regular exercise we will live longer and in much better health during our final decades. For bonus points include intermittent fasting (calorie restriction) and regular exposure to a cold environment.

GhostRider62

I guess he has never been to Englewood, New Jersey.

All blue with purple tinged smog to breath. Ladies up there live to over 90 years on average.

skidder

FWIW: Loma Linda, California was founded by Seventh Day Adventists, and still has a high concentration of those faithful in the community. That religion promotes a vegetarian/kosher-based diet.

joesch

On the mountain side of the Santa Ana pass thus not getting the best benefits from the Pacific.
Lots of heavy slow traffic from beach cities to Loma Linda so 2 hours driving.
This is my answer to far to be in a better blue zone.

joesch

Yes heat and cold treatments are very healthy especially for athletes. See https://www.healthline.com/health/co...th#bottom-line

joesch

And avoiding "substance" abuse/use.

Hermes

Loma Linda...Having lived in CA for over 43 years and driving through LA in the 80s and 90s and living in west LA from 2000 to 2006, I experienced first hand the air quality in Loma Linda and other parts of SoCal. Poor air quality in the LA basis is partly due to the mountains trapping air pollutants and dust and etc and the sunlight create smog. There were times one could not see the mountains. It was awful. The coast would be marginally better.

South Coast Air Quality Management District, one of the most stringent districts in setting air quality standards would routinely post data and studies indicating the thousands of residents die each year due to air pollution. SCAQMD includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley. The region is home to more than 17 million people–44% of the population of the entire state of California.

This morning Loma Linda air quality is lower than where I live in San Diego at the coast but both are really low.

I find it hard to believe that Loma Linda has been a blue zone for longevity over the last 100 years assuming that good air quality is a hallmark of aging. There has to be confounding factors determining longevity in Loma Linda and I suspect other Blue Zones. FWIW.

skidder

Its a small city just south of the larger City of San Bernardino (not a good place to live), they are separated by the I-10 freeway. Location is inland and east from the major Los Angeles metro area and afternoon 'onshore' breezes blow the air pollution eastward into that area where it 'sticks around' most of the afternoon/evening due to the surrounding mountain ranges. Loma Linda is a nice place, as is the neighboring City or Redlands, but if Taking My Time is in Los Alamitos/Orange County he is better off living there and adjusting his diet rather than moving.

I-Like-To-Bike

Wonder how many top level bicycling "performers" from the professional set made it to a Blue Zone worthy ripe old age, given their alleged proclivity for "substances" and substance experimentation as well as vigorous exercise and dietary regimens? Anyone have the stats?

Carbonfiberboy 

Yellow Jersey wearers live longer: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en...antly-longer-2

One might not make too much of this as they are to a large extent genetically selected.

PeteHski

There have been studies showing that elite athletes on average live longer than the general population. Something like 5 years. But there was one study suggesting that pro cyclists were an exception. Maybe due to widespread doping?

I would imagine the longevity of individuals is largely dependent on their lifestyle in retirement, given that most are done and dusted by 40.

I-Like-To-Bike

Thanks. The cited study is an effort at answering my question. I will take your advice about not making too much of this study.

Based on the info in the abstract, the TDF yellow jersey winner had a longer life span than the averages of their countrymen born in the same year. The study would be more relevant if they omitted counting the countrymen who never reached adulthood at all , and only included for comparison countrymen born in the same year AND at least lived long enough to reach the typical age for earning a yellow jersey. That would account for some of those who didn't have the genes, or good fortune to reach adulthood, let alone old age.

Hermes

I am a follower of Sinclair, like his theory and his research in animals looks promising. Ethically, that is all one can say and he points the same thing out over and over. We are years/decades away from fixing an optic nerve in a human. And his theory, although I like it a lot, is a theory and may be true or lead research in other directions.

I tried MNM and it was BS for me and gave me constipation. And I talked with my cardiologist (who read his book), who uses food as well as exercise as part of her prescriptive arsenal when treating the heart, told me point blank do not use metformin. She said that although metformin may, may work for some people, it will not be good for me since I am an athlete. She was concerned of dropping my blood sugar too low.

As far as calorie restriction, it has been proven to increase the lifespan of rats. We are extremely complicated. Just look at Sinclair. He is skinny with no muscle mass. I believe he walks and does the things that he wants to do and the diet, so far is working for him and his father. I tried intermittent fasting and I lost weight and I rode pretty well. However, it seems that it crashed my hematocrit to a figure appropriate for a female and I got sick (not covid)

So three of Sinclair's ideas did not work for me. I need a lot of food to power my engine and repair muscle damage and etc from riding the bike and working out in the gym.

Having said that, he is the real deal and I would encourage others to follow him and read his book.