The five Blue Zones are located in Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California; Ikaria, Greece; and Okinawa, Japan. And though these regions obviously span different corners of the world, their diets are actually fairly similar in a few key ways.

Rule #1: Fill your plate with plant-based foods.

Interestingly, Dan Buettner (one of the leading researchers on Blue Zones, who popularized the term) has noted that beans are a pretty consistent cornerstone of Blue Zone diets—residents eat, on average, four times the amount of legumes than the average American. They’re definitely onto something since beans are good sources of fiber, protein, and nutrients like iron, folate, and potassium. (1,2)

Those who live in longevity hotspots also get their daily fill of (seasonal) fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Meat isn’t completely off the table, but it’s eaten with much less frequency—only a handful of times per month. (1)

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Rule #2: Follow the “80% rule.”

Residents of Okinawa abide by the Confucian mantra Hara hachi bu—an instruction to stop eating when you’re roughly 80% full. While it’s basically an ancient approach to “everything in moderation,” modern scientists would argue that it’s a rule best paired with a nutritious diet. (Okinawans follow a plant-based, antioxidant-rich diet of legumes, vegetables, and rice.) (3,4)

Rule #3: A glass of wine a day…

Speaking of moderation, many Blue Zone residents enjoy alcohol fairly regularly. For Ikarians and Sardinians, that might mean having a glass of locally-produced wine in the evening. For Okinawans, it’s sake.

Aside from the social benefits of sharing a drink among friends, both sake and wine can boast some nutritional clout. The wine enjoyed among the Mediterranean coast is particularly rich in flavonoids, which provide antioxidant properties, and sake (fermented rice wine) is linked with some health benefits to boot. (1,5,6)

Rule #4: Unprocessed is best.

An emphasis on local ingredients and cuisine means that Blue Zone residents tend to avoid processed foods by default—things like soda, fast foods, and saturated fats. Instead, they indulge their sweet tooths with natural sources like fruit, and enjoy animal products in moderation. (7)

The bottom line

If these “rules” don’t seem particularly groundbreaking, it’s because they’re not—to the contrary, they’re principles that have been observed for centuries. And that kind of says a lot, right?

References:

1. Buettner, Dan, and Sam Skemp. “Blue Zones.” American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, vol. 10, no. 5, July 2016, pp. 318–321., doi:10.1177/1559827616637066.
2. “FoodData Central Search Results.” FoodData Central, fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173796/nutrients.
3. Mishra, Badrin. “Secret of Eternal Youth; Teaching from the Centenarian Hot Spots (‘Blue Zones’).” Indian Journal of Community Medicine, vol. 34, no. 4, 2009, p. 273., doi:10.4103/0970-0218.58380.
4. “Don’t Just Eat in Moderation, Make Better Food Choices, HSPH Researcher Says.” News, 9 Jan. 2014, Retrieved from Harvard School of Public Health
5. Vauzour, David, et al. “Plant Polyphenols as Dietary Modulators…” Polyphenols in Human Health…, 2014, pp. 357–370., doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-398456-2.00027-x.
6. Wada, Sayori, et al. “Japanese Rice Wine (Sake)-Derived Pyroglutamyl Peptides…on Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS)…in Mice.” Free Radical Biology and Medicine, vol. 120, 2018, doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2018.04.465.
7. Buettner, D. “Food Guidelines.” Blue Zones.

The post 4 Secrets of the Healthiest & Oldest People in the World. first appeared on Next Wave Labs.

Although it’s Springtime and cases of flu and fevers aren’t AS common as in the winter, we can still get sick during the warmer months! In fact, I was SUPER sick just a couple of weeks ago and have a pretty nasty fever for almost a whole week!

So, here are the 7 natural ways that we have found to show you how to prevent getting sick!

1. Eat Leafy Greens

Leafy greens have been shown to boost protein synthesis in the cells that help support our immune system!  I find the easiest way to get leafy greens in my diet is to drink a green smoothie for breakfast or a snack.

2. Get Vitamin D

Sometimes Vitamin D is called the “happy vitamin” because it comes from the Sun! If you live in a place that doesn’t see the sun much, or you just don’t out into it, you can be lacking in Vitamin D.  I use a thing called a “Happy Light” which mimics the sunlight, so you just have to sit in front of it for a little bit each day to get the benefits.

You can also get vitamin D from food sources such as beef liver (yuck!) egg yolks, canned tuna, and canned salmon!

3. Get More Sleep

When we sleep, our body does repairs, and builds our immune system which is what fights off viruses! It’s recommended to get 8 hours, which I know is not always realistic, but studies have shown that getting even 7 hours can increase your risk of getting sick by 3%.

Also, when we sleep, our body releases a protein called cytokines. This protein helps fight off viruses and builds our immune system. When we’re not sleeping, we’re not letting our bodies release them!

4. Stop Stressing Out

We know We know. It’s easier said than done.  Stressing out releases cortisol in our bodies which helps us fight stress and inflammation in our bodies. Sickness causes inflammation so cortisol helps fight that. HOWEVER, when we stressed out ALL THE TIME, our body is releasing cortisol all the time. So, eventually, we build up a tolerance to it, and it just stops working as it should.

Naturally, cortisol should decrease closer to bed. But, when we’re stressed out, this doesn’t happen, and it affects our sleep. Like we just talked about, sleep is important to fight off sickness! Adding MaxSleep PM to your nightly routine is a great natural way to help your body get the rest it needs to help your body get the strength to fight off infections.

5. Practice Good Hygiene

We know it may sound silly to say but now more then ever the CDC recommends that washing your hands regularly can help prevent illness. This is something that we hope we are all doing already! Washing our hands, showering, not blowing our nose into our hands. All the things we are always taught will go a long way in preventing the spread of germs and viruses!

Learn more about the CDC’s new national handwashing campaign.

6. Take Elderberry Syrup

Elderberries are a fruit from the berry family (obviously) that have been used to fight illness for a LONG time. They give us a higher level of antibodies, which are what fight off diseases.  They work because they have a protein that penetrates the viruses cell membrane and prevents it from replicating. 

7. Take Apple Cider Vinegar

Fire cider is an apple cider vinegar tonic that also has ingredients like honey, onion, lemon, ginger, turmeric, pepper and horseradish. The powerhouse ingredient in this is horseradish as it has natural antimicrobial properties. All the other ingredients also work together to fight inflammation and if sickness causes inflammation, then those ingredients help fight that!  We warn you, this has a strong taste!

If you are like most of us that can’t stomach the taste of apple cider vinegar you can use a tablet form like Next Wave Labs Max Apple Cider supplement tablets. This gives you all the benefits without the after taste.

Turns out, there are some simple lifestyle tweaks, as well as a few natural products that we can use to answer the age-old question of how to avoid getting sick! Stay healthy and strong!

The post How NOT to get sick! first appeared on Next Wave Labs.