[00:00:00] Corinne Foxx: Welcome back to another episode of Am I Doing This Right? I'm Corinne Foxx.
[00:00:05] Natalie McMillan: And I'm Natalie McMillan.
[00:00:07] Corinne Foxx: And we are best friends, confidants, millennials, and the hosts of Am I doing This Right? A life how-to podcast from the perspective of non-experts.
[00:00:17] Natalie McMillan: And each week we cover a new topic and we drink a new bottle of wine.
[00:00:23] Corinne Foxx: We pop. some wine, which we've said this before, but after this episode, you're not gonna be mad at us for that. Yeah. Uhhuh because this week we are talking blue zones. How to live to 100, I'm gonna add this on and beyond. And beyond why not on why not? Um, we're gonna be talking about what are blue zones. If you're like, what is that?
Where are the blue zones and what we can learn from them. So if you don't know what we're talking about, stay tuned, stay tuned. It's very fascinating. It's very fascinating. And at the end of the episode, we're gonna be playing UN opinion.
[00:00:58] Natalie McMillan: Which you said you were a good
[00:00:59] Corinne Foxx: one. If we, what if we recorded? I don't.
Okay. Here's the thing. It's not that I have a good one. It's that I actually have one, most of the time I go into this and I go, I don't know what my unpopular opinion is, but today I figured it out. I'm also like now I know all our little, our little games, so I'm like living my life and like, oh, see, that's where game.
[00:01:16] Natalie McMillan: Wrap up game that's that's where I, that's where I kind of live. That's where you've been. but I've noticed that every, I just think of citizens arrests all day long. That one's harder for me. That's the only one I really think of. I don't know if I have an unpopular opinion. I need to look in my phone cuz I take notes.
We do. That's
[00:01:31] Corinne Foxx: what I do. I'm like, Ooh. I found one. So I have one today, ladies and gens, but not before we get into blue zones, let's get into this wine. Yes. Okay. This
[00:01:41] Natalie McMillan: is a again, I believe it's in French. Okay. It is D Laman. I need
[00:01:49] Corinne Foxx: to brush up on my French. What does that mean? Because you guys I'm going to France.
[00:01:53] Natalie McMillan: Appalachian. I can't say this. I don't know what it is. It's 2016. It's a Sara Renana blend. Which is interesting, cuz we just did a, oh wait, I already poured this poured it. You're good. What am I doing? Cheers. Cheers to blue zones. Hmm. Okay. Hmm. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.
[00:02:17] Corinne Foxx: Okay. Who does that? Oh, that's what my dad does.
His Denzel impression. He goes, okay. All
[00:02:22] Natalie McMillan: right. Oh, over. He's not wrong.
[00:02:25] Corinne Foxx: He's not wrong. He's not wrong. Okay. So now let's get into blue zones and who even came up with a concept and how, and, and, and what are they? What,
[00:02:35] Natalie McMillan: what even is this? Okay, so Dan, I think his last name is Wener. I think it's
[00:02:40] Corinne Foxx: but Butner that's
[00:02:42] Natalie McMillan: Bueller is B, B U E.
Oh, I think you're right. Yeah, but we're gonna say it's Butner. So Dan Butner, he is the blue zones founder. He's a national geographic fellow and a multiple New York times bestselling author, public speaker and Explorer.
[00:02:57] Corinne Foxx: And we have him on the podcast and we have him today. we
[00:03:00] Natalie McMillan: wish you guys, we don't, but he came up with the concept of blue zones by looking into the demographic work done by Gianni pest and MEK LAN, uh, which is outlined in the journal of.
Experimental
[00:03:15] Corinne Foxx: gerontology. Oh my gosh. Should I tell you that I took a geriatrics class in, at USC? No, yeah,
[00:03:22] Natalie McMillan: we should. Oh, I was gonna say we should do an episode on geriatrics and now I, we kind of are, this is kind of, yeah. very interesting. Mm-hmm so those two guys, they drew concentric blue circles on the map, highlighting villages, where they noticed people lived the longest.
So building off that, Dan pinpointed, other longevity hotspots around the world and dubbed them blue zones. And there are five. Okay. It is OK. Okinawa, Japan. SNIA Italy. Nacoya Costa Rica, aria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California, which seems
[00:03:57] Corinne Foxx: like that's throwing a
[00:03:58] Natalie McMillan: wrench in the whole thing. It's like what in the fucking world?
Um,
[00:04:01] Corinne Foxx: literally, and I'm just gonna, I'm gonna show off a little bit. I've been in two blue zones in my life. I've been to Sarnia, Italy, and I've been to nacoya Costa Rica.
[00:04:11] Natalie McMillan: Wow. I wonder if just by proxy you'll live longer. I hope so.
[00:04:15] Corinne Foxx: Geez. So we're what we're gonna do in this episode is we're gonna go through all five blue zones and see what they have in common, what they're doing and why they're living so long.
So just to clarify, blue zones are where people are living the longest. Yeah. Where there's a lot of cents, which are yeah. People over the age of one, honey,
[00:04:32] Natalie McMillan: they're all, they're all healthy and happy over there on these, in these blue zones.
[00:04:35] Corinne Foxx: So we're gonna fly across the fly across, across the world, world
[00:04:39] Natalie McMillan: this around the world in 90 minutes, let's do.
OK. Okinawa, Japan. We're going to OK.
[00:04:45] Corinne Foxx: Okinawa, so, okay. OK. Okinawa says the islands at the Southern end of Japan have historically been known for longevity once called the land of imortals. Oh my God. Yeah. And Okinawa ins have less cancer, heart disease and dementia that Americans and women there live longer than any women on the planet.
Wow. I know. So according to national geographic in the village of. OMI OGE Okie, Okie. Yeah. Located in the world. North of Okinawa's main island. There's a small stone marker with a few sentences written in Japanese, roughly translated. They read at 80. You are merely a youth at 90. If your ancestors invite you into heaven, ask them to wait until you are 100, then you might consider it.
So they're like we're out here living long. And we know it. They're like we're we, we stay 100. Yes. So if. wondering why do Okinawans live so long? Well, that comes down to three factors, their diet, their way of life and their genes.
[00:05:50] Natalie McMillan: Okay, well, let's, let's dive into the diet. So the Okinawans way of eating emphasizes eating plenty of vegetables and seafood and limiting processed foods.
Many of them also eat moderate portions at meal times and treat food as a source of medicine. Mm-hmm I think that's very common in Asian cultures. Yeah. To use it as medicine, the term OK. Okinawans use for this is, and I'm sorry if I'm butchering this. Nuki NHI, NHI, goosey, goosey, goy goosey. Yeah. I guess if any of you speak Japanese or from Japan, please let us know how to properly pronounce that.
Which roughly translates to food. Is medicine deeply rooted in tradition? Nuki goosey. I'm so sorry if I'm butchering that it's the practice of having reverence for food. So simply put it's about paying attention to what you eat and how you feel. OK. Okinawan cuisine consists of smaller meal portions of green and yellow vegetables, fish, relatively smaller amounts of rice compared to mainland Japan, as well as pork soy and other legumes.
That was the interesting one for me is the pork pork, cuz
[00:07:02] Corinne Foxx: they're always saying, don't eat pork. They're saying
[00:07:04] Natalie McMillan: don't eat it. But these people are like, Hey, we're 107 and we're eating pork. So pork and fish are often served in broth with a variety of ingredients and herbs. But the center of their diet is this, that Suma sweet potato.
[00:07:19] Corinne Foxx: Is that for? Yes.
[00:07:20] Natalie McMillan: I know I would not have expected that. So sweet potatoes provide a healthy dose of fiber and have a low glycemic index, meaning that they don't contribute to sharp rises in blood sugar. They also offer essential nutrients like calcium potassium, magnesium vitamins, a and C their diet also supplies, a relatively high level of
[00:07:38] Corinne Foxx: soy, which is also something they like really get on us for like tone up soy.
Yeah. Cause it's gonna give you. Cancer, whatever, like soy
[00:07:45] Natalie McMillan: is ne yeah. Taking out everything. Don't do soy milk. Yeah. But again, these people they're like rebels. They're like, we're gonna do the opposite and we're gonna live way longer. So according to Healthline research suggests that particular soy based foods are associated with a reduced risk of chronic illness, like heart disease and certain types of cancer, including breast cancer.
What's more, Jasmine tea is consumed deliberately on this diet and antioxidant rich spices. Turmeric
[00:08:13] Corinne Foxx: are com I take a little turmeric pill every day. I should. It's very good for inflammation. I know. I really should. So another thing that Okinawans do that is contributes to them being cents is their way of life.
So researchers say that the Okinawan secrets include two components. So Iki guy and Moi. So Iki guy is a Japanese concept that. Your reason for being so chy and Japanese means life and guy describes value or worth. So your chy guy is your life purpose or your bliss. So it's what brings you joy and inspires you to get out of bed every day.
So Japanese psychologists. Michiko Kuo has said that EK guy is a state of wellbeing that arises from devotion to activities, one enjoys, which also brings a sense of fulfillment. So your EK guy, there was actually this like chart online. I was looking, looking at looking at mm-hmm my God. I just
said
[00:09:16] Natalie McMillan: that like,
[00:09:19] Corinne Foxx: oh my gosh. Okay. So your chy guy is the place where, what you love. What the world needs, what you're great at and what you're paid for meet.
[00:09:31] Natalie McMillan: Oh, like a ven
[00:09:32] Corinne Foxx: diagram for a thing. Yeah. So there's like, there's like a little, you know, all these different bubbles and it's where those things meet. Oh. And it's essentially like living your life.
Purpose as your profession Uhhuh, which is the key, I think like you could be doing a lot of things, but if you're also not getting compensated for your life's passion. Yeah. I think that's a big key in it. Yeah. You know, because it's like,
[00:09:53] Natalie McMillan: it would be so frustrating to be like, you know, why am I even doing this?
I can't this that's,
[00:09:58] Corinne Foxx: that's another, that's a component of it. It's getting paid for what you love to do. Interesting. So, yeah. So let's break down the other half of this Natalie, which is Moi
[00:10:06] Natalie McMillan: Moi. Yes. So elders in OK. Okinawa. Japan, which is one of the original blue zone, longevity, hotspots. They live extraordinarily better and longer lives than almost anyone else in the world.
Moai. One of their longevity traditions are social support groups that start in childhood and extend into their 100. This
[00:10:28] Corinne Foxx: was. So cool. I love this concept. This is
[00:10:30] Natalie McMillan: crazy Z. So traditionally groups of about five young children were paired together and then they make a commitment to each other for life.
They kind of like marry each other, essentially at five years old but it's their second family. So they meet regularly with their Moi for both work, play and pull resources. Some Moise have lasted for over 90 years. They've literally hung out every day for 90 years.
[00:10:55] Corinne Foxx: Yeah. It's just like the importance of having a Kiki, like having people to talk, to, to feel like you're going through life with, to have as like a support system.
Yeah.
[00:11:05] Natalie McMillan: And OK. Okina when women, on average, they live eight years longer than American women and their Moi is likely an important component of their long lives. And I definitely can understand that cuz women are. Social.
[00:11:17] Corinne Foxx: Yeah. Yeah. We like, we want that social support. We want that community. So it makes sense.
So that was Okinawa, Japan. So let's fly across the globe to our next blue zone,
[00:11:28] Natalie McMillan: which is Loma Linda, California seems random, seems super random. So Loma Linda is a city in Southern California where. 9,000 members of the seventh day Adventist church live. Is that Mormons mm-hmm remember the school I went to.
Oh, okay. That's them. Okay. Mm-hmm data shows that this community of people live as much as a decade, longer than the rest of us, and much of their longevity can be attributed to vegetarianism and regular exercise. Plus Adventists don't smoke or drink alcohol. Hmm. And how do they do all. Let's jump into it.
Let's jump into this. So first and foremost, their diet and exercise habits. So like we just said many Adventists follow a vegetarian diet. The Adventist health system shows that consuming fruits and vegetables and whole grains seems to be protective against a wide variety of cancers. For those who prefer to eat some meat.
To recommend small portions served as a side dish rather than the main meal. However, in my experience, I rarely have met an Adventist that eats meat at all. And I do have a very brief story here. Okay. Because I did, I went to school at an Adventist school and this is my little culty school. Okay. And, uh, I did not know that meat was not a thing.
And so it was my first day of school there and I was excited for the hot lunch. And it was hot dog day and I love my hot dogs. I love a hot dog. I love a hot dog. And so I went up to the cafeteria thing and I got my hot dog and I came down and I took a bite out of it and I was shook. Because this shit was a pink eraser.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It
[00:13:11] Corinne Foxx: was. Cause this is also before we had like the plant based meats that are really good. So I can imagine this was in the year 2000. Yeah. I can imagine what, what they gave you. It was absolutely
[00:13:23] Natalie McMillan: horrible. Shocking for a five year old. Yeah. But also the hot dogs are the Loma Linda. They have their own brand of hotdogs.
Oh, wow. Yes, yes, yes. Oh, wow. So that's where that hot dog, uh, came from. another habit amongst people in Loma Linda is that they eat large breakfasts, medium sized lunch, and then light dinners.
[00:13:43] Corinne Foxx: Also, I wanna say, as we were researching, light dinners was a like, Consistent thing among, among these blue zones.
Mm-hmm
[00:13:50] Natalie McMillan: but let's talk about what they're eating. Okay. So their whole thing is that it's biblical. Oh, wow. So in support of a biblical diet of grains, fruits, And vegetables at Venice site Genesis 1 29, which I'm not gonna read the whole thing, but it essentially just says, like, eat, eat a well balanced diet.
Okay. Mm-hmm mm-hmm and they interpret a well balanced diet as being low in sugar, salt, and refined grains, heavy on fruits, veggies, nuts and legumes. So like beans and lentils studies have shown that Venice who ate two or more servings of fruit per day had about 70%, fewer lung cancers wow. Than ones who ate fruit once or twice a week.
And at Venice two eight legumes, such as peas and beans three times a week had a 30 to 40% reduction in colon cancer. Wow. And surprisingly 10% of their diet consists of dairy. Interesting. I remember they put so much cheese on everything. Really, and I was never mad about
[00:14:47] Corinne Foxx: that. Oh my gosh. Well, you know, another interesting part of their diet I think is that they really love tomatoes.
Hmm. So at Venice women who consume tomatoes at least three to four times a week, reduce their chance of getting ovarian cancer by 70% over those who ate tomatoes less. Off damn, that's a big jet. That's a 70, 70 big basically 100%. yeah. So eating a lot of tomatoes also seem to have an effect on reducing prostate cancer for men.
So a new study has found that adherence to this way of life, which is the tomato life, the tomato, that tomato life, um, have the. Nation's lowest rate of heart disease and diabetes, and have very low rates of obesity mm-hmm . And in terms of exercise, the Venice health survey shows that you don't need to be a marathoner to maximize your life expectancy, getting regular low intensity exercise like daily walks appear to help reduce your chance of having heart disease and certain cancer.
That's
[00:15:48] Natalie McMillan: another through line that I've seen. Everybody walks, they walk. And then in terms of their way of life every week at Venice, take a complete break from sun down on Friday night to sun up on Sunday morning, which they claim relieves their stress, strengthen social networks and provides. Uh, consistent exercise because during this time of the Sabba, that's what they call it.
They stick to activities like outdoor sports, hiking exercise. I'm gonna be doing this well. So they also, they do it as a group. So you're only allowed to hang out with fellow Adventists, but they believe that that strong sense of community is linked to their overall health and like many religions. They also do a considerable amount of charity work.
You do
[00:16:31] Corinne Foxx: good. You feel good? You do good. You feel good for sure. Well, let's move over to SNIA Italy. Ooh. Very different than lo Melinda Cal. Very different.
Yeah.
[00:16:41] Natalie McMillan: So the island, they're not eating weird hot dogs. I guarantee it .
[00:16:45] Corinne Foxx: So the island of SNIA actually was the first blue zone to have been declared.
Sarnia is striking not so much because of their general longevity numbers, but specifically around the longevity of men who generally have a shorter lifespan than women, women than a woman than a woman. . So Dan Butner, the researcher behind blue zones says quote, for every one, male centar in the us. There are five women cents in Sarnia.
It's one to. Oh, so that just shows you how much longer men are living in Sarnia than in the us interest. Yeah. So let's get into why Sarnia is a blue zone. So number
[00:17:28] Natalie McMillan: one is reverence and appreciation of the elderly. The older generations are considered wise teachers they've lived the longest. They know all the secrets for a better crop, a healthier livestock, and how to make the best food out of them.
They're the ones who teach the younger generations, how to live. Follow their steps and are involved in the education of the children. Yeah, that's very interesting. Mm-hmm I like that grandparents play a huge role in the family and often provide childcare for their grandchildren. This may all add, adapt to healthier, better adjusted and longer lived children.
It may give the overall population a life expectancy
[00:18:08] Corinne Foxx: bump. So it's kind of like this self-fulfilling prophecy where the older generation is gaining something by raising the younger children. Yeah. But also the younger children are more well adjusted so that they live longer. So it's just cycle. But that's the one thing that the us does not really do that is very prominent in a lot of other cultures is having grandparents in.
Yeah,
[00:18:28] Natalie McMillan: well, also America's kind of different in the fact that post like 1970, whatever our divorce rate. Absolutely. Yeah. Through the roof. So then families just are all over. Like they're just scattered. Yeah. Like my cousins don't even live in California. You know what I mean? Yeah. We're all over the place.
Yeah,
[00:18:45] Corinne Foxx: for sure. So another reason that Virginia is a blue zone is how they eat and drink, including wine cheer. Cheers. So. Eating habits in Virginia are rooted in tradition and are based predominantly on vegetable based food consumption. So that's fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and a small percentage of animal based foods necessary for like essential amino acids.
Okay. But all of it is seasoned with olive oil rich in antioxidants. Sirians. Also traditionally eat
[00:19:18] Natalie McMillan: Pino cheese. God, I love Pino Pino cheese really? Oh,
[00:19:21] Corinne Foxx: I've so good. I don't think I've ever
[00:19:23] Natalie McMillan: had it. It's like a, it's like a sharp par. Ooh, it's fucking good.
[00:19:26] Corinne Foxx: Well, that's made from grass fed cheap whose cheese is high in omega three fatty acids and meat is largely reserved for Sundays and special occasions.
And then you. There's wine there's wine, which is incredibly healthy when consumed moderately with meals, especially red wine, like their typical can, and now can now can, and now I wanted to get it for this episode. I forgot you guys. Okay. We've been busy. Yeah. So can now seems to have the highest levels of.
Polyphenols of any wine, which is antioxidants linked to heart health, protecting us from cardiovascular disease. It is also rich in Antho sinin Hm. Commonly found in berries naturally occurring compounds responsible for that red purple color of red wine grapes with an antioxidant effect as well. So this is, this is not mean they need to get drunk on, uh, Kenan now, right.
But locals. An average of two glasses a day, which actually is me getting drunk every day. That would be me getting drunk every single day if I had
[00:20:31] Natalie McMillan: two glasses of wine day. But maybe if we had two every day, we would our tolerance. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because I'm after one, I'm like, Hey, yay. the other thing.
Here we go. Again, they walk the unique Rocky sun beaten terrain of central Sarnia has always made this area unsuitable for large scale farming, but perfect for shepherding. And walking five miles a day or more is quite common for this community of shepherds. Walking provides excellent cardiovascular benefits and is easy on the joints.
And I think that's, you know, cuz once you get older, well, what is the key
[00:21:06] Corinne Foxx: to life? You guys, we really figured it out seriously. All so let's pop over to the country right next door. Or if we're a Saudi Indian, we can walk over. Ooh, little giant, which is aria, Greece. Which is another blue zone.
[00:21:20] Natalie McMillan: Let's get into it.
So eCards, this is fascinating to me are almost entirely free of dementia and some of the chronic diseases that plague Americans one in three, make it to their nineties. Jesus Christ. The eyes are in favor. A combination of factors. Explain it, including geography, culture, diet, lifestyle. Outlook. They enjoy strong red wine, late night domino games and a relaxed pace of life that ignores clocks.
Hmm. Plus clean air warm breezes and rugged terrain. Draw them outdoors into an active lifestyle. Oh, this is where I wanna live. You know, I love nobody
[00:21:59] Corinne Foxx: plays Dominos with me. She said dominoes. I thought Natalie,
[00:22:01] Natalie McMillan: nobody plays dominoes with me. Does anybody else play dominoes coming? Did you join my black family?
They all play dominoes. God, I love dominoes.
[00:22:09] Corinne Foxx: So let's get into the diet and exercise of Arian. So Arians are Arians. Arians Arians IANS eat a variation of the Mediterranean diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, potatoes, and olive oil. In fact, 6% of their diet consists of olive oil.
Wow. They eat meat and fish, but their meals are generally made around vegetables. They also use grassed goats milk instead of cows milk. This is really giving me. SNIA vibes. Mm-hmm it provides potassium and the stress relieving hormone trip. Dhan oh, I love trip. Dhan I love a goat milk. That makes sense.
My gosh, it's also hypoallergenic and can usually be tolerated by people who are lactose and intolerant. Something that is both a part of their diet as well as part of their overall lifestyle is drinking herbal teas with family and friends. So wild Rosemary, Sage, and AEG, OT also act as a diuretic, which can keep blood pressure and check by rid the body of excess sodium and water.
In fact, John Hopkins research published in the journal. Neurology confirmed that the use of diuretics reduced the risk of Alzheimer's by nearly 75%. Jesus Christ. Jesus. You know, who I know is not getting Alzheimer's Joe, this man beats every five fucking seconds. Oh my gosh. Other research confirms that diuretics have a neuroprotective benefit.
Damn. Maybe
[00:23:36] Natalie McMillan: that's why none of them have Alzheimer. Interesting. They completely eradicated Alzheimer's over there. How by peeing, I guess they just see it out their lifestyle, like all these other blue zones, very important. They get their exercise in very simple ways. Usually by just like gardening, walking to their neighbor's house or doing their own yard work.
The lesson to us here is to incorporate more mindless movement into our. They also don't drive very much and prefer to walk everywhere instead of driving because their island is so small. Mm. Also they love a midafternoon nappy. Oh my gosh. They live for a midafternoon nappy people who nap regularly have up to 35% lower chances of dying from heart disease, which maybe because napping lower stress hormones, and it rests your.
Wow. I know like all blue zones, there's a big social aspect of their lifestyle. Like we said before, nightly domino games. That's apparently the scene. That's
[00:24:34] Corinne Foxx: apparently the scene. Okay. I'll, I'll learn dominoes if you, if you want me to so I can play it with you domino
[00:24:38] Natalie McMillan: 95, we'll play it. And we'll have two strong glasses of wine and we'll be, oh my God, absolutely trashed.
[00:24:44] Corinne Foxx: I love it. So let's move into our. Blue zone, which is nacoya Costa Rica. Nacoya is a small rural beach community located in the Guana cast. Peninsula on the Northwest coast of Costa Rica, according to researchers, most inhabitants live to at least 90. Geez. Naans often live more than a hundred years and NAIA boast of the highest number of cents in the world.
Oh yes. How do they live that? Why do they live that long? Well, they like to get some vitamin. Oh, Socos enjoy healthy doses of daily sun, which helps their bodies produce vitamin D for strong bones and healthy body function. They work, eat, and relax outside. And this is in stark contrast to north American lifestyles where people spent the vast majority of their time in homes in schools and offices.
Mm-hmm so getting quote unquote smart sun exposure. So that's about 15 minutes on your legs and arms every day. Can decrease the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease. But again, we're not, we're not roasting. We're not tanning. You guys, we're just living our life. Like it's golden. We're going, we're going on
[00:25:55] Natalie McMillan: a, a nice walkie walk around the blockie.
Yeah. With some sunshine. Yeah. Yeah. You're like a plant. You just need to get the
[00:26:02] Corinne Foxx: sun air.
[00:26:02] Natalie McMillan: Exactly. Their diet. Obviously the, a big factor here and the food regimen gets its name from the region of nacoya Costa Rica. They have a mortality. 20% lower than the rest of the nation. Why? Well, scientists believe that it's because their diet is high in fiber and centered on low glycemic indexed foods.
It's effective for maintaining a healthy gut managing weight, regulating blood sugar levels and decreasing the risk. Of health problems that become more prevalent with age like diabetes and heart disease. The Costa Rica blue zone diet is mainly natural unprocessed, wholesome foods like squash, rice, beans, and corn.
Oh my God. Sign me up. Much of the food is. Still homegrown and homemade, like tortillas GAO, Pinto plantains, and tropical fruits with meat thrown in just a couple times a week. Families tend to eat larger meals, uh, at lunchtime and lighter meals earlier in the evening. Their food's also low and added sugar and very few processed snacks.
[00:27:07] Corinne Foxx: Yeah. And the last little component to the NACO way of life is their mantra, which is plan DaVita. So the NACO elderly have a reason to live, which is called plan DaVita, which keeps them positive, upbeat, and happy. So they feel needed and they enjoy a sense of purpose, which is kind of that thing we've been seeing mm-hmm throughout all of these countries.
Yeah.
[00:27:33] Natalie McMillan: So we've gone through all five. Can we sum up what they
[00:27:36] Corinne Foxx: all have in common? Yes we can. And the researchers did, and it's actually called the power nine. So Hey, blue zone researchers, team of medical researchers, anthropologists demo, demographers and epi epidemiologists gathered to search for evidence based common denominators among all places.
And they found nine. Aha. The first one we're summoning it up. You. Take notes move naturally. Go on a walkie period. Do your little garden,
[00:28:08] Natalie McMillan: do your little garden. Go on a little walk. Do you don't you don't have to be going to the gym every single day. No, go
[00:28:14] Corinne Foxx: on a walk, go on a walkie two purpose feeling that sense of purpose feeling needed, especially as you get older.
Yes. Three is downshift. So what the world's longest lived, people have that we don't are routines to shed that stress. So Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, add Venice prey Arians. They take a nap and Sardinians they do a happy hour. Oh, fun. Another one of the nine is the 80% rule.
So Hara hachi boo, the Okinawan 2,500 year. Confucian mantra. Okay. Said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full. And I do think that goes with the lighter dinners at, in the evening. Yes. It seems like they, they like to have a breakfast and a lunch moment and they're, they're a little lighter on dinner.
So you're telling
[00:29:06] Natalie McMillan: me they're intuitive eaters. Yeah. Which means maybe go back a couple episodes. Listen
[00:29:11] Corinne Foxx: to that in another one of the nine. Common denominators is plant slant. So beans, including fava black, soy and lentils are the cornerstone of most centr diets meat. Mostly pork is eaten on an average only five times.
Per month, you guys. So it's a once a week. Wow. If you know, a little bit more than once a week and serving sizes are three to four ounces about the size of a deck of card. So a very small portion of meat, and they're really focusing on like legumes and plants. Yeah. And I'm still
[00:29:45] Natalie McMillan: very fascinated by the pork thing.
Me too. And all the beans, you know, in America, we're always told like, oh, beans have so many carbs. Don't eat beans. Well, apparently that's not the key, but you know what. Wine at
[00:29:58] Corinne Foxx: five, they like to drink in these little countries.
[00:30:00] Natalie McMillan: Yes, they do. So except the, with the exception of Loma Linda, all of these different blue zones have an element of a wine or
[00:30:09] Corinne Foxx: an alcohol.
And it feels like it's more of like a traditional thing. It's not like to get drunk. It's to be a part of the community. It's like a community aspect
[00:30:17] Natalie McMillan: to it. It's a community. And it's like to enjoy it with your food. You know, mm-hmm, also belonging all, but five of the 263 cent. That were interviewed, belong to some faith-based community denomination doesn't seem to matter.
So research shows that attending a faith-based service four times a month, that's only once a it's only once a week. It's only like a Sunday thing a Sunday that will add four to 14 years of life expectancy. Wow. That is a lot. So you don't have to be like, you know, super
[00:30:48] Corinne Foxx: developmental it's really whatever works for you.
It doesn't matter. It's not one is better than the
[00:30:52] Natalie McMillan: other. Just it's really that sense of belonging community putting their loved ones first. So this means keeping aging, parents and grandparents nearby, or even in the home, it lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too. Oh,
[00:31:07] Corinne Foxx: wow. Very interesting.
That's really interesting that it also benefits the children. Yeah.
[00:31:13] Natalie McMillan: They commit to a life partner which can add up to three 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 interesting. How many of my kids to take care of me?
I know. So I guess treat them well and then finally, our ninth guy here is the right tribe. The world's longest lived people. Or we're born into social circles that supported healthy behaviors. Okie no ones created Moi, which was that group of five friends that are committed to each other for life. Wow.
Are we our own Moi?
[00:31:49] Corinne Foxx: Hey, I'm committed for life.
[00:31:50] Natalie McMillan: We're committed here. Research from the Framingham studies shows that smoking obesity, happiness, and even loneliness are contagious. So the social networks of long lived people have favorably. They're health behaviors.
[00:32:06] Corinne Foxx: Hey, get you some friends, get you some friends and get you some wine.
Have a ki you wanna walk, eat some beans. Yes. And you're goo you're Gucci. Keep that stress down. Wow. Take a nap.
[00:32:18] Natalie McMillan: wow.
[00:32:19] Corinne Foxx: I mean, we could really, we went through this really in depth, but it really was pretty sample. It's pretty.
[00:32:24] Natalie McMillan: Yeah. At the end of the day, it's like just live a simple fucking life. Just we're doing too
[00:32:28] Corinne Foxx: much.
We're doing too. Besides your Melinda, we're just doing the most. We're doing the absolute, the most. It's literally
[00:32:33] Natalie McMillan: killing us. Yeah. And I almost wonder it's like, is it a conspiracy? Definitely. It's all the things that they do. We are told not to do. Relax. right, right. Could you imagine living without a clock?
I could never, never happen here. What?
[00:32:49] Corinne Foxx: All right. You guys, but we hope you learned more about blue zones, what they are, where they are and why people in them often become centr. And I love that word centenarian, so
[00:32:59] Natalie McMillan: feels very important. It feels like a Sendar. Yes. Which is my sign.
[00:33:04] Corinne Foxx: Oh, as a S oh yeah, yeah.
You guys are the half man. Half my dad always says half man, half amazing.
[00:33:13] Natalie McMillan: oh my God. What a S thing to say. So let's circle
[00:33:15] Corinne Foxx: back on this wine that we're drinking. Not, can you remind us? It is
[00:33:19] Natalie McMillan: the domain de Laine, which again, it's a Sara Gana blend and France.
[00:33:28] Corinne Foxx: Let's introduce our, what tea of the week.
[00:33:31] Natalie McMillan: Oh, our high of the week. You know what, by the time this comes out, this show's gonna be over, over, over.
And honestly, I'm
[00:33:39] Corinne Foxx: nevermind. I'm very, I, I know it's one of the greatest shows, but my mom will not stop hitting me up about it. And I said, mom, I don't watch the show. You see if you don't watch it, there she goes. It's the new one's on this week. I said, mom, I last week I told you I don't
[00:33:50] Natalie McMillan: watch the show. You have to really watch.
You have to be dedicated at this point. Um, we're
[00:33:54] Corinne Foxx: talking about the show. This is us. Yes.
[00:33:57] Natalie McMillan: You wanna go well, just cuz you know, Mandy Moore, if, if you're familiar or not familiar with the show they age, they like age them forward and backward. And so, um, we wanted to do
[00:34:07] Corinne Foxx: Benjamin button, but we, we already did Brad.
We already
[00:34:09] Natalie McMillan: did Brad. So it's Mandy Moore and who doesn't like Mandy Moore.
[00:34:13] Corinne Foxx: We love Mandy more. Okay. When to Mandy Moore, what do you think for this? Whatever the
[00:34:20] Natalie McMillan: strain is, whatever this is. Let me take another sippy. What are your thoughts?
[00:34:26] Corinne Foxx: I like it. It's I. I'm gonna give it a seven, seven, yep. Seven outta Mandy, more
mm-hmm all right. You guys, this is the part of the show. We play a little wrap up game and this week we're doing UN popular up and I'm excited
[00:34:48] Natalie McMillan: to hear yours.
[00:34:49] Corinne Foxx: Oh, I have one it's there's literally, if I is not that interesting, you guys I'll go first. I was at the gym and I was like, they were telling us, you know, do this exercises.
And I said, oh my God, there's an exercise here that I can see everyone else hates. And I love it. I love a burpee. Oh, I fucking hate burpees. I
[00:35:07] Natalie McMillan: love a burpee. Ah, they hurt my knees so
[00:35:08] Corinne Foxx: bad. No, they're like the they're like the ones, everyone they're like, if you don't do this, we're gonna have to do five burpees.
And everyone's like, oh shit. Okay. Like what's, I'm like, I would love to do five more burpees. Oh no, no, no. So I wish anyway, so that's my unpopular opinion. I think that is unpopular. It, I know people really don't like him, but I do. I feel like it's the pinnacle of health because you have to stand up and get down and sometimes you get a little dizzy in the middle and yeah, my low blood
[00:35:31] Natalie McMillan: pressure could never.
It could never, whenever I do them, I like, first of all my knees break and then I like black out on the way up. I love it.
[00:35:39] Corinne Foxx: it's a thrill for me. It's a thrill. Okay. So that's my unpopular opinion. Now what's yours.
[00:35:45] Natalie McMillan: Well, I'm, I'm waffling between two, because one is like, so it's not so controversial that like, I just feel like it could be
[00:35:53] Corinne Foxx: misconstrued.
I think you gotta do it because now you've already said it. Okay.
[00:35:57] Natalie McMillan: Well, you'll understand it because you know me. And don't take this the wrong way. Interesting. I don't like food I don't know what you're talking about. Like, I don't find food. Like, you know, people are like very food oriented, like, oh
[00:36:11] Corinne Foxx: no, I don't think this is true.
[00:36:13] Natalie McMillan: I do not care about food. Yes, you do not. I eat carrots. I eat like, I mean, cooking food, like, I don't care. I like
[00:36:23] Corinne Foxx: Mexican food, but you have. You get like little obsessions with things just cuz it's easy, you know like you like, you love chips and salsa. Mm-hmm but I get, I get what you're saying. You're not like a foodie.
You're not like a fine dining gal. No like you don't wanna go to the hottest restaurant that's just opened. No, I don't care.
[00:36:40] Natalie McMillan: I go to the exact same. The only I go to one restaurant.
[00:36:42] Corinne Foxx: I was gonna say, yeah, you go to one restaurant, you eat the same things over and over and over again. Yeah. I don't care about.
And I will say sometimes I, I do try to eat like you, cause I'm like, Natalie, it's very healthy, but she'll bring every, every recording she brings bland carrots. I
[00:36:57] Natalie McMillan: have a bag.
[00:36:58] Corinne Foxx: They're good. And, and, and sometimes I, I bring them cuz I'm like trying to be like you and I go to the grocery store. I'm like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna get carrots like Natalie.
And she just eats just plain
[00:37:07] Natalie McMillan: carrots. Yeah. But you see it's because I don't care. . Yeah, but here's the other thing that I, it's not that I don't, I eat, obviously I eat. It's just that I don't have like a, you know, some people really like, like
[00:37:19] Corinne Foxx: people said, like a reverence for food, like right, right. Or like people that
[00:37:23] Natalie McMillan: say, oh, I do you live to eat or eat to live?
I eat to live. Yeah. Cause the other thing is like with diabetes, it's just so complicated. I have to do all this math just to like eat something. Yeah. I can see that. So unpopular. Yeah. I just don't really care about it. I really don't care
[00:37:39] Corinne Foxx: about it. There's like this one restaurant that I'm dying to go to horses in west Hollywood that I've been trying to get into.
I've never even heard of it. I, I know you probably haven't
[00:37:47] Natalie McMillan: that's a good point. Never heard of.
[00:37:49] Corinne Foxx: What is it? I don't know. Just it's the talk of the town. Oh, I haven't even
[00:37:53] Natalie McMillan: heard, well, some, I will say like, I'll see, like on hinge profiles, it's like, must be a foodie. And I'm like, oh, sorry. I can't. Cause I'm not, I don't wanna disappoint you,
[00:38:02] Corinne Foxx: but you do have your one
[00:38:03] Natalie McMillan: place you like to go.
I've got my one place and I'm gonna eat there for the rest of my life. Tell I'm a centar all right.
[00:38:10] Corinne Foxx: You guys, well, if you like this episode and you want more, we have episode 75, which is healthy habits to keep you 100 and episode 87, which is aging, joyfully, how to embrace getting older. So you can go back and listen to those.
And lastly, and most importantly, if you love the podcast, Feel free to rate and review our podcast. It really helps us grow. And we love hearing from you guys and I'm give a shoutout and we'll give guys a shoutout. We love to read your reviews on air and like always we'll be back next week with another episode.
Bye.