This Blue Zones Veggie Recipe Might Be The Secret To Crazy Longevity (2024)

FAQs

What is the Blue Zone diet for longevity? ›

The blue zone diet suggests that a reduced consumption of meat (about two ounces five times a month) can also significantly impact health and longevity. The longest-living Americans were found to be vegans or pesco vegetarians, who followed a plant-based diet with a limited bit of fish.

According to Klinger, the Loma Linda Blue Zone diet is mainly lacto-ovo vegetarian, which includes beans, legumes, nuts and an abundance of fruits and vegetables, more water intake, no smoking, no alcoholic beverages, no caffeinated drinks, no pork and no shellfish and a day of rest on the Sabbath.

Follow a mostly plant-based diet – Blue Zone centenarians follow a predominantly plant-based diet, eating 95-100% plant-based. They primarily eat a variety of in-season fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains and beans.

Eggs are consumed in all five Blue Zones diets, where people eat them an average of two to four times per week. Cut down your consumption of cow's milk and dairy products such as cheese, cream, and butter. Try unsweetened soy, coconut, or almond milk as a dairy alternative.

In blue zones regions, the routine is similar. Ideally, breakfast or the first meal of the day consists of protein, complex carbohydrates (beans or veggies) and plant-based fats (nuts, seeds, oils) and a majority of the day's calories are consumed before noon.

People in the blue zones eat an impressive variety of garden vegetables when they are in season, and then they pickle or dry the surplus to enjoy during the off-season. The best-of-the-best longevity foods are leafy greens such as spinach, kale, beet and turnip tops, chard, and collards.

It is argued that the single, most complete food a human needs to survive is human breast milk. Other foods may be nutritious but inevitably lack certain vitamins, minerals, etc.

3 foods seemed to make the biggest difference in a study. Changing an unhealthy diet to a healthy diet in middle age could add 10 years to a person's life. A study found that eating lots of whole grains, nuts, and fruits could make the biggest difference.

People in Blue Zones areas eat whole foods. Whole foods are not processed in factories—they're made with ingredients that are recognizable as coming from the earth, like rice, corn, soy, fruits, and vegetables, or prepared food like tofu or manna bread.

The diet is mostly plant-based. The daily food intake of people living in Blue Zones is about 95% vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes. They do not eat much meat, dairy, sugary foods or drinks, and processed food.

Is oatmeal on Blue Zone diet? ›

In the Loma Linda Blue Zone, people live on average 10 years longer than the rest of the US. They eat oats as part of their high-fiber, high-carbohydrate diets.

You can use any type of pasta shape, but to make it totally blue zones, be sure to use pasta made of 100 percent whole wheat. If you are sticking to a gluten-free diet, you can also find pasta made from brown rice or quinoa. You can adjust recipe serving sizes for leftovers (and company!) in your menu.

Beans are the cornerstone of every Blue Zones diet in the world: black beans in Nicoya; lentils, garbanzo, and white beans in the Mediterranean; and soybeans in Okinawa. The long-lived populations in these blue zones eat at least four times as many beans as we do, on average.

“The five pillars of every longevity diet, including the blue zone, are whole grains, vegetables in season, tubers, nuts and beans. In fact, I argue the cornerstone of a longevity diet is beans.”

Centenarians from the blue zones typically eat a mainly plant-based diet. They favor beans, greens, yams and sweet potatoes, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and seeds.

The diet is mostly plant-based. The daily food intake of people living in Blue Zones is about 95% vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes. They do not eat much meat, dairy, sugary foods or drinks, and processed food. Food is not the only reason that people in Blue Zones live long, healthy lives.

Consume both vegetable-based proteins from legumes and nuts, and animal protein from fish (2-3 times a week, yet avoiding fish high in mercury), while eating less frequently red meat, white meat and eggs (1 serving a week for each of these foods, and ideally organic).