A few tips on how to become a centenarian

Probably, there is not a single person in the world who would not like to live happily ever after. For real advice on how this can be achieved, you should contact those who have already managed to become a long-lived person.

There are centenarians in every country, but there are places where there are especially many of them. These places are commonly referred to as Blue Zones. The most famous Blue Zones are the island of Sardinia (Italy), the islands of Okinawa Prefecture (Japan), the city of Loma Linda (USA), the Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica), the island of Ikaria (Greece).

In the northern part of this island, the population density of centenarians, whose age has passed 90, is the highest in the world. Almost every third resident of those places is over 90 years old. It is said that on this island the incidence of cancer is 20% less than in the rest of the world, there are 50% fewer heart diseases, and there is practically no senile dementia.

The island is covered with low mountains, because its inhabitants constantly receive moderate physical activity, not caring about it at all. In addition, the inhabitants of the island are traditionally engaged in gardening, eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, olive oil and drink herbal tea.

Most of America's centenarians live in this city. And the most amazing thing is that most of the centenarians of this city belong to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. These people do not use tobacco, coffee, or alcohol (in general, the followers of the Seventh—Day Adventist Church are known for their so-called "sanitary ministry" - they call for a healthy lifestyle, there are many blood donors among believers, they conduct propaganda against divorce and abortion).

In this area of Costa Rica are the most ancient settlements of the country. There are a lot of centenarians who lead an active lifestyle, although, as medical studies show, their cholesterol levels and blood pressure indicators are not the best. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of the peninsula prefer vegetable food, do a lot of physical work and communicate a lot with each other, thanks to which they live for a long time.

The inhabitants of Sardinia are the most obvious demonstration of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. They all adhere to the Mediterranean diet and moderate but constant physical activity. But even their neighbors (also centenarians) can envy the success of centenarians from Ovodda. Of particular surprise is the fact that there are equally many men and women among the centenarians who have crossed the age-old boundary in Ovodda. Scientists even suggest that maybe the secret lies in a certain genetic proximity of the inhabitants of this area.

Maybe the people of Okinawa Prefecture are aging more slowly than the rest of the world, thanks to their diet of soy and fruits rich in antioxidants. Or maybe because they eat significantly less than Westerners – they consume no more than 1200 kcal per day.

Try to organize your meals in such a way that you get the bulk of calories from vegetables and fruits, for example, those that you see at this bazaar in Costa Rica.

When studying the diets of centenarians, it immediately catches the eye that they eat a lot of legumes. It can be soy, and different beans. The buckwheat diet is also quite effective.

Are you not convinced by the requests of your mother, the demands of the coach and the threatening warnings on cigarette packs? Then maybe you will still be convinced by the examples of centenarians (many of them run faster at 100 than the current 16-year-olds): if you want to live happily ever after, throw away all the "cancer sticks".

People in the "Blue Zones" live in large, friendly families. In addition to parents, everyone is constantly surrounded by a crowd of children, brothers and sisters, cousins and cousins, aunts and uncles, and a bunch of other relatives, which the rest of the world remembers only on big holidays.

All centenarians lead a socially active life. Man, if I may say so, is a "herd animal". And if the neighbors, noticing that you suddenly did not come to the market, as usual, run to you to find out if something has happened, then this alone provides significant support.

You don't need grueling workouts, but you can't be lazy either. Work out all the muscles, but don't overload them.

Without exception, all active centenarians engage in physical activity every day. It can be a daily hike from hill to hill to buy vegetables at the market, as in Sardinia;  or daily swims in the pool, like this resident of Loma Linda.

This is the simplest hint, and you don't need to be a scientist to figure it out. If you enjoy just the very fact of life, your body itself will adjust and correct a lot, and you will not even know about it.