The Key to Longevity

Have we really found the fountain of youth? The secret to living longer? It’s no myth according to some analysts, and it’s called “The Blue Zone”. These are the areas in which scientist say the people who live here, live longer.

The segment featured Costa Rica, but also mentioned Okinawa Japan, a small unrecognizable town in California, and two other cities which I missed the name to. I watched the segment this morning on the Today show.

Studies done have indicated that those in “The Blue Zone” have lived longer due to:

a) Genetics. (Mine are not too bad. We could eliminate some of the ‘fat’ genes though.)

b) No smoking. (Okay I sneak a little ciggy here and there now and again.)

c) Diet. (Working on it!)

d) Zest for life. (My motto is: smile while you’re making it, laugh while you’re taking it, even though you’re faking it, nobody’s gonna know!)

e) Religion. (Since I think about religion as much as getting a tooth pulled I rarely go into long discussions about it. But I believe that having faith in something bigger than you (e.g. a higher power) can have some health benefits. It’s called faith. Some do prayer. I just thank God that when he sees me on the caller ID he doesn’t hang up because he does answer some of my prayers.)

Okay genetics is a biggie. We totally don’t know what is in store for us if you have no idea about your families’ history. Family-wise my gene pool has high-blood pressure, bad breath (not that I have any), diabetes, sarcasm, cussing, cancer, yakking too much about nothing syndrome, incontinence, heart disease, ADHD, and too much girth in the middle that just stays with you. Hmmm… according to this I should be keeling over at any minute, or at least in the hospital with a diaper on and a constant supply of breath mints.

Smoking. To smoke or not to smoke? It is ever debatable in my family since 1 out of every 3^rd person in my family does smoke. I only smoke occasionally (two ciggy’s a week) but according to this research you shouldn’t have none. Okay, *inhaling ciggy* let me know when you are finished *exhaling* reading this *blowing smoke circles* story.

Diet. Okay they emphasize that fresh is best. Fresh veggies, and fresh fruit. Living virtually as vegetarians/vegans. Shucks. That counts me out. I love a turkey ham sandwich with some mayo, mustard, on double fiber bread. Health nut? Not really. But I try to watch what I eat. (Trying is only half the battle)

Zest for life. Okay, some say that laughter is the best medicine. One thing remarkable about the people interviewed in Costa Rica, was the fact that they have never been to a hospital, never been sick and that they had genuine laughter behind that twinkle in their eye. That twinkle in their eye was put there with some help. They are not THAT happy with life. Perhaps they like what is happening between those sheets at night with their significant other. According to Akilah they are still enjoying the humping, even though it is somewhat dry now, well past the age when many think it is inconceivable to do such. Woohoo grandma, get your groove on!

Religion. Okay this is a tough one, but virtually whoever you are praying to is obviously looking out for you because you are doing alright so far. I hope.

This research is purely based on the fact that they kept records of these individuals and realized that a fifty year old man has a greater chance of making 90 than a man residing in the U.S.

So if you and the significant other want to keep the longevity in your life, you might want to consider moving to one of these ‘Blue Zones’ and keep the zesty, happy, free of bad genetics, fresh diet, with lots of prayer life that you are used to. If you don’t keel over when having sex at 120 and your partner is two months shy of 125.