Centenarians: How They Rival a Century

Diet and Lifestyles

How do you reach the age of 100 years or more? The precise answer to this question may still confuse you even though we have a lot of evidence supporting what pertains to a healthy diet and lifestyle (so you may live to a hundred). A centenarian is a person who is 100 years old or more. Let me introduce you to some places around the world with the highest number of centenarians.

Dan Buettner, a well-known American author and explorer, has identified five places in the world where people live exceptionally long lives. He called these five places, Blue Zones. Together with his team of researchers, they interviewed these fantastic people and asked about their way of life, diet, and secrets to a long life. These places include:

Sardinia, Italy. You’ll be surprised to know that for every 100,000 Sardinians, there’s an average of 24 centenarians. In certain areas, there are three to five as many centenarians. Sardinia is a remote Italian island found in the Mediterranean Sea. If you ask a Sardinian what’s his or her secret to a long life, you might be met with answers like they have clean and fresh air, or their wine is made locally, or maybe because they make love often.

On a serious note though, Sardinians consume milk from goats and sheep alongside the cheese derived from the milk. Sourdough bread, flatbread, and barley complete their dose of carbohydrates. They’re also proud drinkers of their locally made wine from grapes, Connonau, which is what they refer to as Grenache in Sardinia. The centenarians from this place are also fond of chickpeas, tomatoes, fennel, fava beans, gioddu (Sardinian yogurt) and almonds. Sardinians enjoy a traditional and healthy lifestyle. They harvest, hunt, and fish for the other foods they eat. Their exercise and leisure activities include walking, laughing with friends (while drinking wine), taking care of their elderly, and above all, putting family first.
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. Every day is almost always a tortilla day among people who live in the Nicoya Peninsula. Their tortillas are freshly made every day using a unique and traditional process that enables better absorption of vitamins and minerals compared to other staple foods. This is accompanied by a conventional diet of papaya, squash, yams, bananas, black beans, yams, plantains, and pejibaye. Pejibaye, or peach palm fruit in English, is their favourite snack prepared from a particular type of palm tree (Bactris gasipaes).

The Nicoya Peninsula is the largest peninsula in Costa Rica studded with numerous nature preserves, spectacular surfing spots, and attractive beach towns. There’s an abundance of sunlight and warm days (forget about vitamin D deficiency). As a result, Nicoyans have lots of time to engage in physical activities outdoors for a greater part of the year. Lastly, their “pura vida” (laid-back lifestyle, low-stress) and “plan de vida” (reason to live) give them a sense of purpose contributing to their ability to leapfrog through time with optimism.
Ikaria, Greece. The island of Ikaria is famous for its fine honey and superb goat dishes. The people who live here have long embraced the Mediterranean diet for keeping their brains sharp, optimising physical health, and avoiding chronic inflammatory diseases like hypertension and diabetes mellitus type 2. Included in their recipe for top longevity foods are legumes (lentils, black-eyed peas, and garbanzo beans), assorted fruits, moderate amounts of fish, and wild greens called horta. Ikarian families have year-round gardens providing these fresh foods. Ikarians also enjoy lots of tea daily with lemons and herbs. Ikarian centenarians eat around 5% meat and 6% fish over most of their lives.

Ikarians have a relaxed pace of everyday life with less stress and anxiety. Their view of life is optimistic and peaceful. Most of them are in good physical condition, thanks to a rural atmosphere, manual work, and lots of daily walks including scenic mountain hikes. They also manage to squeeze in a short nap or midday rest that contributes to their sustained energy levels, alertness, and continuous heart activity. They have strong family ties and use Western medicine minimally.
Loma Linda, California. Hey, don’t look surprised if there’s a valid blue zone in the US. Members of Seventh-day Adventist Church turn their backs on drinking alcoholic beverages and smoking. They also lessen their exposure to television and the Internet. Their diet focuses on fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables. They only drink plain water. Some of them eat small amounts of meat, but only from sources the Bible states as clean.

Around 40% of them embrace a plant-based diet. Some are pesco-vegetarians with a serving of fish once a day. Some of their favourite foods include nuts, beans, whole wheat bread, oatmeal, soy milk, and salmon. Their diet is based on the biblical Book of Leviticus, which emphasises plant-based foods.
Okinawa, Japan. Okinawans enjoy fabulous weather, a laid-back vibe, and white sand beaches. Despite Western influence on the Okinawan diet during the past decades, Okinawans manage to eat something fresh from the sea and land daily. On the top of their list of longevity foods are sweet potatoes, seaweed (up to 3x the amount of mainland Japanese), milk, meat, turmeric, and rice. They also manage to include shiitake mushrooms, green tea, tofu, garlic, and bitter melons to their recipe for longevity.

In Okinawa, centenarians comprise 40-50 per 100,000 persons as compared to 10-20 per 100,000 persons in industrialised countries. They attribute their longevity mainly to their diet, which focuses on vegetables and lean protein sources. They avoid processed foods that contain a lot of sugar and saturated fat. Retirement in Okinawa is relatively unheard of. The residents remain active and work well into old age. From picking up fruits to climbing trees, you can find a centenarian accomplishing those things. Some of them have never visited a hospital. They know how to relax, remain optimistic, control their emotions, and enjoy a simple life.

So, what do you do to become a centenarian (or at least add a few more years to your life)?

Two research studies done separately in the US among females (called Nurses’ Health Study) and males (Health Professionals Follow-up Study) have provided valuable evidence on how to add years to your life. These include:

Drink alcohol in moderation. You will never see a centenarian who drinks himself to oblivion daily. And yes, Blue Zone citizens do drink wine and other alcoholic beverages, but always in moderation. According to a study done in the Netherlands between drinking alcohol and longevity, the highest probability of making it to 90 years old (not bad) was found to be those consuming 5 to 15 grams of alcohol per day. Wine was better for women, and distilled spirits were better for men when it comes to longevity.
Do not smoke. We don’t even want to get started on this one when it comes to longevity.
Have a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. Based on a study published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2017, excess BMI translates to shorter disease-free life expectancy. Keep your BMI within the normal range.
Embrace a Mediterranean diet. Most of what centenarians consume are plant-based. Recently, there’s much interest in the Mediterranean diet as a way to add years to your life. An article that appeared in the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care (2016) stated that a Mediterranean diet could increase your life expectancy, decrease your risk of developing chronic diseases, and improve your well-being and quality of life. There’s no one definition of a Mediterranean diet, but generally speaking, it’s abundant in vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds, beans, and of course, olive oil.
There’s no such thing as a sedentary centenarian. Sedentary, as an adjective has never had the chance to describe any centenarian. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day.

Love your family. Centenarians live that long because they have loving family members to take care of them. They choose their families as the centre of their lives.

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Have a sense of purpose in your life, even when you get old. Your sense of purpose in life may change, but it shouldn’t disappear after you retire from work or get old.

Do genes play a role in longevity?

According to an article posted in Scientific American, how long you live is hugely dependent on the environment you live in and genetics. The article suggested that based on studies on twins, genetics only contribute a 20 to 30 percent chance of making it to 85 years old. Imagine what you could do with the 70 percent to make that goal of living a long life happen. Most scientific studies also state some obvious and undeniable facts that help you live longer, like exercise, diet, and not smoking.

Almost all of us want to live long lives. It's not easy to copy the lifestyles and diet of Blue Zone citizens. But it’s possible. You might be continuously bombarded with hypnosis from processed foods and persistently yearning sweets that elicit that addicting sugar rush. One thing we know for sure is not to do anything drastic to change the way you eat and live. Do it gradually and set realistic goals. You might not live as old as some buildings or experience two pandemics in a lifetime, but enjoying life to the fullest as a super senior (or as long as you can) is, in fact, amazing and fulfilling in itself.