Longevity experts say one vegetable is 'best of the best' if you want to live longer

Diet and longevity experts have revealed the ‘crème de la crème’ of vegetables that could help you live longer. Researchers who have delved into the dietary habits of those who have reached a ripe old age in certain global regions have crafted a diet to mirror this.

The Blue Zone diet, a plant-based regimen focusing on whole, unprocessed, nutrient-packed and fibre-rich foods, is based on the eating habits of regions where people outlive others and dodge chronic diseases. Longevity specialist Dan Buettner is recognised as the founder of the Blue Zone diet and the term’s originator.

Buettner and a team of scientists identified longevity hotspots around the globe and named them Blue Zones. These five locations include Okinawa in Japan, Loma Linda in California, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Sardinia in Italy, and Ikari in Greece.

Demographers and researchers discovered that all Blue Zones areas share nine specific lifestyle habits and principles, known as the Power 9. As listed on the official Blue Zone website, these are:

1. Move naturally
2. Know your purpose
3. Downshift
4. 80% rule
5. Plant slant
6. Friends at five
7. Positive pack
8. Belong
9. Loved ones first

Residents of Blue Zones enjoy easy access to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables, typically organic and free from pesticides. If they’re not growing these items in their own gardens, they know where to source them at prices often lower than processed foods.

Best food for longevity

Dan Buettner’s Blue Zone research has hailed leafy greens as the ultimate food for a longer life. According to the findings, highlighted on the website: “The best of the best longevity foods in the Blue Zones diet are leafy greens such as spinach, kale, beetroot and turnip tops, chard, and collards.”

They regularly incorporate specific nutritious foods into their meals, usually absent from convenience store shelves or fast-food menus nationwide, reports Surrey Live.

The site elaborates: “Research shows that in Ikaria, more than 75 varieties of edible greens grow like weeds; many contain ten times the polyphenols found in red wine. Studies have found that middle-aged people who consumed the equivalent of a cup of cooked greens daily were half as likely to die in the next four years as those who didn’t eat greens.”

Why are these plants so essential?

Leafy greens are superfoods, brimming with vital nutrients and myriad health benefits. They may reduce heart disease risks, fight certain cancers, stave off macular degeneration, and decrease type 2 diabetes chances.

They are also a boon for digestion, thanks to a certain sugar they contain that nourishes good gut bacteria. Additionally, with rich reserves of calcium and vitamin K, they’re instrumental in fortifying bones.

They might even cut down cancer risks since they’re loaded with carotenoids, which could thwart cancer at its nascent stage

What foods form the Blue Zone diet?

Adopting the Blue Zone diet means ensuring that 95% of your food intake is plant-based. Limit your animal protein consumption to a small serving each day, and instead, add more beans, leafy greens, yams, sweet potatoes, fruits, nuts, and seeds to your meals.

Whole grains are also recommended. In four out of five blue zones, people consume meat, but in moderation, often treating it as a special occasion food, a small side dish, or a flavour enhancer.

Researchers found that individuals who ate a quarter pound of fruit daily, roughly equivalent to one apple, had a 60% lower risk of dying over the next four years than those who didn’t eat fruit. The diet also suggests eating up to three ounces of fish daily, including sardines, anchovies, and cod, which are “middle-of-the-food-chain species that are not exposed to high levels of mercury or other chemicals like PCBs”.

Also, minimise your consumption of cow’s milk and dairy products such as cheese, cream, and butter. Limit egg consumption to no more than three per week. Eat at least half a cup of cooked beans daily. Consume no more than seven added teaspoons of sugar a day.

Eat two handfuls of nuts per day. Replace common bread with sourdough or 100% whole wheat bread. Drink coffee for breakfast, tea in the afternoon, wine at 5pm and water all day. Avoid soda, including diet versions.

The experts also explicitly recommend seven glasses of water daily. Another beverage included in the diet is red wine. The website states: “People who drink—in moderation—tend to outlive those who don’t. This doesn’t mean you should start drinking if you don’t drink now.”

The NHS says: “It’s recommended to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread across three days or more. That’s around six medium (175ml) glasses of wine, or six pints of 4% beer. There’s no completely safe level of drinking, but sticking within these guidelines lowers your risk of harming your health.”