People who reach the century mark share many commonalities. This demographic, called centenarians, benefits from their healthy habits.
Living 100 years old may require some luck, but we don't believe in coincidences.
Here are a few things we know centenarians have in common.
They Delay the Onset of Chronic Illness
Sure, we could attribute longevity to good genes, right? But you and I are more intelligent than that.
Epigenetics, the ability to modify gene expression through environment and lifestyle, is a very real phenomenon recognized by science.
In a joint study between Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Boston University School of Public Health, Dr. Albert Milman and his team found that centenarians tended to delay the onset of certain diseases by 18 to 24 years!
Wow!
Furthermore, in a 2008 issue of The Journals of Gerontology, researchers who examined supercentenarians (aged 110 and older) concluded that most supercentenarians still lived independent daily lives well past 100.
That's impressive!
Remaining active and independent is a determining factor for longevity. This brings us to the next thing centenarians have in common; physical activity.
They Remain Physical Active
Of course, being physically active is essential for everyone. But, remaining physically active throughout our senior years is associated with more than good health. It's associated with longevity.
The Okinawa Centenarian Study followed residents of Okinawa, Japan, where one village has one of the world's highest ratios of centenarians.
The study noted that in conjunction with other healthy lifestyle habits, the population participates in regular physical activity throughout their entire lives.
These folks are not hitting the gym or running marathons either. Physical fitness is just part of their lifestyle. Many of them tend to their gardens daily and take leisurely walks after meals.
And again, this brings us to the next similarity; they don't overeat.
They Enjoy Meals but don't Overeat
Blue zones, or places with an unusually high number of 100-year-olds, tend to have an unspoken custom: they eat mindfully.
Looking back at the Okinawa study, they have an adage that says, "Eat only until your stomach is 80 percent full."
As it turns out, Okinawans consume about 1,900 calories daily throughout their lives, whereas Americans generally consume twice that amount.
Eating to much over-stresses our metabolic system. Maintaining a balanced diet is associated with lower levels of oxidative stress, inflammation, insulin sensitivity, and other conditions that speed up aging.
In addition, they share and enjoy mealtimes with family and friends.
The quality of the food also matters.
Simply put, they eat healthy foods.
The diets of these blue zones are drastically different from those of the general population in the United States and other industrialized countries.
What they tend to have in common isn't what they eat; it is what they don't eat.