Musings on longevity and life

During the weekend, I watched the entire four-episode Netflix miniseries called, Live to 100: Secrets of The Blue Zone. In which an American writer and National Geographic Fellow named Dan Buettner tells about a research he has been doing for years in search of the places in the world where people live the longest and have the highest concentration of centenarians, which he calls the blue zones.

The writer found and visited blue zones in different parts of the world. A small island in Japan, a village in the mountains of Sardinia, a little village in Costa Rica, an Adventist community in the United States, an island in Greece, and Singapore. He researched the customs and met and interviewed elderly centenarians in search of the elements that made a difference in life expectancy in those areas.

Aspects such as eating well, staying active, and moving were present in all areas. A curious fact is that in most of these areas, people do not exercise on purpose, but their lifestyle is so active that they end up exercising more than if they were intentionally exercising in a gym training for hours every day. A fundamental aspect that all the zones had in common was the social aspect, the sense of community, of helping each other, and having a purpose in life. Family bonds and to have respect for the elderly.

_{Our walk yesterday morning}

The series is interesting, and it got me thinking. In my family, I recall there was a centenarian, my mother's grandmother on her father's side. I knew her but I don't remember much about her or what her habits were because my mom lost her father when she was fifteen years old and she is not very close to her paternal family. However, I remember going as a teenager to her grandmother's 100th birthday celebration.

But I do remember very well my paternal grandfather, who lived until he was 96 years old. When I was born, my grandfather was already in his 80s, he married at 50 years old and despite that, he got to know all his grandchildren. I remember him always active, taking care of the plants in the garden and chasing flies with a fly swatter. I remember that at that time he had a beach house where we used to go on family vacations. He always slept in his hammock on the corridor even when it rained. He used to get up every day at 7:00 a.m. and went to the beach to swim in the sea. He was very active until a few weeks before he died when one day he decided he was tired and didn't want to get up anymore.

It is more than likely that I will not reach my grandfather's age, with a heart attack and glycemia problems, but who knows? No one knows what day it will be. But I do want to grow old as healthy as possible. I have never been afraid of old age, but I am afraid of becoming dependent on others, becoming bedridden and not being able to fend for myself.

We have to sleep well and eat better. The diet in all the blue zones had a common factor and that was the intake of unprocessed foods. The food industry has been gradually undermining our health, we ingest a lot of chemicals, not to mention the sugar that causes more and more people to have chronic diseases.

I decided to change my diet more than a month ago when I heard with alarm the doctor told me I had prediabetes. It's not that I'm making sacrifices with food. I eat what I like, but I choose natural foods. I'll say, I'm eating wiser and in that sense, I feel better than I have in years, with no heaviness or bloating in my stomach.

_{Milo looking at me in between naps 😻}

Nowadays, we let ourselves be overwhelmed by things that are not in our hands to solve. We live stressed by lots of problems, many of them that do not even affect us directly. And I am not saying that we are not empathetic with the problems of others or the whole world but we cannot let that affect our mood.

We have to do more of what we like and be more active. We have to laugh more. Hug our loved ones more. Enjoy each day and see it as another opportunity life has given us.

I recommend this series if you have the chance to watch it. Besides being interesting, it can be an eye-opener in some aspects.

That's all for today, thanks for reading me :)

_{All images and writing are my own unless otherwise stated.}

© CoquiCoin

September 18, 2023

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