Day 38: Beyond Food
We’ve heard the saying, “Man does not live by bread alone...” And rightly so.
These past days, we’ve been talking about food and our relationship with food, both healthy and unhealthy. We’ve also seen the impact of food on our waistline, our blood profiles, and our aches and pains.
If we focus only on food, we will do ourselves a disservice. There is something more to life than eating.
In Day 36, we touched on the Mediterranean lifestyle. There are actually places in the world that are known to live this lifestyle. Dan Buettner studied these places and called these the Blue Zones because people living there had long lives.
At that time, five areas met the criteria:
1) Barbagia region of Sardinia
2) Ikaria, Greece
3) Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
4) Seventh-Day Adventist in La Loma, CA
5) Okinawa, Japan.
Dan’s research revealed that the people shared these nine qualities:
1) People moved naturally—they don’t wait to exercise to move. They’re constantly on their feet and burning energy even at “rest.”
2) They all had a sense of purpose.
3) They downshift before things get worse and know how to deal with stress.
4) They follow the 80% rule of food consumption. They stop eating when they achieve 80% satiety.
5) They eat mostly plant sources and prefer to eat them whole. They only eat meat once a week at most.
6) They drink wine with their meals and only in small amounts.
7) They belong to a faith community, regardless of religion.
8)They prioritize their families and are committed to their life partners.
9) They have a strong social network and connection.
Now you know their secret, how many of these traits do you have? Can you adopt some of these traits?
These past days, we’ve been talking about food and our relationship with food, both healthy and unhealthy. We’ve also seen the impact of food on our waistline, our blood profiles, and our aches and pains.
If we focus only on food, we will do ourselves a disservice. There is something more to life than eating.
In Day 36, we touched on the Mediterranean lifestyle. There are actually places in the world that are known to live this lifestyle. Dan Buettner studied these places and called these the Blue Zones because people living there had long lives.
At that time, five areas met the criteria:
1) Barbagia region of Sardinia
2) Ikaria, Greece
3) Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
4) Seventh-Day Adventist in La Loma, CA
5) Okinawa, Japan.
Dan’s research revealed that the people shared these nine qualities:
1) People moved naturally—they don’t wait to exercise to move. They’re constantly on their feet and burning energy even at “rest.”
2) They all had a sense of purpose.
3) They downshift before things get worse and know how to deal with stress.
4) They follow the 80% rule of food consumption. They stop eating when they achieve 80% satiety.
5) They eat mostly plant sources and prefer to eat them whole. They only eat meat once a week at most.
6) They drink wine with their meals and only in small amounts.
7) They belong to a faith community, regardless of religion.
8)They prioritize their families and are committed to their life partners.
9) They have a strong social network and connection.
Now you know their secret, how many of these traits do you have? Can you adopt some of these traits?
CHALLENGE OF THE DAY:
Embrace these nine traits and be mindful of all your actions. Which of the traits do you find hard to adopt? Why?