The story is worth reading in its entirety, but for the sake of convenience, here are Buettner’s basic conclusions. Not all of this is scientific evidence. Buettner clearly states that his article seeks to document Ikaria’s lifestyle as it relates to health, not to rigorously test causality or even correlation between each individual component and longer life, although in some cases, he presents compelling evidence of this.
1) Lots of rest: “Wake up naturally, work in the garden, eat a late breakfast, take a nap.”
2) A plant-based diet: “Most of the teas they consume are traditional Greek remedies.”
3) Very little sugar, white flour or meat: “Low intake of saturated fat from meat and dairy was associated with lower risk of heart disease.” A doctor mentions “the absence of sugar and white flour”.
4) Mediterranean diet: Olive oil, goat’s milk, wild vegetables, wine and coffee are all cited for their health benefits. “The subjects consumed about six times as many beans per day as Americans.”
5) No processed foods: “Another occupational health factor could be the unprocessed nature of the foods they eat: as Trichopoulou observed, because islanders eat greens from their gardens and fields, they consume fewer pesticides and more nutrients.”
6) Regular nap: Taking at least three per week has been shown to correlate with a 37 percent reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease.
7) A healthy sex life after 65: “A preliminary study of Ikarian men between the ages of 65 and 100 found that 80 percent said they had sex regularly, and a quarter of this self-reported group said they did so for a “good amount of time.” and a “success”.”
8) Stay Busy and Involved: “Social structure may prove more important. In Sardinia, a cultural attitude that celebrated older people kept them engaged in the community and in extended family households until age 100. Studies have established a link link early retirement among some workers in industrialized economies to reduced life expectancy.
9) Yes, exercise: “It’s hard to spend a day in Ikaria without climbing 20 hills.”
10) A little stress of all kinds: Relaxed work and social cultures, little emphasis on time, and a caring community are all frequently mentioned. For example, “You’re unlikely to feel the existential pain of not belonging or even the simple stress of arriving late.” Or: “Even if you are antisocial, you will never be entirely alone.” »
11) “Mutually reinforcing” habits: “What’s important to me, after studying long-lived populations for almost a decade, is how the factors that promote longevity reinforce each other over the long term. For people to live a healthy lifestyle, I believe they need to live in an ecosystem, so to speak, that makes that possible. …The power of such an environment lies in the mutually reinforcing relationships between many small nudges and default choices.
