steps, gardened, told stories. He was over a century old, but didn’t look, sound,
or move like anyone’s idea of a centenarian.
I was visiting Sardinia because I wanted to learn more about the habits of the
world’s longest-living people. A couple of decades ago, a doctor and scientist
named Gianni Pes was the first to identify Sardinia as one of the five places on
earth where people enjoy the greatest longevity. He called them Blue Zones, and
the term was popularized in a book of the same name by Dan Buettner. The other
four areas are in Greece, Japan, Costa Rica, and the communities of Seventh-
Day Adventists in California. There is even a Blue Zones company that teaches
communities how to achieve similar longevity, and it’s quite revealing when you
learn the commonalities that cross from one part of the world to another. Half of
them centre around social habits—knowing your purpose, spending time with
those you love, and having some kind of faith all seem to help people live
longer, healthier lives. The other half? They revolve around food choices. Blue
Zoners eat lots of plants, beans, and fish, and limit their meat and sugar. They
also have some wine every day (except the Adventists).
That’s how Luigi ate. That’s how his friends ate. That’s how people
throughout the region ate. And that seems to be a main reason why these folks
outlive most of us.
They certainly didn’t follow a diet book, and nobody gave them an instruction
manual or doctor’s orders. People in Blue Zone cultures don’t overthink their
food. It’s part of their lives—a happy part—but not the only part. They work,
laugh, share, eat, and drink. They organize their days around food to reinforce a
daily rhythm, but they don’t obsess about it the way our modern culture does.
A PERFECT ONE-TWO PUNCH
One of my favourite duos: tomatoes sautéed with olive oil. Blue Zoners
figured out the magical, delicious combo long ago—and, it turns out, the
pairing is an antioxidant-packed one as well. Olive oil has heart-healthy fat,
and tomatoes are rich in vitamins C, K, and E, plus folate, potassium, and
lycopene (a cancer-fighting compound). Here’s another way to combine the
two: Core a tomato and stuff it with quinoa, spinach, mushrooms, and
garlic. Top with a little olive oil and cheese. Bake at 200°C for about 15
minutes.