In this process, he met some experts and understood why the food people eat can prolong life. They also investigated the diet of 65,438+050 centenarians (people who live to be over 65,438+000 years old) to reveal the secret of longevity.

The following nine simple guidelines reflect the healthy eating habits of "Blue Ribbon" residents, including what food to eat and how much to eat:

Centenarians will eat all kinds of seasonal vegetables and green leafy vegetables, especially spinach, cabbage, beet, radish head, beet and cabbage.

In the off-season, they pickled or dried the remaining vegetables; Beans, green vegetables, sweet potatoes, whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds are the main foods for residents of the Blue Belt all year round.

Olive oil is also a staple food. There is evidence that eating olive oil can increase beneficial cholesterol and reduce harmful cholesterol. For example, we found that middle-aged people in Icaria, Greece, eating about 6 teaspoons (1 teaspoon is equal to15ml or15g) of olive oil every day seems to reduce the risk of premature death by 50%.

Residents of Blue Ribbon eat meat about 5 times a month on average, usually only as a seasoning for celebrations, side dishes or dishes, and only eat less than 60 grams of meat each time.

They conducted a 12-year study, followed 96,000 Americans in Los Malinda, California, and found that the people who lived the longest were vegetarians or ate only a small amount of fish.

Researchers say vegetarians in Los Malinda live an average of eight years longer than meat eaters.

Okinawa residents prefer a better meat substitute: hard tofu, which is rich in protein and anti-cancer phytoestrogens.

In most blue belt areas, people only eat a small amount of fish, less than100g, and eat it at most three times a week.

Usually, the fish eaten are small and relatively cheap species, such as sardines, anchovies and cod, which are in the middle of the food chain. They are not exposed to high levels of mercury or other chemicals and have less pollution.

Once again, fish is not a necessary part of a long-lived diet, but if you must eat it, please choose common varieties so that they will not be threatened by overfishing.

Beans are the most dominant in the blue ribbon, which is the cornerstone of every longevity diet in the world: there are black beans in Nicoya Peninsula; The Mediterranean diet includes lentils, chickpeas and white beans; Okinawa, Japan is a soybean.

Most centenarians eat at least four times as much beans as Americans-at least half a cup a day, and so should you.

Why? Each gram of beans contains more nutrients than any other food on the earth. On average, they are composed of 265,438+0% protein, 77% complex carbohydrates and only a few percent fat. Because they are rich in fiber and satiety, they can help you eliminate unhealthy foods from your diet.

People with blue ribbons eat sugar on purpose, not out of habit or accident.

Their intake of natural sugar is similar to that of North Americans, but their intake of added sugar is only one-fifth of that of North Americans-no more than 7 teaspoons a day.

From 1970 to 2000, the amount of sugar added to American food increased by 25% (about 22 teaspoons of sugar were added every day)-generally speaking, this is because soda water, yogurt and sauces are mixed with hidden sugar.

If you must eat sweets, please save cookies, sweets and baked goods for special occasions, preferably as part of the dinner. And limit the sugar added to coffee, tea or other foods to no more than 4 teaspoons per day.

Don't eat any ingredients with the highest sugar content.

Eat two handfuls of nuts every day.

A handful of nuts weighs about 56 grams, which is the average intake of centenarians with blue ribbon: almonds are the main food in Icaria and Sardinia, Nicoya is a pistachio, and Adventists in Loma Linda eat all kinds of nuts.

Studies have found that people who eat nuts live two to three years longer than those who don't. So try to eat a few handfuls of almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, walnuts or peanuts every day.

If possible, try to eat only yeast bread or 100% whole wheat bread.

Most of the bread sold in the market starts from refined white flour, which will be metabolized into sugar quickly, which will increase the insulin level.

But the bread of the blue ribbon residents is either whole wheat or sour dough. In Icaria and Sardinia, bread is made from all kinds of whole grains, such as wheat, rye or barley, each of which can provide rich nutrition.

Whole grains contain more fiber than the most commonly used refined white flour. Some traditional blue ribbon bread is fermented by lactic acid bacteria, which makes the bread "digest" starch and gluten during the expansion process.

This process will also produce "acid" in the sour dough. Therefore, this kind of bread contains less gluten than those marked "gluten-free", has a longer shelf life and has a pleasant sour taste that most people like.

If possible, try to avoid soft drinks, including diet soda. With a few exceptions, the residents of Blue Belt only drink coffee, tea, water and wine.

Soft drinks account for about half of Americans' sugar intake, which was not known to most centenarians wearing blue ribbons until recently.

The reason for this is the following：

Water: Adventists suggest drinking 7 glasses of water every day. They pointed out that studies have shown that rehydration can promote blood flow and reduce the occurrence of thrombosis.

Coffee: Sardinians, Icka islanders and Nick islanders all drink coffee. Studies have shown that coffee can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Tea: Okinawa people in Japan prefer green tea, which has been proved to reduce the risk of heart disease and several cancers. Epimedium people drink drinks brewed by rosemary, wild sage and dandelion, which are all known herbs with anti-inflammatory effects.

Rosemary tea

Red wine: People who drink moderately tend to live longer than those who don't. But if you don't drink, you don't have to drink from now on. Most blue ribbon residents drink 1 3 glasses of red wine every day, usually eating with friends.

We found that most centenarians traditionally eat natural food. These foods are made of a single raw material-raw, cooked, ground or fermented, without being highly processed.

They eat raw fruits and vegetables; Grind your own food and cook it slowly; I also like to eat fermented food, such as tofu, sour bread, wine and kimchi.

Fermented food

They seldom eat artificial preservatives. Cabbage usually contains about six kinds of raw materials, which can be simply mixed together.

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