After studying longevity all over the world, Eliza realized she could make small changes at home to improve the quality - and length - of her life.
Eliza's Story
"My mom has always been a health nut and encouraged me to be healthy, but I was uninterested."
We had the typical mother-daughter relationship, so, of course, I was often rebellious about the things she wanted me to do. But when I grew older and became a writer, I found myself focusing on the subject of health a lot. I quickly realized I was writing about things I had heard all my life, but never really followed. As I did more research, I started to incorporate much more of what I found into my personal life, much to my mother's joy.
"My focus on health and wellness led me to the subject of longevity."
After writing a big feature story on longevity for a health magazine, I met an explorer from Blue Zones who studies regions where people are living the longest. He hired me to go to Central America with a team of scientists, journalists and documentary filmmakers to study the culture in a particular region where middle-aged men are four times more likely to reach the age of 100 than American men.
This area was a "longevity hot spot," which is a region of the world where there is a high concentration of people over the age of 100, also known as centenarians. When there is a high concentration of centenarians in a very small area, it indicates that the people are leading a lifestyle or have some type of genetic determinant that is extending their longevity. We discovered three simple steps that people around the world can borrow to extend their own lives.
Step 1: Base your diet on super foods like beans, nuts and whole grains.
What I saw was that these people were leading very simple lifestyles -- and this includes a very simple diet. The things that we in America have recently discovered as super foods have been a diet staple in longevity cultures for years. One super food that stands out above all others is legumes, or beans. Legumes have extremely high fiber, are low in fat and give you a lot of energy without weighing you down. In these different regions centenarians are eating beans as a big part of their diet. Nuts and certain whole grains were also essential elements in the diets of these cultures.
Step 2: Supplement your diet with more fruits and vegetables and less meat.
Many people who live in longevity cultures eat a plant-based diet. They eat a wide variety of colors and very little meat. Vegetarianism is a strong nutrition diet factor that could add years to your life.
Step 3: Stay active and maintain a sense of purpose.
In longevity cultures around the world, people are exhibiting patterns of behavior that I believe are adding years to their lives. Across the board, successful centenarians tend to have a strong sense of purpose. They tend to be really happy, active people.
Step 4: Be involved in your community and cultivate a strong social circle.
We observed that it was important for centenarians to have a strong social circle. Having family close by really does extend the quality and length of your life. For me, having my family on the East coast has made me think a lot about wanting to be closer to them, especially when I have kids. It is definitely something that has changed my perspective on where I want to live.
"Today, I try to work what I've learned into my day as much as possible. It is never too late to add years to your life."
I am way more into veggies than I ever have was before. I am cherishing the relationships that I have. I'm just being thankful and happy, and reminding myself of the great things that I have in my life. It is not that I am making extreme changes.
During my longevity studies, it was a joy to see seniors that were exuberant and happy and having so much fun in their old age. In our culture, just thinking about getting old makes you feel defeated. Meeting these people helped me see how many more decades of joy and life I am going to have, and that is exciting. What could be more inspiring than that?