Weekly Wisdom Newsletter #46

Published Date: Sunday, September 8, 2019

Hi All!

This week's newsletter is about Blue Zones, which are places in the world where people live the longest and free of chronic diseases. Examples include Okinawa, Sardinia, Nicoya Peninsula, and Loma Linda. Blue Zones give us guidance on how to live a long, happy, and healthy life. The sources are this interview and this Ted Talk.

Here are this week's chosen learning points:

1. Diet: 90-98% of what they eat is low-processed plant-based foods. On average, they eat meat 5 times a month and fish a few times a week. No cow dairy. They drink 6 glasses of water a day. They may drink 1-2 glasses of wine with friends over a meal. They eat mindfully and stop when 80% full.

2. Exercise: People in blue zones don't "work out" by going to the gym a few times a week to do intense exercise. Instead, they're always moving around naturally, whether its doing housework, running errands or visiting friends. They are constantly and unconsciously doing low-intensity exercise.

3. Companions and Community: They often belong to a tight faith-based community. They surround themselves with people who are healthy influences on them. They prioritize taking care of children and aging parents.

4. Sense of Purpose: They can clearly articulate why they get out of bed every morning. They usually have a specific word for it, like Ikigai.

Here are this week's recommended actions:

1. Walk more. Take the stairs instead of elevators.

2. Increase the ratio of low-processed plant-based food in your diet.

3. Add healthy influences to your daily content intake, whether that's social media, books, or podcasts. I'm trying to do that on Twitter and Instagram!

4. Reflect on your purpose. To learn more about Ikigai, you can check out this blog post or this Ted Talk.

If you think someone else would find this newsletter useful, please forward it to them. Thanks, and have a wonderful week ahead!