Story by jpugachevsky@insider.com (Julia Pugachevsky)
I don’t eat meat and am not a big fan of salads and smoothies, so I’ve always felt unhealthy. Blue Zone diets are mostly plant-based and include lots of beans and whole grains. Learning about the diets of the oldest people in the world validated my own eating habits.
Growing up, I always felt self-conscious about not loving the foods considered good for you, like salads and smoothies. Try as I might, I just never got into iceberg lettuce or acai bowls, convincing myself I was doomed to live an unhealthy lifestyle.
The feeling multiplied when I decided to stop eating meat six years ago and started fielding lectures and questions about my protein intake.
At the same time, I’d been working out more than ever and had no issues during my annual checkups. If anything, cutting my meat intake has kept my cholesterol levels down. Still, I internalized the fact that I was probably damaging my health, even though I felt physically better than ever.
But when I watched Netflix’s new documentary about the five Blue Zones — places in the world where people live longer than average — I realized I’ve been following a Blue Zone diet all along. One takeaway was that people mostly eat plant-based diets and that beans, some of my favorite protein sources, are superfoods.
Learning more about Blue Zones helped me finally embrace the diet I’ve had for years, while also showing me that the things I can improve (like cutting processed foods) are pretty approachable.
Cooking my own beans; Lentil-cauliflower tacos with rice and beans.
© Julia Pugachevsky
I get most of my protein from beans, tofu, and nuts
My partner is vegan, so when I meal prep for the week, I make something plant-based
we can both eat. To get enough protein, I cook with a lot of beans, lentils, and tofu, and
we add peanut butter, chia seeds, and hemp seeds to our morning oats.
Because we both lift weights, we also drink plant-based protein powder as a supplement.
I eat vegan about 80% of the time, only really consuming fish, eggs, and dairy when I order takeout or go out to eat.
Turns out, this is similar to the high-protein diet Blue Zone residents follow.
They mostly eat beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, incorporating
fish, cheese, and eggs on occasion, but not often.
When I tried eating like a Blue Zone resident from Nicoya, Costa Rica, I was doubly thrilled to learn that the meals consisted of squash, beans, and corn — all foods I love.
I prefer stir-frys and grain bowls over store-bought salads
A root vegetable, farro, and chickpea bowl with a homemade
chive dressing; A summer grain salad with roasted vegetables,
feta, and a simple dressing. © Julia Pugachevsky
I get most of my protein from beans, tofu, and nuts
The problem with salads is that I usually don’t feel full unless I add more protein.
Plus, I’m picky: I hate the idea of store-bought dressing or raw, unseasoned vegetables.
Turns out, I just want my fruits and vegetables to take on a different form. People in Okinawa, Japan eat nutrient-dense stir-fries with tofu, gourds, plus lots of seaweed, all
of which I would down in a heartbeat. Okinawans’ main advice in the Netflix series is to remember that no one food carries every nutrient, so it’s important to switch things up.
Many Blue Zones also harvest and cook their own food. When I build my own salads or grain bowls at home, I usually add lots of roasted vegetables and make my own dressing, which helps me know exactly what I’m eating.
A tomato tart, because it’s always tomato season in my heart.
© Julia Pugachevsky
I learned not to stress so much about my diet and eat what I love
I don’t follow a perfect Blue Zone diet. I still reach for processed snacks and sugary treats, both of which I’m trying to curb. Dr. Heidi Tissenbaum, a professor in molecular, cell, and cancer biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, previously told Insider that cutting down on added sugars boosts longevity.
But knowing that the diet that’s made me feel good is actually good for me removes the shame-filled voice in my head I’ve had for years. I no longer wonder why I can run half-marathons and deadlift without eating heaps of chicken breasts, or if I’d live 10 years longer if I forced myself to eat raw kale more often.
Knowing that I’m getting enough vitamins and protein from my diet?
Here’s How I Get 80 Grams Of Protein A Day Without Eating Meat
mbg Associate Movement & Wellness Editor
By Ray Bass, NASM-CPT
There are so many opinions out there about protein—how much you should be eating, when you should be eating it—and everyone (yes, I mean everyone) has an opinion about non-meat-eaters getting their protein. Without a doubt the most common response to someone saying they don’t eat meat is “Where/how do you get your protein?”
I’ve spent the last 11 years of my life as a vegetarian—trying every different level, from vegan to ovo-vegetarian, to pescatarian. At each level, I’ve had to think about where I’m getting my protein and even though I love vegetables, I cannot hit the protein numbers I need to recover from my workouts and function at my best by eating only vegetables (for reference, 1 cup of veggies usually has 2 to 5 grams of protein). And while there are plenty of conflicting protein opinions out there, my viewpoint is simple: if you have a protein goal, you should have healthy options to help you hit it, regardless of what that number is.
At present, I aim for 60 to 80 grams of protein a day. It may sound high, but this number was set for me by a naturopathic doctor, chosen specifically for my body and workout regimen (which is important because, according to Will Cole, D.C., the amount of protein someone should get in a day depends on many factors such as their body size, weight, and how much activity they do). Of course it’s easier to hit 60 grams than 80, but I make it work and adjust as needed, mostly depending on how hungry I am and the intensity of my workout.
So if you’re looking to increase your protein intake, or just looking for plant-based protein inspo, here are some tricks that have made hitting my numbers easy (without, of course, eating meat).
1. I always start my day with a protein-filled meal.
Until I had a protein goal, breakfast was a pretty low-protein meal for me. I used to eat oatmeal with fruit (virtually no protein) or some on-the-go bar (very little protein), but I soon realized that breakfast is one of the easier meals to pack protein into, regardless of your dietary preferences.
If you’re a vegan, and not soy-sensitive, an organic tofu scramble with veggies is a solid option. If you are soy-sensitive, pea protein smoothies are the perfect go-to. As a currently ovo-vegetarian, I love making scrambled eggs and adding extra egg whites to up the protein count (two eggs alone have only 12 grams of protein, but each egg white adds ~3.6 grams). If you’re a pescatarian, you can add some smoked salmon to your eggs for another 11 grams. Regardless of my dietary preferences, I always fill out my plate with sauteed vegetables, like mushrooms, spinach, onion, and sweet potato—these add negligible protein, but they’re nutrient-dense and oh so delicious.
2. I have a protein powder that I love…and I mean really love.
My best advice to anyone looking to increase their protein is to find a protein powder
that you love, now. Protein powder is one of the easiest ways to add more protein to your diet—what’s not easy is finding one that you love the taste of, especially one with clean ingredients. After years of sampling, I’ve found my go-to’s: specifically PEScience Vegan Select or the chocolate ALOHA protein, which are both plant-based. A shake or smoothie in the morning or post-workout will typically deliver anywhere from 20 to 30 grams of protein, which is crucial for muscle repair and recovery and, for me, knocks out a large chunk of my goal. I always have at least one protein shake a day, and sometimes I end up having two (they make a great afternoon slump snack). I usually mix protein powder with almond milk post-workout, and add spinach, banana, and chia seeds if I want something more substantial.
3. I pair lower protein with higher protein, because it really does add up.
Something I had to come to terms with when I started increasing my protein was that not every food out there is high in protein. Obvious, I know, but in the beginning I only ate foods that had the most grams per bite: protein powder, eggs, lentils, yogurt, anything that had 10 to 20 grams. As you can imagine, that strategy lost its sparkle fast, and I was eating large quantities of the same foods (which was as frustrating as it was boring).
So instead, I began adding smaller sources of protein like chia seeds (4 grams per tablespoon), hemp hearts (3 grams per tablespoon), almond butter (4 grams per tablespoon), and pumpkin seeds (10 grams per ¼ cup) to my meals. Of course, I thought that 4 grams wouldn’t make much of a difference, but if I add some chia seeds to my smoothie, a tablespoon of hemp hearts to a salad, and snack on some pumpkin seeds, I’ve now consumed 17 grams of plant-based protein without trying—and that definitely makes a difference.
4. I eat more than one protein source at each meal.
Not to be too dramatic, but this tip has been life-changing for me (too dramatic?).
With the protein goals, eating one protein source per meal just isn’t enough sometimes. Who wants to eat 3 cups of black beans? Count my sensitive stomach out.
So instead of trying to throw back endless amounts of the same plant-based protein source, I try to mix and match. Chickpea pasta and chickpea rice are staples of mine, and they go with anything—I’ll make chickpea pasta with lemon, garlic, olive oil, and a veggie burger or make a tofu vegetable stir fry with chickpea rice. I also love a good lentil Bolognese, or using bean-based spaghetti to make spicy peanut noodles (to which you can add hemp seeds or edamame for more protein, if you’d like). In our increasingly plant-based world, there are endless ways to combine various protein sources, and adding more than one to each meal ensures that I’m full and satisfied, both with the meal and with my protein count.
5. I make protein-filled treats that are sweet enough to curb my cravings.
I don’t eat much dairy (and when I do, I try to save it for goat or sheep milk cheese), but I do love yogurt every now and again. If you’re not sensitive to dairy, Icelandic yogurt is a protein-filled option, but if you’re slightly dairy sensitive, try goat or sheep yogurt; I was skeptical, but it’s actually tasty and easy on my stomach. I haven’t found a clean, protein-filled vegan yogurt yet (sorry, coconut and cashew), but here’s hoping.
At night when I want something sweet, I’ll mix yogurt with some protein powder to make a sort of protein pudding, and I’ve had some success making vegan chickpea cookie dough from Pinterest. If neither sounds good, I’ll search the blogosphere for protein cookies or truffles and then add them to my meal-prep plan (because if there’s room for anything on the meal plan, it’s dessert).
Now if you’ve read all of this and are still not psyched about plant-based protein, please scroll back to the top and start over. But if you are excited (fingers crossed it’s all of you), check out our guide on how to go plant-based, this one-day plant-based meal plan, or try out these lesser-known plant-based protein sources.
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SOURCE: Nicoya, Costa Rica, Blue Zone Diet Helped Me Feel More Full, Energetic (insider.com)
Longest Lived Area in the World – Bing video
The phrase “Blue Zones” was coined by National Geographic author Dan Buettner, who set out to find places in the world where populations lived the longest, with the highest quality of life. His findings were compiled in the book Blue Zones, where he reveals these five places that have the world’s oldest populations—and what their healthy lifestyle habits are.
The five blue zones + Two More are:
Okinawa, Japan Blue Zone Lifestyle – Bing video
Ikaria, Greece Blue Zone Lifestyle – Bing video
Sardinia, Italy Blue Zone Lifestyle – Bing video
Loma Linda, California (an Adventist community) Bing video
Nicoya, Costa Rica Blue Zone Lifestyle – Bing video
Hunza Valley Pakistan Blue Zone Lifestyle – Search (bing.com)
Samantha Shea Taylor | Cancer Quick Facts (solitarius.org)
Himalayan mushroom that kills cancer – Bing video
Longest Lived Area in the World – Search (bing.com)
If you want to know how to live longer, the data mined from this research can be your guide! People in Blue Zones live to be 100 at ten times the average rate. While Buettner’s research includes these populations’ exercise and social habits, it also spends a fair amount of time covering what they eat. Not only did Buettner find that people in blue zones shared some fundamental nutritional beliefs, but their diets shared some common healthy foods.
The following nine foods are some of the most common on the Blue Zone
food list. Blue Zone Foods: What the Oldest People in the World Eat (msn.com)
Here’s an overview of the states with the longest life expectancies:
The Top 5 States Where People Live Longer – EINSURANCE
Hawaii 81.3 years: Topping the list of states where people live the longest, Hawaii has low smoking and obesity rates and a high rate of people covered for health insurance. Interestingly, says the Wall Street Journal, the island state also has just 28.2 preventable hospitalizations per 1,000 Medicare recipients, the lowest in the country.
Minnesota 81.1 years: A close second, Minnesota enjoys lower obesity rates and drug-related deaths, and a high rate of access to health insurance may also contribute to the state’s ranking. All of this while binge drinking is rated among the highest, according to the Wall Street Journal.
California 80.8 years: Residents of California are among the most active people
in the country. Californians also tend to be non-smokers and are less likely to be obese.
Connecticut 80.8 years: Connecticut ties with California in life expectancy at birth. Like people in the Golden State, residents of Connecticut have lower rates of smoking and being obese. Other factors might be a low poverty rate and higher childhood immunization rates.
Massachusetts 80.5 years: Health insurance coverage rates are higher in Massachusetts, with the lowest rate of uninsured (3.7% in 2013). It might help
that the state has the highest number of general practitioners and dentists.
For the complete top ten states visit 247/wallst.com.
Looking at the states where people tend to live the longest, we may be able to lengthen
our lives by eating better, staying active, abstaining from smoking and having health insurance. It might also help to manage stress better, don’t drink too much, don’t use
hard drugs, avoid social isolation and maintain a positive attitude.
I moved from Colorado to a Blue Zone in Costa Rica. I thought I was healthy before, but seeing 70-year-olds surfing showed me how much more content
I could be. | Business Insider Africa
To read more about habits that can improve longevity,
see our article Live Long and Prosper: Tips for a Longer Life.
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A ‘Blue Zone’ heart doctor says he recently stopped drinking milk because of his own research — but he hasn’t cut back on cheese (msn.com)
Nicoya, Costa Rica Is One of the World’s ‘Blue Zones.’ People Here Live on Average 10 Years Longer. (insider.com)
I don’t eat meat and always get lectured about my protein intake.
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