 I first heard of blue zones about 4 years ago. I was amazed to learn there were places in the world where reaching 100 years old was considered common, let alone being a healthy, active 100 year old. I wanted to learn what made these people different and why these zones were considered some of the happiest and healthiest places on earth. Blue zones are communities of people around the world who live longer than the average human. But these people don't just live longer, they're also quite active and relatively healthy up until the end of their lives and have lower cases of disease compared to places like America or Australia. The five blue zones are Sardinia in Italy, Okinawa in Japan, Loma Linda in California, Nikoia Peninsula in Costa Rica, and Nicaria, one of the Greek islands. I started researching into what these places all had in common and found a few similar traits among them. I thought I'd try and apply these common practices to my own life just for one week to see what it would be like and if I'd notice any changes by following a blue zone lifestyle. So this is what happened. I started with my diet. I learned that people living in blue zone areas tend to eat mostly plants but a little animal meat too. Their diet is made up mostly of plant foods such as beans, soy, lentils and things like that, however they also enjoy meat on the old occasion. They eat meat on average around five times a month and their portions are around three to four ounces. So my diet for the week was mostly veggies with a little fish, cheese and eggs added into the mix. On Sunday I made fish with wilted spinach for dinner. I bought the salmon from my local fish market and grilled it on my fry pan then I stir fried up some spinach and paired them together. Now not all blue zones do eat meat. Some do, some vegetarian. So I'm sort of kind of trialling a bit of both and as I don't eat meat I'm actually vegetarian most of the time. A bit of pescetarian but mostly vegetarian. I thought I'd have fish as like the meat substitute. Now I actually don't buy fish like all that much at all really just because I know it's really unsustainable the way they catch fish. I think the most sustainable way you can really eat fish or catch fish is to do it yourself. So I don't have a boat nor do I know how to catch fish. So I just bought mine from the store but I try not to do that often because I know how unsustainable it is for those who have seen EFC Spiracy and all that is really unsustainable so I really work on trying to not eat much at all and now I'm just usually have eggs and all that. They usually tend to eat more like plant based anyway so that's really helpful for me. So I'm just going to be eating mostly plants and things with substituting like a little bit of fish and eggs in there here and there. On Monday I made cabbage rolls stuffed with coleslaw. I blanched some cabbage leaves in boiling water and then placed them in ice cold water to refresh them. I then made my own homemade mayonnaise and mixed that in with the coleslaw mix which was made up of cabbage, eggs and gherkins. I filled each leaf with the coleslaw mix and then rolled them like spring rolls. So for dinner tonight I made these like coleslaw cabbage rolls which was so good but I overblended the cabbage at the start because I thought rather than just like chopping up finely I'll just blend it and it'll be so much easier but I overblended it so it was more like mush like sauerkraut. So next time I make them I'm going to turn it down and blend it a little bit I think. Yep. The mayonnaise ended up breaking because I added the oil too fast. I haven't made mayonnaise in years probably since before I was vegan. So like probably five years, six years ago, I'll be about then and so I was like oh yeah I remember that and then I was like just chucking all the ingredients in and I realised that half way through I was like oh I think I added the oil too fast because it broke, it broke the mayonnaise, it didn't become thick it was more runny. So listen like double check before making it. On Tuesday I made a pumpkin salad with green beans, feta, pumpkin and topped it with some homemade dressing. On Wednesday I cooked up some Brussels sprouts in the oven and topped that with a little goat's cheese feta. On Thursday I made homemade pasta and paired it with some creamy pink pasta sauce that I made from scratch combining a cashew cream sauce with a tomato based sauce. On Friday I made an avocado salad made with asparagus, avocado of course and feta. The leftover dressing I made on Tuesday. These are just a handful of the meals I made over the course of the week and a few have become favourites of mine. I found a lot of my week was spent planning and preparing meals that I was to make which I really enjoyed as it got me to slow down and be present in what I was doing. Another trait common in blue zone areas is they incorporate natural movement into their day rather than purposefully exercising say at the gym or going for a run. The environment in which they live promotes movement without them needing to think about it. For example they may garden or do housework without tools and machinery. For me my usual exercise routine consists of three Pamela Reef workouts that I do at home each morning focused on my butt abs and thighs. But this week I changed that instead of working out intentionally I just started riding my bike absolutely everywhere. Sometimes I would do three trips in a day where usually I would take the bus instead of going shopping or travelling far distances. But over this week I chose to ride. It was really quite exhausting at first but by the end I really enjoyed it. The time I spent riding gave me opportunities to sit with my thoughts and just be. I made a conscious effort to stay present while I rode to notice things around me rather than having my mind constantly going over things I needed to do or plans I needed to make. Another practice I adopted over the week was what they call the 80% rule. In a kinawan culture a mantra is said before meals which reminds them to finish eating when they feel 80% full. Those in blue zones also don't eat large meals before bedtime but rather eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon and then don't eat anything else afterwards. I made it a habit to eat my last meal three hours before going to bed and stop eating when I felt full but not stuffed. So my last meal would be at 6 to 6.30 and after that I wouldn't eat again until about 10.30 or 11 the next day. A common custom found across blue zones except for the Adventists is to drink one to two glasses of red wine each day. I don't really drink because of my liver so this was one trait I skipped during the week. What researchers have found when studying the common traits across blue zones was that they've developed routines to help relieve stress. We all experience stress and chronic stress can have a huge effect on the immune system and if experienced over long periods of time it can actually cause illness. However those living in blue zones have learned to develop routines or practices that help them to relax and release stress. They have daily rituals such as prayer, taking a nap, making some time to reflect and remember their ancestors and other practices like that. Now for me I took up daily yoga, meditation and breath work for the week. Each morning I would get up at 8am and do the Wim Hof breathing technique for 10 minutes. This helped to release any stress or anxiety that I woke up with. Then I did 15 minutes of yoga followed by 30 minutes of meditation. This totally transformed my days by starting out with intentional stress releasing practices rather than going straight into my day. I found I was much more relaxed and handled stress and anxiety better than if I skipped these exercises. Another common trait found among blue zones was that they were often prioritised family first. They devote quality time with their children, keep aging relatives nearby or in the house and also commit to a life partner. To follow this practice I would call my family most evenings and ask about their day, what they've been up to, just whatever was going on really at the time. Yeah I tried to press answer and then it just hung up and I was like oh. I was doing this before taking up this challenge of following a blue zone lifestyle as my family lives in Sydney and I live further up the coast about 9 hours away. So it's one of the ways I keep up with them and keep in touch while I'm up here living on the coast. This is one of my favourite times of the day as I miss them so much and I feel I can still at least be somewhat connected to them even if I live in a different state. One of the final traits that have been documented in blue zone communities is that they tend to have a community where they feel they belong. Almost all of the people living in blue zones who reached 100 years of age reported being a part of some faith-based community. Researchers found that attending just four faith-based services a month could lengthen life expectancy by 4 to 14 years. So in light of this I finally joined a church near me. I've been meaning to do this for the past year that I've been living here in the Gold Coast. It felt so nice to be part of a community again and to be so accepted and welcomed with open arms. On my first night at the young adult service I made a few friends and the church provided a free dinner to all newcomers so I was able to meet more people there too. The last trait I'll be sharing is about having a tribe of like-minded people. It was found that those living in blue zones chose to be in or were born into communities of people who supported healthy lifestyles. Researchers have found that lifestyle choices are contagious whether good or unhealthy. The group of people we're surrounded by can really shape our health behaviors. One group I'm so grateful to be a part of is my Tafe community. I've just finished my studies for the course I was doing up here on the Gold Coast where I studied marine conservation and I've made the most incredible friends over this past year. I'm really going to miss them not seeing them every day at Prax but I hope to stay in touch. It's really wonderful being around people who are just as passionate about the environment as me and who I can share my thoughts and ideas with about ways we can help better the environment. This week has been so transformative for me. I've really enjoyed slowing down and making each day intentional and purposeful. Moving forward I plan on keeping some of the practices I adopted this week and making them a permanent part of my lifestyle. Some of the habits I plan on implementing include journaling, going out on more walks in nature, exercising regularly, doing a technology detox, listening to music and doing yoga daily to help reduce stress. I also plan on eating a wide variety of different foods grown locally, eating pasture raised eggs but not a lot and eating less to improve my health and nutrition. And finally I want to build a community around me. Since moving I haven't had a big social group or many social events occur to see friends or family. So by scheduling a regular weekly catch-up with friends and joining new social groups in my area with people who share similar interests such as hiking groups, art and wine nights and church events I hope to meet more people. I think one of the biggest changes we can make particularly in this day and age is to turn off our phones and be present with people we love. Thank you so so so much for watching. I really hope you enjoyed today's video. Please let me know if you already do any of these practices I'd love to know. And I hope to see you again soon. Bye.