Belonging to a faith-based community (i.e. practising a religion) and putting family first among the Power 9 characteristics. — Filepic
Yes. To recap, we talked about nine special characteristics shared by Blue Zone people, also called “The Power 9”.
The first three characteristics are moving naturally, having purpose in life even when old, and finding ways to decompress stress.
You can be stressed out wherever you are, be it a big city, small town, the countryside, or even somewhere where there is no one around!
People cope with stress differently.
Some people allow everything to bother them and make them anxious, so they spend hours worrying about outcomes that may or may not happen.
They even have sleepless nights about issues past, present and future.
Some people manage their expectations and have this rule about not worrying about things that have already happened.
This means that they let go of their past regrets.
They also don’t spend time worrying about things they cannot control, and they certainly don’t spend a lot of time worrying about a future they cannot predict.
Try to adopt this outlook in your life:
> If something happens to you, ask yourself: can you, and will you, do something about it?
> If your answer is yes, then write down the steps you will take to do something about the issue.
For example, if you lost your job suddenly due to retrenchment, will you try to find another job?
Then a possible first step is to brush up your CV (curriculum vitae) and start sending it out again.
If you are a planner and would like a Plan B and C in addition to Plan A, by all means, write those down too.
Once you have done so, don’t dwell on it any more as any outcome can happen.
Then go out and do other things.
> If you have decided you cannot do anything about your issue, then can you just accept the situation and move on?
Many great religions practise a form of acceptance that is articulated as “It is the will of God”, “It is in God’s hands now” or “I will have to accept the things I cannot change”.
For example, if a loved one dies, it is something you cannot do anything about.
After a period of grieving, will you accept that your loved one has passed and that you must now continue on with your life?
If some wrongs have been done to you, will you accept that you cannot correct every one of them?
Can you accept that you need not fight every single injustice done to you and that you will have to let some go in order to maintain your inner peace?
Elsa finally lets it go and becomes the Snow Queen in the 2013 hit animated movie Frozen. Dealing with stress sometimes means letting go of past regrets and grievances. — Handout
Don’t worry, being aware of your emotions and why you are feeling that way is the first step towards acceptance.
Moving on to the other Power 9 characteristics, the fourth one is the 80% rule when it comes to eating.
This means that you eat only until you are 80% full, then you stop.
People who live in Blue Zones do not eat that much, and certainly not until their stomachs are bloated with food.
They also eat very small meals and have early dinners, e.g. at 5pm.
Then they don’t eat any more.
The Okinawans in particular practise this.
Malaysians, on the other hand, like to eat big dinners, go for buffets and have late-night suppers.
This brings us to the fifth characteristic.
Blue Zone people tend to eat more plants and plant-based foods than we do.
They eat vegetables, fava beans, lentils and so on.
When they do eat meat, the serving sizes are small – about the size of the palm of your hand.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to turn vegetarian.
But you can include more greens and plant-based proteins in your diet.
You should certainly avoid ultra-processed foods.
The sixth characteristic also involves consumption.
People in Blue Zones – except the Seventh-Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California, United States, who are discouraged from consuming such beverages – drink alcohol moderately and regularly.
But they don’t drink a lot; they only drink one or two glasses a day with their meals.
And no, they do not binge drink!
They are incredibly self-controlled, considering that many of them live in wine country.
Generally, Blue Zone people have healthy and simple eating and drinking habits.
Blue Zone people mostly belong to a faith-based community.
It does help if you have some sort of religion to give you purpose and beliefs.
Attending a faith-based activity four times a month can add four to 14 years more to your life, according to research.
I personally believe it is not the type of religion per se, but the belonging to a greater group that gives you a sense of peace, community and purpose.
Blue Zone people put their families first and live in nearby communities, which is the eighth characteristic.
They are committed to their life partner and stay close to their children.
And finally, they have friends and social circles who encourage healthy habits and not bad behaviours like smoking and binge drinking.
Dr YLM graduated as a medical doctor, and has been writing for many years on various subjects such as medicine, health, computers and entertainment. For further information, email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
