There are 5 cultures across the world that live longer, happier lives with less disease, here’s how they do it | Jess Adamson

The inhabitants of this idyllic Greek island live longer, are happier and have vastly fewer diseases. One Adelaide man knows why, writes Jessica Adamson.

I’ve developed a fascination for blue zones.

Blue zones, for those not familiar with them, are five locations on the planet where a higher-than-usual number of people live a lot longer than the average person, happily.

The term was first coined 20 years ago by National Geographic explorer and journalist Dan Buettner. The world’s blue zones are Ikaria in Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica and Loma Linda in California.

The people in these places hold the secrets to longevity and I want to know them.

As we embark on a new year, a year in which the number of candles I’ll need will likely outweigh the cost of my birthday cake, I want to learn how to live longer and do it well.

Two people who know a bit about blue zones are Adelaide business leader Steve Maras and former journalist, author and now longevity strategist, Marcus Pearce.

Ikaria island in Greece is one of the world’s blue zones where locals seem to have discovered the secret to a long life. Picture: iStock

Steve is a proud Ikarian. His grandparents were born on the small island in the Aegean Sea where people forget to die.

Ikarians experience 80 per cent less dementia, 50 per cent less heart disease and 20 per cent less cancer than the rest of us.

A few months ago, Steve travelled back to visit relatives, including his Great Aunt Koula who’s on track to turn 100 in March.

“They live a lifestyle we don’t,” Steve says. “They don’t stress, they walk every day, up and down places you and I couldn’t imagine. You’ll see old people in their 90s walking up and down mountains like a 20-year-old.

“They eat some of the most nutrient-enriched food grown on earth, make and drink lots of their own fabulous organic wine. They use and devour gallons of olive oil.”

Steve says attitudes are important too.

“They don’t wear watches, time is just irrelevant,” he says. “There’s not an ounce of wokeness on the island and never will be.

“Every day they congregate together in the local village where they talk and carry on for hours – they say that’s one of the reasons why there’s no dementia or Alzheimer’s on the island.

“They dance all night long then keep going through to the next day. They are the most genuine and authentic people you’ll ever meet. They personify hands down what ‘community’ is all about.”

He says watching the villagers work together is a life lesson.

“The problem here in this country is people are very competitive, we’re all competitive,” he says.

“Over there they help each other out. They grow vegetables and fruit and give it to each other. “There’s a famous bakery in one of the main villages where there’s fresh bread available for you to come and get before the bakery’s open, there’s a box to leave money and everyone does.”

No stress, no clock, endless olive oil, organic wine and dancing – I love the sound of it all though, like most of you, that lifestyle’s a little unrealistic just at the moment.

But what if we took just some of the lessons from these blue zones, to help us live a more vibrant, happy and healthy life?

Marcus Pearce says we absolutely can and should. He spends his life visiting these communities, immersing himself in their lifestyles, talking with and getting to know the people, including hundreds of centenarians.

To begin with, he says, we shouldn’t underestimate the power of community and social life as a nutrient to physical health and disease prevention.

“People disconnected from others are three times more likely to die than people with strong social ties,” Marcus says.

Former journalist, author and longevity strategist Marcus Pearce (right) says community and social life feature prominently in blue zone cultures. Picture: Supplied

“We don’t know why socialising extends life, we just know that it does. Move with other people, find your village.”

That village can be your family and close friends, church group, local footy club, a charity you volunteer for or your local coffee shop.

Next up, Marcus says we should focus less on what we eat and more on eating intelligently.

Forget about diets unless they’re for healing and embrace the eating habits of our blue zoners – eat at the table with others when you can (not in front of the TV), share plates of food, chew like you mean it and stop eating before you feel full.

In all five blue zones, people eat a large breakfast and a smaller lunch, and dinner is the smallest meal of the day. Vegetables, fruit, grains and legumes feature prominently.

Drinking intelligently is important too, Marcus says.

Ikaria’s five golden rules of alcohol say you should never drink on an empty stomach, you must eat when you drink, never drink to get drunk, drink in the company of others and drink local, organic and preservative-free alcohol whenever possible.

“They do tipsy well, but they never drink to get drunk,” Marcus says.

In each of the blue zones, the people have a deep connection to land and sea.

Growing food and wine, tending to animals and gardening are their natural exercise.

They knead bread, use hand-operated tools and walk everywhere instead of driving.

Finally, Marcus says embracing the wisdom of elders who know how to age gracefully is life-changing.

Let’s face it, we don’t do ageing well in Australia, which means there’s plenty to learn and there’s no time like the present to begin.

They say it’s never too late to start, but always too early to stop.

I’m going to start with the simple things in 2025 – more sharing of meals, less driving and more walking, more gardening, homegrown veggies, wine in moderation and connecting with nature.

Oh, and to continue to love the place I live, which isn’t hard when we call South Australia home.

If we play our cards right, we could be the world’s next blue zone.