Eat more beans for a longer life, says Blue Zones Solution author Dan Buettner

DO you dream of a world where the secret to longevity is drinking wine and sipping coffee? It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. And one simple food holds the key.

DO you dream of a world where the secret to longevity is drinking wine and sipping coffee?

Where the only exercise needed is nothing more strenuous than a walk?

It may sound like a fantasy but you don’t have to cut out booze, ditch caffeine or exercise like a Crossfit demon if you want to live to a ripe old age.

No, says author Dan Buettner, it’s all down to beans.

Yes, that’s right, eating beans of every variety — soy, lentil, black and fava — is fundamental to a healthy life, Buettner told The Times.

Advice .... if you want to live longer, eat more beans.

Beans are full of fibre, vitamins and micronutrients and remove the need for animal protein.

Buettner, author of The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People, spent a decade studying the diets of people in long-life areas.

Residents of Ikaria in Greece, Okinawa in Japan, the Barbagia region of Sardinia, Loma Linda in California and Nicoya in Costa Rica significantly outlive the rest of us, enjoying lower rates of heart disease, diabetes and dementia.

Take it down ... when it comes to exercise, go easy on the weights.

“None of these people try to live to be 100,” Buettner told The Times. “They are products of their environment.”

People in the blue zone are “eating a cup of beans a day on ­average”.

They also drink wine moderately, drink strong coffee, do lots of walking — rather than high-impact exercise — and eat very little red meat, which is consumed on average just once a week.

Buettner believes that in the future our meat-eating habits are going to be looked at in the same way as we look at our smoking habits in the 1970s”.

“When you eat a lot of meat, the gut bacteria, the flora, of your gut changes to digest it,” Buettner told The Times. “So a certain type of bacteria thrives when you eat a lot of meat; that bacteria causes inflammation, which is at the root of every age-related disease.”

Dan Buettner’s tips for living longer

1. Drink coffee

2. Skip the juicing

3. Avoid protein shakes

4. Go for long walks

5. Drink red wine (in moderation)

6. Avoid high-impact exercise

7. Cook vegetarian meals

8. Avoid butter

9. Eat meat sparingly

10. Avoid cow’s milk

11. Eat real sourdough bread

12. Eat with friends

Originally published as Eat more beans for a longer life, says Blue Zones Solution author Dan Buettner