KUSA - When people live to be 100, we want to know their secret to longevity.
That's why National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner has spent more than a decade traveling around the world to study longevity hot spots he calls the "Blue Zone," or places where more citizens live to be the big 100.
Some of these "Blue Zones" are Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; The Ogliastra region of Sardinia; Loma Linda, California; and Nicoya, Costa Rica. These different places have high concentrations of 100-year-olds who have grown old without preventable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
What all these places have in common is they have a plant-based diet that is also very high in complex carbs, like oatmeal, sweet potatoes, whole grain bread and corn.
The real key to all these diets though is beans. About a cup of beans a day is recommended for your diet. They are high in protein and also lower in price than some beef.
Some of the other major keys to longevity are being kind to others and enjoying life. In the highest ranked cities, the residents saw old age as a goal to strive for.
So where does Colorado rank in this? They rank near the top of the happiest and healthiest states in the U.S. As far as ranking in the world though, American is pretty far from the top.
Find out more about "Blue Zones" here.
(KUSA-TV © 2015 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
