Folium: How to Live Longer, from Two People Over 100 via LifeHacker
Creative Commons Image via The Leaf Project
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The wellness craze sweeping the nation has many of us wondering, “How do I live longer?” or “How do we live healthier lives?” What is it about American culture that has us feeling so concerned, and why is it that we receive so much conflicting, possibly confusing, information on almost a daily basis? Although this concern is not unique to the United States, for many countries around the world, such queries aren’t a cause for concern. In fact, culturally, living a long, healthy life isn’t a question at all.
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Compared to citizens of the United States, people in many countries across the world live far longer; one in 250 people on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica live to be over 100 years old. In America, only one in 6,000 makes it that far.
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“Reliable data show that the Nicoyan region of Costa Rica is a hot spot of high longevity.” – National Institute of Health (NIH.GOV)
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According to the Nicoyan Longevity Specialist and Health Editor Skwarekci spoke to, some of the most common factors that contribute to the long and healthy lives experienced by Nicoyan people include…
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A healthy diet:
Jorge Vindas mentions in his interview with Beth Skwarekci that the Nicoyan people ate whatever the soil produced. This means fresh food at almost, if not all, meals for an entire lifetime. And because only certain things can grow according to their climate, that diet consisted of similar, familiar foods. Doña Dora, one of the women interviewed by the Lifehacker team, states that she doesn’t get bored with life. I wonder if she gets bored eating the same foods, day after day. Would you?
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It’s easy to live well when you eat well!
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Universal healthcare:
The universal healthcare offered in Costa Rica is one of the top systems in the Americas. It’s more affordable and more available than the personal healthcare we experience in the U.S. Receiving proper healthcare when it’s needed and even before it’s needed, to promote the prevention of infectious diseases or personal maladies, can make a huge difference in the overall health and well-being of the population with access to it. At least, so the theory goes. Nicoyan people have reduced cases of illness.
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How Costa Rica’s Healthcare System Works!
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And there are many more factors like…
- Strong sense of spirituality and faith
- Frequent physical exertion
- Reduced daily stress
- Warmer climate
- More, consistent sleep
- Familial and communal support
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Communities such as those found on the Nicoya Peninsula may serve as evidence that, fortunately, and unfortunately, there isn’t one answer to a long and healthy life. What do you think makes for a long, healthy life?
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What do you think makes for a long, healthy life?
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To me, everything, from the environment to the lifestyle seems practically utopian in comparison to the busy, stressful lifestyle it’s all too possible to lead here in the States. Does this kind of living, incorporating some of the life-supporting factors into your lifestyle, seem possible here like Beth states at the end of her video?
Renee Burns
LEAF Contributor
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