36.
Nicoya Peninsula
An Idyllic Oasis Of Peace
Nicoya is a peninsula on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It is divided into two provinces: Guanacaste Province in the north, and the Puntarenas Province in the south. It is known for its beaches and is a popular tourist destination. The main commercial centre in the region is Nicoya, one of the oldest settlements in Costa Rica. Its located about a two-hour trip on bumpy roads from the national capital of San Jose.
In 2005, Dr. Rosero-Bixby, a Costa Rican demographer trained in the United States, presented a paper at an international conference claiming to have discovered that 60-year-old Costa Ricans have the longest life expectancy of anyone in the world. In other words, if you are middle aged and live in Costa Rica, you are more likely to reach, say, a healthy age 90 than your counterparts worldwide.
In 2005, Dr. Rosero-Bixby, a Costa Rican demographer trained in the United States, presented a paper at an international conference claiming to have discovered that 60-year-old Costa Ricans have the longest life expectancy of anyone in the world. In other words, if you are middle aged and live in Costa Rica, you are more likely to reach, say, a healthy age 90 than your counterparts worldwide.
Many centenarians eat less and avoid meat.
You look in the blue zone in Okinawa, these people are consistently eating off of small plates. One of the cues for fullness is an empty plate, so stock your cupboard with smaller plates. ~Dan Buettner
The academics at the conference did not believe Dr. Rosero-Bixby. After all, Central America is still considered ‘Third World,’ a place of poverty, tropical disease, and, during the 1990s, terriblewars. How could the people here live longer than ‘First World’ countries.
Centenarians and Census Records
In August, thanks to a grant from National Geographic and Allianz Life, Dan Buettner traveled with a world-renowned longevity expert, Dr. Michel Poulain, to meet Dr. Rosero-Bixby and examine his data. They interviewed 90-to-100-year-olds to verify their ages, and then doubled-checked in the archives (Costa Rica has an excellent record-keeping system that has recorded everyone born since 1888) to make sure these subjects weren’t lying or misguided about their dates of birth.
They found that not only was Rosero-Bixby’s data accurate, but in looking at it more closely they noticed something extraordinary -- a Blue Zone: In northwestern Costa Rica, residents live even longer than people in the rest of the country.
This area -- the Nicoya Peninsula -- is about 70 miles long and 30 miles wide. Surfer beaches and upscale resorts hem the peninsula’s western edge. But inland, forest-covered hills and cow pastures blanket most of the terrain.
For the 75,000 or so people who live here, life proceeds much the way as it has for hundreds of years. Nicoyans make their living as small farmers, laborers or sabaneros -- cowboys who work the area’s huge cattle ranches. Judging by the dusty villages where neighbors hang out on porches, or the rural homes where women still cook on ancient wood-burning stoves, one can never guess that the Nicoya is the longest-life place in the Americas.
They found that not only was Rosero-Bixby’s data accurate, but in looking at it more closely they noticed something extraordinary -- a Blue Zone: In northwestern Costa Rica, residents live even longer than people in the rest of the country.
This area -- the Nicoya Peninsula -- is about 70 miles long and 30 miles wide. Surfer beaches and upscale resorts hem the peninsula’s western edge. But inland, forest-covered hills and cow pastures blanket most of the terrain.
For the 75,000 or so people who live here, life proceeds much the way as it has for hundreds of years. Nicoyans make their living as small farmers, laborers or sabaneros -- cowboys who work the area’s huge cattle ranches. Judging by the dusty villages where neighbors hang out on porches, or the rural homes where women still cook on ancient wood-burning stoves, one can never guess that the Nicoya is the longest-life place in the Americas.
“We know that people who make it to a hundred tend to be nice. They … drink from the fountain of life by being likeable and drawing people to them.”
Set up your life, your home environment, your social environment, and your workplace so that you’re constantly nudged into behaviors that favor longevity.
~Dan Buettner
Costa Rica indeed does celebrate its elderly citizens; every person who has a 100th birthday is featured on the national news. As of June 2012, this tiny country reported 417 citizens over the age of 100; the country’s official population is more or less 4.5 million. Costa Rican Photographer Mónica Quesada is creating a book and video documenting natives who have lived a century.
So what’s the secret? Buettner’s team of researchers and specialists found interesting similarities among the Nicoyan centenarians that are common characteristics in all of the other Blue Zones: There are so many Centenarians in Nicoya that The Blue Zone team spent 9 months in research in 2007.
Have a “plan de vida,” or reason to live; it also can be called “why I get up in the morning”. Centenarians say they feel needed, with a sense of purpose that often centers on their family.
Have Faith. The Nicoyans’ strong belief in God and their “faith routines” help relieve stress and anxiety. Almost all of the centenarians interviewed around the world for Buettner’s book belonged to a faith-based community of some form.
Healthy diet. Most of the various Blue Zone residents in the world eat a primarily plant-based diet, especially legumes (all kinds of beans, peas and lentils). They also eat rich, colorful fruits – in Nicoya, they eat marañon, the red-orange cashew tree fruit that has more vitamin C than oranges, and noni, a pear-like fruit rich in antioxidants. Another indigenous diet is Chorotega, consisting of high-fortified corn and beans—healthy and high in fiber.
So what’s the secret? Buettner’s team of researchers and specialists found interesting similarities among the Nicoyan centenarians that are common characteristics in all of the other Blue Zones: There are so many Centenarians in Nicoya that The Blue Zone team spent 9 months in research in 2007.
Have a “plan de vida,” or reason to live; it also can be called “why I get up in the morning”. Centenarians say they feel needed, with a sense of purpose that often centers on their family.
Have Faith. The Nicoyans’ strong belief in God and their “faith routines” help relieve stress and anxiety. Almost all of the centenarians interviewed around the world for Buettner’s book belonged to a faith-based community of some form.
Healthy diet. Most of the various Blue Zone residents in the world eat a primarily plant-based diet, especially legumes (all kinds of beans, peas and lentils). They also eat rich, colorful fruits – in Nicoya, they eat marañon, the red-orange cashew tree fruit that has more vitamin C than oranges, and noni, a pear-like fruit rich in antioxidants. Another indigenous diet is Chorotega, consisting of high-fortified corn and beans—healthy and high in fiber.
While visiting Patrone, 107, Dan and Dr. Oz enjoyed a meal prepared by his 65-year-old daughter. Families stay together in Nicoya, which is another important key to living a long life.
For lunch, she made corn tortillas from scratch. First, she soaks the corn in ash and lime to break it down. Then, she smashes it in a metate—a Central American stone mortar. Then, she cooks the corn patties without oil. “It’s a lot of hard work, and there’s no electricity, so she can’t do it any other way,” Dr. Oz says. “And it’s a good workout.”
This daily process of cooking tortillas is like an automatic workout. “You know, most Americans don’t really exercise. A very small proportion,” Dan says. “But in Nicoya, they’ll be making lunch and it’s like doing 25 reps with the free weights.”
Another important aspect of the Nicoyan diet is that they tend to eat their larger meals in the morning, with progressively smaller meals throughout the day. This not only leaves Nicoyans craving fewer calories during the day, it also lets them transition into sleep much more easily when darkness falls. “A hundred years ago, when the sun went down, the brain would start making more melatonin. And with more melatonin, you’d get tired, you’d get drowsy,”
Dr. Oz says. “Today, the reason half of us don’t sleep normally is because the last thing we see is a computer screen or the tube. That actually does the opposite to your brain—it stimulates it. So of course you can’t fall asleep. You’ve got to glide to sleep.”
Get some sun. Climate allows Nicoyans to get plenty of sunshine. Regular sun exposure helps their bodies produce vitamin D for strong bones and healthy body function. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a host of problems, such as osteoporosis and heart disease, and regular, “smart” sun exposure (about 15 minutes on the legs and arms) can help supplement nutrients received through diet. Nicoya is the driest part of Costa Rica, and in dry climates people get fewer respiratory diseases.
Dr. Oz says. “Today, the reason half of us don’t sleep normally is because the last thing we see is a computer screen or the tube. That actually does the opposite to your brain—it stimulates it. So of course you can’t fall asleep. You’ve got to glide to sleep.”
Get some sun. Climate allows Nicoyans to get plenty of sunshine. Regular sun exposure helps their bodies produce vitamin D for strong bones and healthy body function. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a host of problems, such as osteoporosis and heart disease, and regular, “smart” sun exposure (about 15 minutes on the legs and arms) can help supplement nutrients received through diet. Nicoya is the driest part of Costa Rica, and in dry climates people get fewer respiratory diseases.
“The natural food of man, judging from his structure, appears to consist principally of the fruits, roots, and other succulent parts of vegetables. His hands afford every facility for gathering them; his short but moderately strong jaws on the other hand, and his canines being equal only in length to the other teeth, together with his tuberculated molars on the other, would scarcely permit him either to masticate herbage, or to devour flesh, were these condiments not previously prepared by cooking.”
Get Sleep. Nicoyans sleep an average of at least 7 hours per day. They more or less go to sleep soon after nightfall and wake with the sun. They spend one-fifteenth the amount developed countriesdo on public health
No smoking. Smoking is not common in Blue Zone communities.
Having a good relationship with their family and maintaining a strong social network contributes greatly to centenarians’ sense of purpose and well-being. People of all ages are socially active and integrated into their communities.
Nicoyan centenarians maintain a strong work ethic, which keeps them active and healthy while contributing to their sense of purpose. Moderate physical activity is a normal part of daily life – walking, bicycling, gardening, cooking, keeping up the house, taking care of animals, etc.
Researchers met 102-year-old Panchita, who still chops wood every day for cooking; 86-year-old Filippa, who sells her homemade tamales; and 95-year-old Serillo, who was cruising by on his bike as he visited his neighbors.
In a broader context, Costa Rica represents an idyllic oasis of peace and stability in a region otherwise battered by poverty and civil wars.
No smoking. Smoking is not common in Blue Zone communities.
Having a good relationship with their family and maintaining a strong social network contributes greatly to centenarians’ sense of purpose and well-being. People of all ages are socially active and integrated into their communities.
Nicoyan centenarians maintain a strong work ethic, which keeps them active and healthy while contributing to their sense of purpose. Moderate physical activity is a normal part of daily life – walking, bicycling, gardening, cooking, keeping up the house, taking care of animals, etc.
Researchers met 102-year-old Panchita, who still chops wood every day for cooking; 86-year-old Filippa, who sells her homemade tamales; and 95-year-old Serillo, who was cruising by on his bike as he visited his neighbors.
In a broader context, Costa Rica represents an idyllic oasis of peace and stability in a region otherwise battered by poverty and civil wars.
Dan says one of the secrets of Nicoyans’ lifespan can be found in the water that flows through the hills. Their water is among the hardest in Costa Rica—which means it’s chock-full of minerals. “Hard water means stronger bones. It also means your muscles are probably working better, especially when you get old,” Dan says.
Hard water has proven benefits. “Calcium, magnesium and water—it relaxes your arteries, it builds bone strength and it has a huge benefit across the board in how your body functions.
Having strong bones is actually one of the most important ways to live a long life. One of the biggest killers of older people is simply falling down and breaking a bone. If you take calcium and couple it with vitamin D, your bones don’t deteriorate as quickly.
To re-create the benefits of the Nicoyans’ calcium-rich water, dairy and leafy green vegetables like kale and broccoli can be suggested.
Indeed, Costa Rica enjoys a well-developed social welfare system, possesses no standing army (having abolished it in 1948) and high living standards.
It is for these reasons that Costa Rica is often referred to as the Switzerland of Central America.
It is for these reasons that Costa Rica is often referred to as the Switzerland of Central America.