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This exclusive Plant Based News video features footage of top bariatric surgeon Dr. Garth Davis talking about a study of the people with the longest life expectancy.
Dr. Davis cited a study called the Blue Zones by National Geographic and Dan Buettner. They looked around the world for the people that had the longest life expectancy, that would live over 100.
He said that many people don’t want to live to 100 because of the images we see of elderly people in western society. But, he says, people of this age in Blue Zones are ‘still an active part of society…still living very fulfilling, happy lives’.
‘No obesity’
According to Dr. Davis: “When you look at these places, they don’t have obesity, they don’t have diabetes, they don’t have heart disease, if they do, it’s very, very low. All of them, there’s no me there, there’s no physician that’s treating obesity there, it just doesn’t exist.
“Let’s look at Okinawa where they have unbelievable longevity – or they did, it’s getting worse over time. What are they eating mainly? Are they mainly eating protein? No, they’re mainly eating yams actually.
“If you look at their diet, it’s very, very high in starches, 70 percent of it is yams…That’s the vast majority of what they eat. They eat rice, they eat fruits, they eat vegetables. How much dairy and meat do they eat? [Only] about one percent of their calories come from those different things.
“The vast majority of their diet is a plant-based diet. They’re not vegan or vegetarian, they don’t have these names and concepts, that is just what they mainly eat. And if you look at them over time, a traditional Okinawan starts off low and actually loses weight as they get older compared to American who gains weight.”
‘Unfortunately changing’
He added that ‘the Okinawan diet is unfortunately changing and because of that, so are their waistlines’. “We’re moving to Okinawa and it’s a big problem because as they start adopting our diet, they start getting our disease processes.”
Another Blue Zone is Sardinia. And there is even a Blue Zone in the States – the Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California.
“Probably the healthiest of all the blue zones is Loma Linda,” said Dr. Davis. “And if you’ve ever been to Loma Linda, it doesn’t look that healthy,
there’s still McDonald’s everywhere. But the reason is the Seventh Day Adventists by religion believe that the body is the temple of the soul and should therefore be treated with respect.
“So they don’t drink, and they don’t smoke, and they try to eat to be healthy…when you look at what they do, they eat lots of fruits, they eat lots of vegetables, they walk a lot and they’re pretty healthy.”
