t isn't that there is more Blue Zone Living. It is that there is more press and interest in Blue Zone Living. The Town of Grimsby has finally joined with the region on "age-friendly" initiatives and is having a conference next week. One of the topics is Blue Zone Living.
This is the phrase for places where people are living longer and happier. The headlines are things like: "Want to live to 100? Here are the 'Blue Zone' principles.... And the five original blue zones - the places with the healthiest, longest-living populations are Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California.
Does Canada have a blue zone. I doubt if it will be one for long. It is in Alberta, land of raucous politics and pugnacious premiers. Airdrie, Alberta has been recognized as a "promising Blue Zone community".
There are 4 pillars of longevity for the "fountain of youth" of the Blue Zone:
Pillar #1: Physical Activity. People who live long lives move their bodies regularly.
Pillar #2: Social Interconnectedness.
Pillar #3: Inner Sense of Purpose and Joy.
Pillar #4: A Whole Food Plant-Based Diet.
These are not even surprising - they seem more considered common sense. I shouldn't be so cynical about all this. Do you know that a 2022 poll of 11,000 American adults revealed that almost 70% want to live to 100? Can we trust Americans anymore? Again, I am somewhat cynical on this desire to live past 100.
The odds in Canada of living to 100 are .023% - so that's a pretty big gap between what people want and what happens. Canada scores high in comparison to other countries.
If we lower that to age 90, then 5 out of 10 Canadians live that long. The expectation today is that 1 in 10 will live to 100 years of age. So maybe we just wait it out. We don't need to move to a Blue Zone, or try to create a Blue Zone which would be very difficult in Grimsby where even the hospital name is a big political battle.
So my bet goes with just wait a while and the Blue Zone will get re-zoned to include you.
