What is the Blue Zones way of eating?

These simple guidelines reflect what we learned about how the world’s longest-lived people ate for most of their lives. By adopting some of the healthy eating principles into your daily life, you too can Live Longer, Better®.

• 95/5 RULE
  Eat plants. 90-95 percent of your food should be fruits, vegetables, grains, greens and beans. Use olive oil to sauté and spices to flavor vegetables. Feel free to eat a cup (cooked) of whole grains daily.
• DAILY DOSE OF BEANS
  Eat a cup of beans daily spread out across breakfast, lunch or dinner. All beans count, including tofu. They contain high-quality protein and fiber. If you buy canned beans, avoid added salt, sugar and chemicals.
• DIMINISH DAIRY
  Cow’s milk does not figure prominently into the Blue Zones diet so we recommend you avoid it.
• SLASH SUGAR
  Consume only 28 grams (7 teaspoons) of added sugar daily. Reserve cookies, cakes and candies for special occasions. Read labels and avoid foods with more than 8 grams of sugar. Make honey your go-to sweetener.
• SNACK ON NUTS
  Eat a handful of nuts daily: almonds, pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts and peanuts. Try different nuts so you don’t tire of them. Avoid sugar-coated nuts.
• SOUR ON BREAD
  Eat only 100 percent whole grain breads or authentic sourdough bread made from live cultures. Limit bread to two slices daily. Choose whole grain corn tortillas over flour tortillas. Avoid white breads and wraps.
• GO WHOLLY WHOLE
  Try to eat only whole foods or foods processed with fewer than five ingredients. If it’s manufactured in a plant, avoid it. If it comes from a plant, eat it.
• FISH
  In some blue zones areas, people eat fish up to three times weekly. But, modern-day fish has become so contaminated with pesticides and other chemicals that we don’t recommend it as part of a Blue Zones diet.
• DRINK MOSTLY WATER
  Drink six glasses of water daily. Feel free to drink unsweetened teas and coffee. Enjoy Wine at 5 with friends or with blue zones inspired meals. Avoid all sugar-sweetened and diet sodas.