Chronic diseases are a huge problem and becoming more common in our community.
While there are numerous factors and genetics plays a part, lifestyle has been proven to have a significant influence on longevity and health.

🌏What are Blue Zones?

Looking around the globe, Dan Beuttner (working with National Geographic) identified places where people live longer and are healthiest. He dubbed these Blue Zones and spent time identifying what made them special. By researching these areas and then following their principles, we can make a decent change to our lives and turn these issues on their head. Already, in the US, over 50 cities have applied the principles of Blue Zones significantly improving health & lowering healthcare costs.

🕵️Where are the Blue Zones?

• Icaria (Greece): Icaria is an island in Greece where people eat a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, red wine and homegrown vegetables.
• Ogliastra, Sardinia (Italy): The Ogliastra region of Sardinia is home to some of the oldest men in the world. They live in mountainous regions where they typically work on farms and drink lots of red wine.
• Okinawa (Japan): Okinawa is home to the world’s oldest women, who eat a lot of soy-based foods and practice tai chi, a meditative form of exercise.
• Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica): The Nicoyan diet is based around beans and corn tortillas. The people of this area regularly perform physical jobs into old age and have a sense of life purpose known as “plan de vida.”
• The Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California (USA): The Seventh-day Adventists are a very religious group of people. They’re strict vegetarians and live in tight-knit communities.

🤝🏻The Blue Zone values

• Routine natural movement throughout the day contributes to longevity.
• A plant-slant diet leads to a longer, healthier life.
• Relationships with family, friends, and people of faith lengthen lifespans.
• A strong sense of purpose in life leads to longevity.

🔑Why are Blue Zones important in relation to physical health?

1. At Vigeo, we encourage natural movement, and our therapy helps people restore their Natural movement. The message from Blue Zones is very complementary
2. When people are in pain and suffering, it can be hard for them to see beyond this problem. Stress & emotion can occur. By focusing on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, we can help shift the focus away from the doom & gloom of the pain and back to a better perspective & back to better health.
3. Many problems people come to physio for aren’t just a local issue. There are contributions coming from other areas of the body. A well-functioning body can overcome an issue in a specific joint.
4. As our cities in NZ develop and become more populated and our jobs become more office based, we are living increasingly sedentary lifestyles. We are missing out on the natural movement which keeps our muscles functioning well, joints mobile and well-loaded and our body functioning well. Ensuring we are active, naturally when we can helps to balance this sedentary behaviour.
5. Frequently people are presenting to our clinic with injuries that haven’t responded well to traditional medical treatment which may be overly simplistic…resulting in people living with chronic pain, chronic dysfunction & longer-term issues than they need.
   

A healthier, more functional body can overcome injuries and problems better. And keep your life moving in the right direction. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle (like the ones Blue Zones have shown), you can live better, longer and healthier.

At Vigeo Physio, we focus on helping you to restore healthy, natural movement. So you can live your best life with a well-functioning body.

Reference: Blue Zones (they have a brilliant/simple newsletter - sign up and receive their regular healthy lifestyle tips/ideas)