A Blue Zone Message of Holiday Hope from our CEO, Denise Helms, RN, BSN
Have you heard of the Blue Zones?
Blue Zones are a handful of areas around the world where people enjoy quantifiably longer and more independent lives. In some of those areas — such as the Greek island of Ikaria — those long-lived folks also show near-zero rates for conditions like Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
As you can imagine, those of us who work in eldercare and dementia care spend a lot of time thinking about the lifestyle secrets of the Blue Zones and wondering if those secrets can be applied elsewhere. When our CEO Denise Helms spent two weeks on Ikaria recently, she paid careful attention to everything she saw, talked to everyone she could, and soaked up as much of the local lifestyle as possible to share with us here.
Please enjoy the following personal report from Denise on the secrets of Ikaria, "the island where people forget to die."
My husband is Greek, so this year we decided to spend our vacation going back to his roots. For two weeks, while my husband took language classes on Ikaria, I got to explore one of the world-famous Blue Zones.
I've spent my life in the eldercare industry, so this was the research chance of a lifetime. I interviewed a local physician about the healthcare system and what he saw from a medical standpoint as the main factors in the islanders' longevity. I went to an organic winery on the island and discussed the benefits of daily wine drinking (not kidding!). Through an interpreter, I talked with as many of the older folks on the island as I could — and they were happy to share details of their daily lives. (Here's a tip: happy is an important adjective when you're talking about Ikaria.)
As you might expect, diet and exercise were two primary themes that recurred in just about every conversation.
The ordinary folks on Ikaria are primarily vegetarian, eating meat only once a week: mostly lean meat like fish, or occasionally lamb. Their diet is high in vegetables and fruits, with much of their protein coming from legumes (beans). And though the elderly might dilute their cups with water, red wine is very much a part of their daily diet.
Here's an eye-opener: there are almost no commercially preserved or processed foods on Ikaria. One morning I bought some great cheeses in the market, but couldn't find a packaged cracker in any of the stores to go with them. If you want bread on Ikaria, you either make it yourself or buy it fresh.
I can personally attest that the diet on Ikaria is fantastic. When was the last time you took a long vacation and lost weight? That NEVER happens.
Along with the great diet comes a hefty dose of daily exercise. People on Ikaria work in their gardens every day. They walk to the grocery store every day. They walk to church every couple of days. They do a lot of walking. Ikaria is not a place where you just jump in a car to run your errands or do your visiting — and that applies to the older folks as well as the young. Every day in every village you see elderly women walking from shop to shop with canes and grocery bags, staying as active and independent as we all hope to be at that age.
Here's the thing, though: neither of these insights are big secrets. We all know about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and daily exercise. And even if we wanted to grow our own Greek salad all year long and walk everywhere, in North Texas, we just don't have those options. That doesn't mean we can't benefit from the most important lifestyle lesson I learned from my time in this Blue Zone paradise, because the main difference I saw between their daily lives and our daily lives was not diet or exercise — it was SOCIALIZATION.
On Ikaria, everyone is family-oriented. Extended families live together and eat meals together. Even when Ikarians "eat out" they eat together as all restaurants serve "family style" dinners and not individual entrees. Families work together and garden together. On the weekends, families walk to church together and do church activities together. My husband and I were fortunate to be on Ikaria during one of the many Greek Orthodox festivals. Even as an outsider, I was carried away by the communal atmosphere of the event. All ages — from the children to the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents — took part in a street festival that went on all night, in and out of the streets, backyard grills and coffee shops where everyone chatted, played backgammon and ate amazing food and drank coffee with friends. It wasn't just a one-hour church service, it was a full day with family and friends. It was wonderful and extraordinary and I felt younger just being there for it.
As one of the older Ikarian ladies told me, "I don't have time to be sick or sit at home, because every day I wake up and I have something to do. I have somebody to see. I've got someone coming over." Life in Ikaria doesn't just give her health through calorie counts and cholesterol numbers, it gives her PURPOSE. And it does that every day, for years and years and years.
So here's the big insight from my time in Ikaria that I hope you can use to find a healthier and happier lifestyle for everyone in your family this holiday season and beyond:
GET TOGETHER WITH YOUR FAMILY.
Do it in person, or do it any way you can. Make the drive or set up regular Zoom chats. But get as much of your family together as often as you can. As an eldercare professional, I can tell you that during COVID, we saw so much decline in our clientele. And it wasn't because they had the virus— it was because of the isolation. We know now that social isolation took a terrible toll on the 70+ generation, and we have a lot of work to do to overcome that.
But we can do it! Sunday dinner with the whole family used to be a staple of American life. It can be again — as it is now in my family. That’s the most important change I made as a result of my time on Ikaria: I now enjoy a Sunday dinner tradition with my family. I learned that a meal isn't just about the food; it's a social tradition. It's about communing and sharing. It's about laughing and smiling and being friendly.
Even if you can't eat Greek salad every day, eat whatever you do eat with those you love — and make the communication more important than the meal.
We hope that you enjoyed this inspirational visit with Denise, and that you can find more time to share with your older loved ones. But if you just can’t — and we understand that, too — please give us a call 24/7 at (817) 887-9401 for a free consultation to find out how our compassionate caregivers can help provide additional socialization, and facilitate your own precious family time.
LINKS:
The Blue Zones® Project
https://www.bluezones.com/
The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100
https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Zones-Kitchen-Recipes-Live/dp/1426220138/