The Blue Zones are regions where people live the longest and healthiest. Their secret? Healthy eating and exercise! In this blog post we focus on healthy eating. The people in the Blue Zones eat  95 percent of the time plant based! Also they consume a lot of vegetables and fruits, which results in an increased nutrient intake. Now the question rises: What can we learn from them?

Western-European diet

In Europe we hardly meet the recommendations of health organizations. Our diet consists mostly of dairy products, meat and butter. Dutch men consume about 127 grams of vegetables and 87 grams of fruit a day, Dutch women consume about 125 grams of vegetables and 115 grams of fruit a day. Whereas the Dutch recommendations are 250 grams of vegetables and 200 grams of fruit!

The effect

The poor diet is why Western-Europeans consume a lot of saturated fats and not enough fibers, which causes overweight and lifestyle diseases. Did you know that in the Netherlands almost half (49,2%) of the adult population is overweight?

A plant based diet

The plant based diet mostly contains unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats. Next to that it’s rich in fibers and it meets the recommendations of health organizations more often. It’s nutrient dense and has less kilocalories. On top of that, eating plant based lowers the cholesterol and reduces the risk of coronary diseases and diabetes.

Fruits and vegetables

According to American research you win three life years by eating at least five pieces of fruits and vegetables each day. Another research, by the Imperial College London, recommends ten pieces of fruits or vegetables each day to promote good health.

NiceDay: Look for a plant based recipe and plan to cook this in your Daily Planner. Also plan a moment to take some extra fruits or vegetables.