“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken.”
I’ve been studying human physiology and disease pathology for the last 4.5 years. A part of that study has been dedicated to observing the practices of the longest living people on Earth. Our centenarians. Groups of people that live in these specific five places called Blue Zones.
1. Okinawa, Japan
2. Sardinia, Italy
3. Nicoya, Costa Rica
4. Ikaria, Greece
5. Loma Linda, California.
There are a number of things that they have in common. One of them is a whole-food/plant-based diet. To be a little more specific, people in these so-called Blue Zones typically eat a 95% plant-based diet that’s rich in legumes, whole grains, vegetables, and nuts, all of which can help reduce the risk of death.
Strangely…None of these groups are fruitarians.
In late 2020, I was introduced to a practice called Natural Hygiene. The natural hygiene diet is a system of healthy living whereby moral, physical, and environmental pollution is strictly avoided, and natural, healthy food is chosen in preference over processed foods. The principle is to provide everything the body needs to be healthy and to avoid anything that may hinder health and well-being.
One of the hallmarks of this system, as it is practiced today, is a diet that primarily consists of juicy sweet fruit and gentle leafy greens. Small amounts of nuts and seeds are also on the approved list. This system also tends to focus on a practice called food combining and also the opposite which is mono-meals where only one kind of fruit is eaten until the consumer is full and then rotating through a variety of fruits and gentle leafy greens.
I have been practicing this way of eating for the past year myself and have found it to be very VERY beneficial in its ability to help the body heal and cleanse itself from the inside out. This will always be a part of my dietary practice.
But is eating this way what the human body needs to find its way to its fullest potential of living to 120 years and possibly well beyond to a place above 144 with a body that looks no more than today’s middle age?
I cannot say for sure, because there are no models that exist outside of religious texts that demonstrate this much less suggest this. And those practitioners that have been promoting this way of eating over the last 100-150 years have never themselves accomplished our fullest human longevity potential, much less in large communities. Or even small groups for that matter. Most haven’t even lived any longer than any average Joe that didn’t have any particular practice, but those in the Blue Zones have.
For me, I will continue on looking for better answers, and practicing what I preach. I will be continually pressing into the practices of what I can observe is working in the each and everyday practices of those that also practice what they preach. But I will not be so stubborn as to ignore the proofs that exist in our day in favor of rigid structures of beliefs in contrast to actual evidence of that which actually brings forth fruit.
I will continue to learn, grow and adapt. A wise man I knew once said, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken.” Thanks for the wisdom Chuck(Smith).