my best friend is from ikaria and he told me a statistic that they have 4 goats per person on the island !!! you also have to say about their very slow pace .
I was in the US Navy and we visited Greece in the late 1970's. What I noticed was the relaxed and very personal community lifestyle, especially in the smaller cities. They gathered in the evening for talking, playing card games, dancing, and other social interaction. Of course, back then there were no iphones or other distracting technologies. Just people interacting with people.
So true. I believe the single fact of Greece's longevity is found in one word; Community. I still can't keep my eyes or ears off of this wonderful woman!
Greek here. I would be incredibly surprised if there was a region in Greece where they don't eat meat. Meat is a huge part of Greek food culture.. Heck our most famous dishes are meat based. That being said, in the every day home cooking life, at least where i live in northern greece we eat meat only 2 times a week at most. I guess it varies from house to house and region to region but meat is a big thing in food culture here. If it wasn't vegetarian diets,options and restaurants would be much more available, which they aren't. Im a vegetarian and it wasn't until recent years that this idea of vegetarian and vegan diet became more popular here. Especially in special days and celebrations, a feast without meat is unheard of. In easter especially its a national tradition to eat lamp and all kinds of meats.We have a lot of dishes who are plant based, meat-free etc and are a big part of the food culture as well, but nothing is excluded and everything is usually balanced. Greek diet consists of pretty much everything.
When you say, you eat meat only a couple times per week, what type of meat are you referring to? Fish, beef, lamb, goat, or ? (When you used to eat meat.)
@@amysho2192 We would usually eat fish at Tuesday or Wednesday and then Sunday would be the beef-pork-chicken day of the week. The rest of the days it's plant based meals (like lentils,beans,yemista etc). Usually it's chicken and beef, pork not so often.
Italian here. Meat being a big part of the culture is true, but that doesnt mean we eat meat everyday. A couple of times a week like you said. My grandmother used to tell me that when they ate meat on sundays they had to kill a whole animal and share it around the whole village
I think in the poorer parts of the mainland, like the Peloponnese, they ate little meat historically, but that certainly has changed now. Bread, cheese, olives, wild “horta”… Certainly it’s different today in many ways. I went to Greece for the first time in 1975: you hardly saw fat people, especially men. Nowadays I think in 2000 Greece had the highest rate of child obesity in Europe? It was sad to see.
Sounds reasonable. How about eggs and dairy? Are they consumed on a daily basis? I would be interested to know what a typical breakfast, lunch, and dinner look like on a non-meat day.
I think based off my little research that I have done, the reason the blue zones have longer lived people isn’t dependent upon the diet of the people but rather the quality of their lives. They live slower, more socially connected lives. They are active throughout the day, they spend more time outside than most people. The diets of all the blue zones are different in various ways, but none are exclusively plant based.
True people like to think its just one thing that will change your health when in reality its a whole life style. I don't know many people that would give up there fast paced life to heard sheep/goats in the hills of some island.
@krystelhardesty9960 this is true. But the myth makers want everyone to believe blue zones exist because they eat little to no meat. And that is the one and only reason for long happy life. Not only an exaggeration, but an outright lie. 😕
It’s both the diet and the lifestyle. If the diet wasn’t important, the Mediterranean diet (a diet known to be a healthy choice for scores of people) wouldn’t exist.
I am Greek from Thessaloniki, and would comment that the Greek diet is balanced. Yes, we eat fish, chicken, lamb, rarely ate beef growing up, but ate tons of salads with tomatoes, cucumbers, tons of youghut with honey and walnuts, tons of olives and olive oil, and cheese. We also ate lentils and pasta. Growing up we did not eat meat every day. I am 55 years old and a fitness enthusiast. Tried the carnivore diet and got fed up with eating red meat every day. It just does not feel natural.
Same age as you George. What stands out for me most about what you said you ate is the lack of processed foods. I grew up in a low income house in the UK. We ate mostly home cooked food but more and more processed as time went on. By the time I had left home most of my diet was ready meals and quick meals like pasta/pizza/rice dishes. That's when weight gain and health issues started. Cutting out grains, sugar and anything but foods found in nature 8 years ago turned that all around. Today and for the last 4 years I eat 80- 90% animal foods (lots of red meat/organs) and fruit makes up most of the rest apart from some honey,tiny bit veg and some wine😋.
I have found Greeks eat more from each "food group" than most cultures, and I speak of this often. There are places in Greece (and seasons) in which I see variations. Ikaria is one of these.
Just saw your interview with Dr. Paul Saladino and had to check out the more detailed footage. Debunking the blue zones has become a hobby of mine, because as a health coach I see so many people with misconceptions about what a healthy diet should look like. Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely love and appreciate your work, and so accurate!!! 👍 I live in NY but I'm originally from Portugal where I lived until I was 12. The way of life back then was pretty much like Ikaria. We ate fish if you were close to the ocean, raised pigs (which we ate nose to tail and it was preserved in salt for winter) chickens, cheese was always around, and people walked everywhere. Not so much like that today.
I live in the Alentejo region in Portugal, it is almost impossible to find vegetarian food unless in a major city, people eat meat constantly! But they also eat a lot of sugar combined with fat (bad combo), and a lot of alcohol, so unfortunately very unhealth these days. I believe people were incredibly healthy before the advent of sugar and probably ate a shit ton of meat.
Thanks for the perspective. I appreciate that you took the time to learn about the culture before commenting on it. I remember eating all kinds of organ meats on my grandparents farm when I would visit.
Thank you for making this amazing videos about Ikaria. It’s tragic how people have misrepresented the Mediterranean diet over the past 50 years, mostly to sell cheaper more profitable products. Your videos help people rediscover what the true Mediterranean diet really is
Good point . We need more people rediscovering traditional Mediterranean life style diets. Americans have completely distorted this subject from the other side of the Atlantic and many of them never traveled outside America. Also huge part of long life is life style, exercise low stress low pollution and family and comunity connections which all so called blue zones have. Places far from the cities and that have not been yet introduced to westernized junk processed food live longer. That’s pretty much it
@@YVM3311 Ya true. The so called “blue zones” all have one main thing in common, they’ve been relatively unaffected by modernized Western society. They’re still eating their traditional foods, prepared traditional ways. I just hate the framing by American nutritionists of what they think the true “Med diet” really is. It’s not just olive oil and beans as they present it, it’s fatty lamb meat, fresh seafood and pecorino romano too
Mary, as sad as it sounds, I long for a day when I shine with the contentment and health you display daily. It really is my only goal for my next 47 years. I have never known that calm you exude.
As a Greek American (dad moved to the US in his 20s from a small village in northern Greece) who spent many summers in Greece and ate mostly Greek food at home, I would say that this video is limited. Only restaurants are ate at in this video , not at the homes of locals. At my home, we did have meat but it wasn't the main dish, it accompanied many other dishes including salad, cooked greens, gigantes, feta, yogurt and lots of bread. I think that the laid back lifestyle, limited processed foods, family connections, lots of walking and sense of purpose is what makes for such a happy life. When I would visit, my Greek friends and cousins would ask me to join them for walks through the hilly village. That is what we did for fun. People met at the coffee shop daily in the afternoon, and we always had breakfast on the balcony with the sun coming up. Laundry was hung outside and naps were taken after lunch (which was ate outside on the balcony too). I think it is less about some magical food and more about a lifestyle.
I wonder if it’s not the lack of meat that keeps people healthy, but rather the quality of the meat, being locally raised using traditional methods. I suspect that is something worth looking into.
Yes, I would say pasture raised, fresh meat is what keeps these people in particular, happy. I know that’s what my diet consists of, Fresh Meat, particularly Red Meat and I feel the healthiest I’ve ever been. Quality matters most!!
There's also an incredible vibe to Ikaria. Completely silent, calm, relaxed, and safe. You hear the waves, the trees, the birds, and nothing else. I went to a beach there that was backed by a tall cliff. There was nothing artificial anywhere to be seen, just sky and sea and stone. I felt like I was the only person on the planet. If we all lived in such peaceful, natural surroundings, we could probably eat Krispy Kreme donuts every day and still live to be 100.
Something you misunderstand here is that the main food of the islands are vegetables and fish, the meat for the locals are every Sunday and at the festivals, but the island with tourism must serve meat for tourists
I guarantee I was more surprised than you are, as I have been living in Greece for years. This island is not for tourists. This island is unlike other Greek islands in that the sea is rough. The Ikarians eat far less fish than most Greeks. Meat has been eaten everyday in each of the houses I have visited.
@@MaryRuddick777 Sorry but your study of restaurants and coasts is missing the boat. The blue zone centenarians are in the hills not on the coast or close to restaurants. They eat from their gardens and fields. They are extremely self sufficient, and they eat a lot of beans. The reason they don't eat meat as much, is not ideological, its economical and practical. If they eat goat regularly they need large herds, they don't have enough food for large herds, most have only a few goats. They are too precious to eat often, as they provide the milk. I had a very old grand parents who lived to 90+ and they were the same. When I was given a slice beef at the Sunday meal at their house, it was cut about as thin as a cold cut today. The science is in as well, a variety of beans and vegetables, and red wine, all support gut biome, which friendly bacteria boosts the immune system, and reduces diseases of inflammation. Excessive meat eating brings in more bad bacteria leading to increased inflammation (this is hard to miss in the literature). A key of the blue zone centenarian is extremely low inflammation. The science debunks your claim of having talked to persons of low inflammation. You did not get to the more self sufficient centenarians. I suggest you visit those with the large gardens and few goats, then review their inflammation markers.
@@robertshaw1635 the body doesn ' t lie, plants are poison for most of the sickest people. That is my experience and almost everyone i know that almost died from a disease have the same experience. There is a reason for that if plant based diet were the optimal diet for human plants would be able to heal us from the worst disease which is not the case. We can tolerate some plants if we are healthy but an animal based diet or a carnivore diet is needed for healthy longevity. Otherwise people don t live long or they have health problem at the very least at the end of their lives
I'm having trouble understanding what point you think you're making. You accused her of eating in tourist trap restaurants - she told you Ikaria is not a place for tourists (this is true, I've been there myself. It was the least touristy place I visited in Greece. And places which are catering to tourists don't typically serve pig face or stewed liver.). Then you say that the real centenarians are not to be found eating in restaurants, but up in the hills. She already told you that she ate with the locals in their homes, not just in restaurants. Then you make a very confused argument about her claims about low inflammation people and your own beliefs about who has low inflammation. Your point was so unclear that I can't tell if you were trying to agree or disagree with her? If you want to proclaim that beans and vegetables are your ideal foods, just say so. It seems instead that you are nitpicking superficial aspects of the presentation simply because you don't like the conclusions that Mary has reached.
As a biologist I truly appreciate your deeper dive into the topic of health . I say health because you are illustrating diet is just one aspect. I have also heard about the seasonal diet changes. I would like to pose the thought that the seasonality may really just be a diversity of diet which could mean if the year around diet were consumed daily it could have a similar benefit. Of course seasonality also means vine/tree ripened which tends to produce the best nutrition. In my realm of habitats and ecology there are always deeper levels of understanding to achieve with longer and closer examinations. Cheers!
I am from a mediterranean island near greece and there are good number of centenarians here. Today yes if there is no fish or meat every day lonch and dinner then its considered not so good. My grandmother on the other hand when shee was young they ate mostly fish, sometimes lentils, beans and dairy, but usualy chicken was reserved only for sundays. Red meat maybe once a month. That being said red meat and eggs was considered luxuries in other words the more the better. New generations definitely are not suffering worse health because of meat, we can all se that today people eat too much processed carbs and sugars and not enough movement. I live on Island and here its rare to be fat, people who come from nearby city they are mostly fat.
This was so interesting to watch Mary! Maybe you can go to Costa Rica next? It would be interesting if you had a conversation with Paul Saladino since he also dispels myths about the blue zone regions. Also I think you need your own Blue Zone traveling show :)
Thank you! That would be wonderful! I am planning on finishing my Blue Zone tour after travel restrictions lift. In the meantime, I am headed to Africa with Paul in February!
@@MaryRuddick777 I'm so excited for you! I still trying to learn how to incorporate aspects of this lifestyle and really want to move away from California but it's hard to decide where
Call it “Into the Blue, with Mary Ruddick”. It would be great if you could sneak into the kitchens to learn some popular dishes for us to try back home.
I belong to the Society of Actuaries ( Im not an actuary). Dan Buettner gave the keynote lecture at our conference. I had the chance to speak with him before he departed to Greece. I mentioned that the Orthodox keep a fasting schedule that accounts for almost half the days in a year. They abstain from meat, eggs and dairy and fish without a backbone. Fish is allowed on some days more so during the Nativity Fast then the Easter Fast. There are other rules and restrictions. Of course not everyone is religious there or strictly keeps the fast but I think it needs to be factored in when analyzing their diet. Buettner was grumpy.
we ( French riviera Alps. Corsica, Italy, Greece) don't fast that much and non clerical citizen still reach 100. I think our "secret" is the opposite of restriction it is equilibrium
Yes. I have seen the same all over the world and throughout many regions of Europe. It is part of why I find this fascination with "Blue Zones" rather silly@@hugtango
To me, if someone is grumpy it tells me that their "diet" is not optimal. An optimal diet provides us with the building blocks to produce all of our feel-good chemicals. The unmodernized tribes I visit around the world display the very definition of regal. They are the opposite of reactive. Living in Greece for so many years, I have seen many fasting seasons. In my experience, the Greeks are eating fish during the fasting seasons now. I cannot speak for the past, and there are always variations by village and by person, but this is what I have seen.
Thank you for your research and work! You make this world a better place. I'm a physician trying to spread the word about animal-based diets, avoidance of seed oils and refined carbohydrates, but 99% of my patients don't want to hear it. Maybe it's because i'm a pulmonologist and they don't expect a lung specialist giving nutritional advice. But i shall continue educating my patients.
Maybe you should not educate your patience but yourself. Science is clearly not in your side and what you are advising is dangerous. It seems the patience that don’t want to hear about it are better educated.
@@juliawls I think you have a very strong agenda judging from your name, "eat plants", not a good thing to have name your account after something not grounded in much good research at all.
@@sealishproductions not much research? Have you checked the studies? There are thousands of randomized studies with control groups which support this. So yes, I do clearly have an agenda. This reminds me of the doctors still smoking and saying it was healthy even though the science was already there showing the opposite. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified processed meat and meat as carcinogenic. Not to speak of heart disease, auto immune disease and diabetes which can be reversed on a whole food plant based diet. Please do your homework and instead of relying on youtubers and google check the studies. They are public and available to all. … and all of this not speaking of the environmental, pandemic promoting and cruelty aspects of animal farming.
@@juliawls the fact that you bring up the WHO proves to me that you actually don't have any good scientific literature to share, give me one good study on how meat is a carcinogen and how it causes heart disease plz. Also for your information the the American Heart Association recently changed their view on saturated fat, saying there is no evidence that it is bad for health. I think its clear to say, that you have not done research properly, and also there are podcasts of people talking about this stuff, where they review actual scientific literature and link it in the bio for anyone to inspect. I also do not understand what you mean by animal cruelty, i live near a farm with cows on it, and they are grazing and lounging around like no ones business. So when it is time for slaughter, I can imagine a bullet to the brain being not very painful at all, in fact I think it would be a very painless death, instead of dying from starvation or mawling by other wild animals, as that's what you vegans are promoting. Also to say that meat CAUSES diabetes is extremely ridiculous and shows to me that you have no understanding of the how the body works. Almost all disease is caused by energy inefficiency, either inside the mitochondria or in one of the conversion pathways, or absorption paths of food. This is caused by eating, grains which causes leaky gut and endotoxin, as for seed oils or any other inflammatory food, they damage the mitochondria and therefore cause metabolic inefficiency. Its not the sugar per say that causes diabetes, its what you've had with that sugar, the seed oils, the grains, etc. It can be said the same with meat.
Mary, thank you for everything you do and share with us. 🙏🏻 please continue, this information is so needed,. Maybe a documentary in your future? You are appreciated.
Half Italian, grew up in Nizza on the Mediterranean Sea. For my grand-parents (born in 1910s), a fresh meat meal was not everyday. They were peasants, and ate lots of greens, veggies, legumes, olives, olive oil, seasonal fruits, home made red wine they drank with water. They would have eggs when the hens layed the eggs. Some dry cheese. Fish from time to time. Fresh meat was a LUXURY then, reserved for for wealthy people. Peasants would prepare salted meat (pork, rabbit) : it was dry and it was supposed to last all winter. Most of the time, peasants relied on their animals in order to have milk, eggs, wool and help in the fields (it also took a long time to fatten a pig). They sold the eggs/cheese/wool/vegetables (that they cultivated with the help of their farm animals) on the market. Fresh meat was to celebrate a rare occasion, and was a big deal. In the 60s, meat became more available and everybody wanted to have the posh lifestyle and eat meat everyday. But as you can see, the original blue zone diet of Nizza was way more plants than meat.
At least this is an honest take, from someone with first-hand knowledge. I actually really liked the recent documentary series on Netflix about the Blue Zones, but it clearly had a vegan agenda. Which bummed me out, because the only way we will ever get the full benefit of learning to live this way (for those who want to) we need the truth, not someone's idealogy. I definitely believed that all the official blue zones have a diet that relied heavily, or even mainly, on plants/beans/legumes and even in some of them some grains/grasses like corn or rice. But it was just dishonest to claim they NEVER ate any animal products I was like, "why are these people doing all this work, raising all these goats and sheep, and in Nicoya they raise head of cattle, for no reason other than to be busy?" lol. I knew they were at least eating the eggs from the chickens running around, and they had to be consuming some of the milk (probably raw) and even making cheese with the other animals. I figured maybe they slaughter them for meat, once they were no longer able to produce milk and/or offspring. And fish. Islanders don't just pluck seaweed out of the ocean, they'd surely have some fish/shelfish? And in Okinawa, they actually eat pork I believe a few times a week.
I think many points were missed. I visited Ikaria myself and had a chance to talk to the locals. A huge component the new gen has is the SUGAR drinks. The other was the starvation of the past. Being a super poor island there was limited pleasurable food, but just the basics. We see the same in many blue zones.
Thanks, Mary. I love the food and lifestyle of the Ikarians. After watching your video it makes me want to visit! And I look forward to seeing more of your videos. PS. I saw your chat with Paul S. Yours is an amazing story. Have a lovely day! :)
Elena Paravantes (also a nutritionist) from Olive Tomato blog who grew up in & currently lives in Greece is adamant that they ate/eat mostly of beans & veggies with meat once-twice/week. Makes sense that poorer areas traditionally have not eaten as much meat,
Thank you for sharing. I’m an American Greek and have been to the mainland and several islands. Meat is a huge part of the Greek diet. Along with, as you mentioned cheese and wine. 😁
I absolutely LOVE THIS!! 🙏🙏 so valuable! Thank you for your effort Mary, I would love to see also other blue zones - Sardinia, Okinawa etc - it that on your bucket list? 🙏😊🌸
P.S. Okinawa had been the only Blue Zone that I had not spent significant time in thus far. I'm currently sitting on 7 years worth of footage from all of my Blue Zone research & research in 70+ indigenous communities across 6 continents. Time is a factor at the moment, as well as my priorities (clients health is always first when I get back into wifi zones, rather than clipping film footage). I do have film editing on my docket though!
Thanks for bringing us the truth about their diet. Why are we continually lied too about proper nutrition in the western world?🤔😡. Thankfully there are a growing group of people, like yourself, spreading truth! Btw, your happiness is infectious and we really enjoy listening to you😊❤️
I don't think traditional Ikarian diet has a lot of meat, maybe younger generations eat more meat, but older people used to eat meat only at Xmas and big holidays, no more than once per month. I think the secret is the pace of life and the vegetarian based nutrition.
😮 wow. Thank you for revealing some myths on the blue zone Ikaria. I purchased 2 books written by a well known author (that had a tv show as well) on the Ikarian diet. These books dis not capture the full scope of the Ikarian diet. While the recipes are good (I like the longevity soup), I got the false impression that meat was rarely eaten. I have been to Santorini, and would like to visit Ikaria. I would like to see if I can purchase wines from Ikaria here in America, but I am doubtful I can find them. I like the wines from Santorini and mainland Greece. Your video has changed my perspective on the Ikaria diet - I love goat and pork. I think you have also revealed the importance of other factors that impact longevity - gardening, slower pace of life, the wine without preservatons and no pasteurization, the hot thermal waters despite the toxic radon. There may be genetic factors as well. A researcher has also exposed some myths with other blue zones, in particular not finding birth certificates to back up claims of old age. In any event, thank you so much for a great video. I now have a better understanding of the Ikarian diet whick I have included in my diet. 🙏🙏🙏
Mary, I first heard you several years ago in an interview with Pamela Kippola. From that moment, my healing journey shifted and I was really hopeful that you’d make more videos. I’m so happy to see your channel flourishing....you’re a healing star. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise. Blessings!
Hey Mary, Just discovered you from Paul Saladino's UA-cam channel. Love your story and message. Will be following you from now on. Keep preaching the truth, with your infectious positive attitude!
Thank you for this. There is a new documentary on Netflix about the blue zones - and they really focus in that film on a plant-based diet (lots of grains and beans especially). I have many food sensitivities to beans, gluten, etc. and it’s hard for me to eat those foods without significant discomfort. I feel fine eating whole food/organic animal products but sometimes worry that it’s not the best for my health when I hear so much about the plant based diets in these areas. Thank you for your work, talking to local residents, and getting this information out. Whole Foods, sunshine, a sense of community, and being active seems best for health ❤
I too tried the Blue Zones/Mediterranean Vegan Diet for a while. Beans, lentils, grains; lectin, phytates, and oxalate heavy foods really tore-up my gut. I'm now doing a loose version of GAPS: eating meat, animal fats, little vegetables, little fruit, sauerkraut; basically whole, real foods. I cannot tolerate dairy, so I steer clear of that for now. I'm still learning.
So you’re buying into the propaganda that animal products are bad for you and your health? Netflix is promoting liberalism. Liberalism is a Disease. Meat is the cure, Vegetables are a Death Sentence. Veggies contain toxins, meat does not. I would steer clear of anything but Fresh Meat, Fresh Eggs, Fresh Dairy, and Organic Fruit only. It’s the closest to a “Biblical Diet.”
Thank you SO much for sharing the truth about the Blue Zones and what true healthy nutrition and lifestyle choices are, Mary! I'm learning SO much from you! You are a gift from God!
Thank you so much Mary! I loved seeing Greece, hearing your words of wisdom regarding health and longevity. I am half Greek and could never understand why I could not eat the cucumbers, green peppers, etc. in a greek salad! XOX!!
I suspect there is more than diet at play in the longevity of the Ikarian's. Environmental factors (clean air, sunshine etc.), favorable genetics, and happiness combined with less stress, and number of hours they sleep likely played an important role as well.
Judging what local centerians eat by what the local restaurant serves seems odd to me. Many many tourists come to this Island so of course the food will be basically Greek. I visited the blue zone in Costa Rica and one of the first things you see as you drive the peninsula is a KFC joint that does not mean that the healthy old people grew up eating fried chicken. We also visited the Blue zone villages in Sardinia. Same thing there the restaurant serve regular Italian fare not the meals people grew up eating 100 years ago. I am not a vegetarian myself but half of my wives family lives in Lomalinda CA. They are all 100 % vegetarian as are most of the Adventists that live there and they are the longest living people in the US as a group.
Loved your interview with Paul last week! It truly was the best interview he’s done on his podcast. I listened twice. Can’t wait to see how the Africa trip goes. So excited for you all!
For more fascinating "Blue Zones" information by the radiant Mary Ruddick, check out her two-part discussion with Brian Sanders on his "Peak Human" podcast: Part 1: ua-cam.com/video/t_Ud_sL05Ws/v-deo.html Part 2: ua-cam.com/video/IzkYAIcNZr0/v-deo.html
@@kateaye3506 Same here. She's awesome. Here's another neat "Blue Zones" resource, if you're interested: benjamindavidsteele.wordpress.com/2019/05/28/blue-zones-dietary-myth
@@karlhungus5554 Stop the flouride, which causes Thyroid snags, Brain snags and Brittle Bones. The u.n. labels the industrial waste as a "nutrient". No kidding. Must detox. It accumulates! Drink distilled water, only. Suggestions.
I understand from people who live there that the western influence is creeping in - especially with the younger generations. Also, the diets that were more plant based have to do with WWII privation - however, I would not read restaurant menus for any concept of everyday eating - generally restaurants are for special food, special occasions & I imagine in Ikaria most especially for the tourist. Those who live there & do in depth travel/food vlogs, blogs & books, those who are hanging with families & in remote regions more or less back the 'blue zone' concept - I will say though that your average article tends to just ignore that they do indeed eat dairy, almost every meal!, & add in meat/animal to dishes frequently, plus seafood, & usually a family roast every weekend & then there's the saint day feasts which are epic! I've read some ideas of the 'blue zone' diets & they will have people eating edamame!!! So ridiculous.... Thank you for video - dream of mine to visit Ikaria :)
Thank you for this lovely video and interview, Mary! This 'real food' diet as part of their whole lifestyle makes so much more sense! I live in Oregon's Willamette Valley, and am fortunate to have access to many of the same food choices - our Farmers Markets provide lamb and pork raised on local pastures, plus an abundance of organically grown vegetables and fruit in season. I also use organ meat (my lamb Farber teases that I'm one of the few customers w/o an accent who buys those! I use a Greek recipe for lamb tongue!) I get eggs from my neighbor's urban free range chickens, and also garden. I enjoy growing unusual (to us) heritage produce. I also make yogurt and kombucha, and sometimes mead. (And occasionally have some of the local wine) We're at ~ 45th parallel - so a lot less winter sun! My mother-in love passed in 2019 at 103 - and was Scottish and Dutch (born and raised in Oregon), and was a botanist, who studied and classified many of our native earthworms (!) She also gardened for many years, and canned a minestrone type mix of tomatoes summer squash and beans that we added to rice and lentils in the winter. My dad hunted, as does my son, so I grew up with venison and trout, produce from our garden, and raw milk from the dairy across the street. My dad's brother Ole made it to nearly 103 - he lived in a small community near the ocean (Washington state) with a similar mostly real food mixed diet - he hunted into his 90s! I do enjoy the awareness the Blue Zones project has brought to the 'whole lifestyle' - which was common in many more rural societies, world wide, until recently! Access to a range of whole foods and food water, spending time with family and friends, music (my dad sang in choirs, and I play harp and attend an active, loving church) movement (gardening, walking, dance, tai Chi) and feeling there's purpose to one's life all contribute to health and happiness!
Hi Mary, I just started following you after your interviews and live with Harry Serpanos. I am wanting to make Russian Custard, but the GAPS recipe I have found is only egg yokes and honey. You mentioned adding cream and vanilla but no "sugar". What is the ratio between egg yolks and cream? Many thanks, and I look forward to more videos from you and collaborations with Harry!
the direct source from the island says that centenarians DO NOT eat in those restaurants and rarely shop in supermarkets. They live in remote areas , grow and eat their own food . So, I am not sure your story makes sense.
That may be. Many Greeks do not eat out often or use "grocery stores" outside of cities. Do be mindful that "not often" does not mean "ever." Even in America, it was unusual for adults to eat out more than once a month until the last three decades. When I speak of restaurants on Ikaria, I am speaking of something that looks very different than most of us are use to.. it is usually a few tables under a tree outside of a family's house. The grandmother is cooking in the house, and there is not usually a menu. There are usually few options (an appetizer, a main or two, and sides if it is a warm season). Dessert is usually fruit (if in season) or yogurt. Many of these "restaurants" had very old patrons sitting under the tree slowly drinking wine. They would often walk home for meals, but not always.
Did I miss in your video when you interview the centenarians about their particular diet? Or you are attributing to them the diet of the common people within the Blue Zone?
Thank you for showing what they ACTUALLY eat! The books and recipes out there are misleading. Life is balance and they eat balance and live a balance life.
I watched this for a few minutes. My Greek family never ate pig organs or the things you showed in a restaurant. Mostly a plant based diet with some fish and chicken and maybe lamb on special occasions. I can't speak for the younger generation. They all lived into their 90's. It's a life style of walking and socialization along with diet.
At the end she says people eat meat with every meal and everyday. Yet the interview with the guy translating he says they eat meat 4 to 5 times a week. Every meal and everyday would 21 times a week.
@@ninguemjao1519 that's fine if it's true. But that's not what was said and if your a nutritionist the devil is in the details. My problem with this particular video is that it's not showing the whole truth. If you go to Okinawa right now where there's a blue zone. You'll find fast food restaurants and alot of fat Okinawans. That dosent mean they've got to 100 on fast food. Yes the restaurants on Ikaria were serving meat based traditional meals. But the island come along way. And meat would have been much more seldom in the past. Plus some of that is about serving to tourists. They hardly used to have fish because most of the inhabitants lived inland to escape pirates. It seems it's all in how you chose to report things or look at them and through what filters and what presumptions. It's easy to ignore small aspects. The researchers for the Blue Zones book spent a lot of time with locals and I feel give a much more level idea of what people really ate.
@@Δενβρισκωνικ Many of the facts about longevity secrets came from talking to people who were 100 years old and teasing out the particulars about theres lives and diets. How do you feel the lifestyles of the Centenarians differed from today? Is longevity decreasing in those areas due to changes?
Wonderful video, thanks! I have a personal question: are you today totally pain free after your long illness? Or do you despite occasional pain manage to have such a wonderful smiling and happy attitude? I wish i could do that too 🙂
Thanks for this video, you also have a wonderful atittude it makes it very nice as well !! I would love my parents to see this and understand, but they dont speak english. Have you thoght about some subtitles ? Spanish, Italian ? Very good information that needs to be spread :)
I would love to know how to become a patient of yours Mary. I’ve been doing the carnivore diet for almost 3 months to heal my skin and I’m feeling so discouraged. I ended up with skin issues after getting Covid, the emergency doctor put me on 50mg of steroids and I think that’s what caused my issue. I’ve been told it’s eczema and the psoriasis back in forth, the doctors just don’t seem to really know. They want me to take biologics but I’m sure there has to be a natural way to heal my body. I think you have so much wisdom in nutrition and the healing ability of food.
The simple answer is dont do the carnivore diet. I was diagnosed with severe gallbladder disease in my 20s and almost died. But I switched to a low fat vegan diet and my health DRAMATICALLY improved. I stopped all of my symptoms and gallbladder inflammation decreased dramatically. I went from almost needing emergency surgery, to feeling normal again. Look in to plant based Drs like Dr McDougall. They talk about skin issues.
Hi Mary. I love your work and your radiant smile - it's magic! Can't wait till you post some of your African tribe footage. You are like the 21st century Weston Price! I got a quick question I was hoping you could answer for me, drawing from your vast personal and clinical experience. I have been trying a Weston Price style high fat diet for years, but always lose too much weight and get tired from it. My wife does fabulous on it, but as soon as I take out the starches, I lose energy and weight. I do have sxs associated with HPA axis dysregulation or adrenal fatigue or whatever they call it these days. Chris Kresser says low carb is not a good idea for such people, but I always think that ketosis should be the ancestral norm for humans. Is an ancestral style food low-carb high fat/protein diet not for everyone? Thanks!
I would like to see the government policies on farming practices using glyphosate like products that Americans typically use. I don't necessarily think it is the way the food is prepared but more so that the food in certain places is safe from toxic chemicals used in firming practices. Is also, large manufacturing of food completely depletes the nutrient contents thereof
I agree. I think we are going to be settled where we live for many years, so I want to start setting up my little plot of land to be able to grow some veggies for us, also raise some chickens and quails, and even grow some stuff indoors, like herbs and maybe some other veggies inside during the harsh winters. I'd also really like a goat or two, for milk (and they keep the grass mown!) Most of our property is hillside though, it needs cleared but I'd love to turn the hillside into a big garden. And get some organic seeds because you are right, the produce we have today (at least here in the states) is not the same produce we had even 50 years ago.
Really? 1) You explained that the younger generation is not as healthy as the centenarians, 2) you use a menu from a modern taverna as evidence that it’s not the diet that contributes to their longevity. Well, don’t you think that it is the younger generation that dines in the tavernas and the very old stick to their older meagre diet?
This a small snippet of footage from my time there. More will be released later. What I have seen is animal food consumption decrease (dairy, egg, meat, fish) and potato consumption increase. This is true in the home and in the restaurants.
I also noticed this idiosyncrasie, looking at a local restaurant menu is the wrong to have a fair idea of the local diet, in the restaurant they serve the sunday meals not the everyday ones. The sure way to shorten your life is to eat every day at the restaurant.
Hi! Thank you for this wonderful and informative video. I am visiting Ikaria for the first time and would love to go the restaurant you mentioned with the pork liver, pig head stew and goat in lemon sauce. 120 year old restaurant I believe you said. Could you tell me where it is? We are staying in Therma. We really want to eat the traditional cuisine. I am a WAP member and have been following Dr. Price's principles for years. Thank you for all of your researches and telling the truth about real foods!
I'm glad you commented on the radon - that made me sit up as I lived in a high radon area (Devon in UK) and our homes were inspected to make sure the gas would not be able to accumulate inside. That would not be a problem in a hot place like Ikaria!
Mary! You are a joy to listen to! Your story resonates with me. I'm experiencing long covid and dysautonomia and have been bedridden for 13 months (it hit my gut and brain the hardest). I keep trying to do GAPS introduction and really struggling. My body just does not seem to process fat and protein. Extreme nausea, pain, stagnation, burning GI tract. The only things my body has been able to digest for several months are bananas, raw celery juice and apple juice. I take dessicated organ supplements and do ok with those. Do you think an ox bile supplement is a food option for processing fats and protein? ❤️❤️❤️🐔🐄
Holly, I have the same issue but from a virus in 2017. I cant eat beef, pork, or eggs, or junk food. So I follow what my body is telling me. When I stray, I crash.
Great video, Mary! I'm a holistic doctor, and I suspect that the difference in health between the young and old in Ikaria may have a lot to do with vaccines, especially childhood vaccines, which the younger generation would have received, but not the elderly. It would be great if you could dig into this and see if there is a correlation.
Wondering if the research for the blue zones research was done there during Great Lent or one of the other longer fasting periods. They would be primarily Greek Orthodox there. And for those who follow the traditional fasts of the church, it’s basically vegan (some seafood allowed). There are two long fasting periods, one for seven weeks before Greek Easter, one for about six weeks before Christmas, and a two week one in August. Then there are weekly fasting days, on Wednesdays and Fridays. So during those periods, they would not be eating meat or cheese. If the boys zone research as done during those times, the results would have been misleading.
Mary, this is FANTASTIC! I hope you are able to release more videos like this. Thank you!
my best friend is from ikaria and he told me a statistic that they have 4 goats per person on the island !!! you also have to say about their very slow pace .
Yes! It’s very relaxing to be there!
I was in the US Navy and we visited Greece in the late 1970's.
What I noticed was the relaxed and very personal community lifestyle, especially in the smaller cities.
They gathered in the evening for talking, playing card games, dancing, and other social interaction.
Of course, back then there were no iphones or other distracting technologies. Just people interacting with people.
So true. I believe the single fact of Greece's longevity is found in one word; Community.
1000%
Of course there were no iPhones because there was no cell phones.
So true. I believe the single fact of Greece's longevity is found in one word; Community. I still can't keep my eyes or ears off of this wonderful woman!
Greek here. I would be incredibly surprised if there was a region in Greece where they don't eat meat. Meat is a huge part of Greek food culture.. Heck our most famous dishes are meat based. That being said, in the every day home cooking life, at least where i live in northern greece we eat meat only 2 times a week at most. I guess it varies from house to house and region to region but meat is a big thing in food culture here. If it wasn't vegetarian diets,options and restaurants would be much more available, which they aren't. Im a vegetarian and it wasn't until recent years that this idea of vegetarian and vegan diet became more popular here. Especially in special days and celebrations, a feast without meat is unheard of. In easter especially its a national tradition to eat lamp and all kinds of meats.We have a lot of dishes who are plant based, meat-free etc and are a big part of the food culture as well, but nothing is excluded and everything is usually balanced. Greek diet consists of pretty much everything.
When you say, you eat meat only a couple times per week, what type of meat are you referring to? Fish, beef, lamb, goat, or ? (When you used to eat meat.)
@@amysho2192 We would usually eat fish at Tuesday or Wednesday and then Sunday would be the beef-pork-chicken day of the week. The rest of the days it's plant based meals (like lentils,beans,yemista etc). Usually it's chicken and beef, pork not so often.
Italian here. Meat being a big part of the culture is true, but that doesnt mean we eat meat everyday. A couple of times a week like you said. My grandmother used to tell me that when they ate meat on sundays they had to kill a whole animal and share it around the whole village
I think in the poorer parts of the mainland, like the Peloponnese, they ate little meat historically, but that certainly has changed now. Bread, cheese, olives, wild “horta”… Certainly it’s different today in many ways. I went to Greece for the first time in 1975: you hardly saw fat people, especially men. Nowadays I think in 2000 Greece had the highest rate of child obesity in Europe? It was sad to see.
Sounds reasonable. How about eggs and dairy? Are they consumed on a daily basis? I would be interested to know what a typical breakfast, lunch, and dinner look like on a non-meat day.
I think based off my little research that I have done, the reason the blue zones have longer lived people isn’t dependent upon the diet of the people but rather the quality of their lives. They live slower, more socially connected lives. They are active throughout the day, they spend more time outside than most people. The diets of all the blue zones are different in various ways, but none are exclusively plant based.
True people like to think its just one thing that will change your health when in reality its a whole life style. I don't know many people that would give up there fast paced life to heard sheep/goats in the hills of some island.
@krystelhardesty9960 this is true. But the myth makers want everyone to believe blue zones exist because they eat little to no meat. And that is the one and only reason for long happy life. Not only an exaggeration, but an outright lie. 😕
It’s both the diet and the lifestyle. If the diet wasn’t important, the Mediterranean diet (a diet known to be a healthy choice for scores of people) wouldn’t exist.
We cannot downplay the importance of diet, lifestyle, or mindset. All are of utmost importance.
People in Hong Kong have hectic lives, eat more meat than anyone, and live longer than anyone.
Can't believe this video doesn't have millions of views. Keep up the great work DR.
I am Greek from Thessaloniki, and would comment that the Greek diet is balanced. Yes, we eat fish, chicken, lamb, rarely ate beef growing up, but ate tons of salads with tomatoes, cucumbers, tons of youghut with honey and walnuts, tons of olives and olive oil, and cheese. We also ate lentils and pasta. Growing up we did not eat meat every day. I am 55 years old and a fitness enthusiast. Tried the carnivore diet and got fed up with eating red meat every day. It just does not feel natural.
Same age as you George. What stands out for me most about what you said you ate is the lack of processed foods. I grew up in a low income house in the UK. We ate mostly home cooked food but more and more processed as time went on. By the time I had left home most of my diet was ready meals and quick meals like pasta/pizza/rice dishes. That's when weight gain and health issues started. Cutting out grains, sugar and anything but foods found in nature 8 years ago turned that all around. Today and for the last 4 years I eat 80- 90% animal foods (lots of red meat/organs) and fruit makes up most of the rest apart from some honey,tiny bit veg and some wine😋.
I have found Greeks eat more from each "food group" than most cultures, and I speak of this often. There are places in Greece (and seasons) in which I see variations. Ikaria is one of these.
Living to 100 is not a mystery- no processed foods, plenty of sun, active outdoors, good social life
Sounds like you can't maintain a healthy weight without exercise which is a big "tell".
@@Michael_Lakyou absolutely can. But what is true is no amount of exercise can overcome a poor diet
Just saw your interview with Dr. Paul Saladino and had to check out the more detailed footage. Debunking the blue zones has become a hobby of mine, because as a health coach I see so many people with misconceptions about what a healthy diet should look like. Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely love and appreciate your work, and so accurate!!! 👍 I live in NY but I'm originally from Portugal where I lived until I was 12. The way of life back then was pretty much like Ikaria. We ate fish if you were close to the ocean, raised pigs (which we ate nose to tail and it was preserved in salt for winter) chickens, cheese was always around, and people walked everywhere. Not so much like that today.
Thank you!! I LOVE Portugal!!
Portugal is one of my favorite countries, and food is fantastic. Best pan roasted octopus I have had in a long time.
I live in the Alentejo region in Portugal, it is almost impossible to find vegetarian food unless in a major city, people eat meat constantly! But they also eat a lot of sugar combined with fat (bad combo), and a lot of alcohol, so unfortunately very unhealth these days. I believe people were incredibly healthy before the advent of sugar and probably ate a shit ton of meat.
You should move back
Thanks for the perspective. I appreciate that you took the time to learn about the culture before commenting on it. I remember eating all kinds of organ meats on my grandparents farm when I would visit.
Thank you so much!! Sounds like wonderful fond memories!
Thank you for making this amazing videos about Ikaria. It’s tragic how people have misrepresented the Mediterranean diet over the past 50 years, mostly to sell cheaper more profitable products. Your videos help people rediscover what the true Mediterranean diet really is
Good point . We need more people rediscovering traditional Mediterranean life style diets. Americans have completely distorted this subject from the other side of the Atlantic and many of them never traveled outside America.
Also huge part of long life is life style, exercise low stress low pollution and family and comunity connections which all so called blue zones have. Places far from the cities and that have not been yet introduced to westernized junk processed food live longer. That’s pretty much it
@@YVM3311 Ya true. The so called “blue zones” all have one main thing in common, they’ve been relatively unaffected by modernized Western society. They’re still eating their traditional foods, prepared traditional ways. I just hate the framing by American nutritionists of what they think the true “Med diet” really is. It’s not just olive oil and beans as they present it, it’s fatty lamb meat, fresh seafood and pecorino romano too
I love your nuanced approach. Food is important in context. Small production, communal meals, lack of garbage pumped into the environment
Mary, as sad as it sounds, I long for a day when I shine with the contentment and health you display daily. It really is my only goal for my next 47 years. I have never known that calm you exude.
Thank you!
As a Greek American (dad moved to the US in his 20s from a small village in northern Greece) who spent many summers in Greece and ate mostly Greek food at home, I would say that this video is limited. Only restaurants are ate at in this video , not at the homes of locals. At my home, we did have meat but it wasn't the main dish, it accompanied many other dishes including salad, cooked greens, gigantes, feta, yogurt and lots of bread. I think that the laid back lifestyle, limited processed foods, family connections, lots of walking and sense of purpose is what makes for such a happy life. When I would visit, my Greek friends and cousins would ask me to join them for walks through the hilly village. That is what we did for fun. People met at the coffee shop daily in the afternoon, and we always had breakfast on the balcony with the sun coming up. Laundry was hung outside and naps were taken after lunch (which was ate outside on the balcony too). I think it is less about some magical food and more about a lifestyle.
I wonder if it’s not the lack of meat that keeps people healthy, but rather the quality of the meat, being locally raised using traditional methods. I suspect that is something worth looking into.
Yes, I would say pasture raised, fresh meat is what keeps these people in particular, happy. I know that’s what my diet consists of, Fresh Meat, particularly Red Meat and I feel the healthiest I’ve ever been. Quality matters most!!
There's also an incredible vibe to Ikaria. Completely silent, calm, relaxed, and safe. You hear the waves, the trees, the birds, and nothing else. I went to a beach there that was backed by a tall cliff. There was nothing artificial anywhere to be seen, just sky and sea and stone. I felt like I was the only person on the planet. If we all lived in such peaceful, natural surroundings, we could probably eat Krispy Kreme donuts every day and still live to be 100.
Thank you for taking us with you to Greece, I love it. And thank you for accurate information on the "Blue Zone" there.
your smile is insanely contagious! couldn't help to smile through the video, great work
Nice legs too
Something you misunderstand here is that the main food of the islands are vegetables and fish, the meat for the locals are every Sunday and at the festivals, but the island with tourism must serve meat for tourists
I guarantee I was more surprised than you are, as I have been living in Greece for years. This island is not for tourists. This island is unlike other Greek islands in that the sea is rough. The Ikarians eat far less fish than most Greeks. Meat has been eaten everyday in each of the houses I have visited.
@@MaryRuddick777 Sorry but your study of restaurants and coasts is missing the boat. The blue zone centenarians are in the hills not on the coast or close to restaurants. They eat from their gardens and fields. They are extremely self sufficient, and they eat a lot of beans. The reason they don't eat meat as much, is not ideological, its economical and practical. If they eat goat regularly they need large herds, they don't have enough food for large herds, most have only a few goats. They are too precious to eat often, as they provide the milk. I had a very old grand parents who lived to 90+ and they were the same. When I was given a slice beef at the Sunday meal at their house, it was cut about as thin as a cold cut today. The science is in as well, a variety of beans and vegetables, and red wine, all support gut biome, which friendly bacteria boosts the immune system, and reduces diseases of inflammation. Excessive meat eating brings in more bad bacteria leading to increased inflammation (this is hard to miss in the literature). A key of the blue zone centenarian is extremely low inflammation. The science debunks your claim of having talked to persons of low inflammation. You did not get to the more self sufficient centenarians. I suggest you visit those with the large gardens and few goats, then review their inflammation markers.
@@robertshaw1635 the body doesn ' t lie, plants are poison for most of the sickest people. That is my experience and almost everyone i know that almost died from a disease have the same experience. There is a reason for that if plant based diet were the optimal diet for human plants would be able to heal us from the worst disease which is not the case. We can tolerate some plants if we are healthy but an animal based diet or a carnivore diet is needed for healthy longevity. Otherwise people don t live long or they have health problem at the very least at the end of their lives
I'm having trouble understanding what point you think you're making. You accused her of eating in tourist trap restaurants - she told you Ikaria is not a place for tourists (this is true, I've been there myself. It was the least touristy place I visited in Greece. And places which are catering to tourists don't typically serve pig face or stewed liver.). Then you say that the real centenarians are not to be found eating in restaurants, but up in the hills. She already told you that she ate with the locals in their homes, not just in restaurants.
Then you make a very confused argument about her claims about low inflammation people and your own beliefs about who has low inflammation. Your point was so unclear that I can't tell if you were trying to agree or disagree with her?
If you want to proclaim that beans and vegetables are your ideal foods, just say so. It seems instead that you are nitpicking superficial aspects of the presentation simply because you don't like the conclusions that Mary has reached.
Amazing work!
Thank you!!
As a biologist I truly appreciate your deeper dive into the topic of health . I say health because you are illustrating diet is just one aspect. I have also heard about the seasonal diet changes. I would like to pose the thought that the seasonality may really just be a diversity of diet which could mean if the year around diet were consumed daily it could have a similar benefit. Of course seasonality also means vine/tree ripened which tends to produce the best nutrition. In my realm of habitats and ecology there are always deeper levels of understanding to achieve with longer and closer examinations. Cheers!
I am from a mediterranean island near greece and there are good number of centenarians here.
Today yes if there is no fish or meat every day lonch and dinner then its considered not so good. My grandmother on the other hand when shee was young they ate mostly fish, sometimes lentils, beans and dairy, but usualy chicken was reserved only for sundays. Red meat maybe once a month. That being said red meat and eggs was considered luxuries in other words the more the better.
New generations definitely are not suffering worse health because of meat, we can all se that today people eat too much processed carbs and sugars and not enough movement. I live on Island and here its rare to be fat, people who come from nearby city they are mostly fat.
So interesting ! Beautiful Island. Thank you Mary
This was so interesting to watch Mary! Maybe you can go to Costa Rica next? It would be interesting if you had a conversation with Paul Saladino since he also dispels myths about the blue zone regions. Also I think you need your own Blue Zone traveling show :)
Thank you! That would be wonderful! I am planning on finishing my Blue Zone tour after travel restrictions lift. In the meantime, I am headed to Africa with Paul in February!
@@MaryRuddick777 I'm so excited for you! I still trying to learn how to incorporate aspects of this lifestyle and really want to move away from California but it's hard to decide where
Call it “Into the Blue, with Mary Ruddick”. It would be great if you could sneak into the kitchens to learn some popular dishes for us to try back home.
I belong to the Society of Actuaries ( Im not an actuary). Dan Buettner gave the keynote lecture at our conference. I had the chance to speak with him before he departed to Greece. I mentioned that the Orthodox keep a fasting schedule that accounts for almost half the days in a year. They abstain from meat, eggs and dairy and fish without a backbone. Fish is allowed on some days more so during the Nativity Fast then the Easter Fast. There are other rules and restrictions.
Of course not everyone is religious there or strictly keeps the fast but I think it needs to be factored in when analyzing their diet.
Buettner was grumpy.
we ( French riviera Alps. Corsica, Italy, Greece) don't fast that much and non clerical citizen still reach 100. I think our "secret" is the opposite of restriction it is equilibrium
Because he knew what he was teaching, was not the truth, so dishonest
Yes. I have seen the same all over the world and throughout many regions of Europe. It is part of why I find this fascination with "Blue Zones" rather silly@@hugtango
To me, if someone is grumpy it tells me that their "diet" is not optimal. An optimal diet provides us with the building blocks to produce all of our feel-good chemicals. The unmodernized tribes I visit around the world display the very definition of regal. They are the opposite of reactive.
Living in Greece for so many years, I have seen many fasting seasons. In my experience, the Greeks are eating fish during the fasting seasons now. I cannot speak for the past, and there are always variations by village and by person, but this is what I have seen.
Thank you for your research and work! You make this world a better place. I'm a physician trying to spread the word about animal-based diets, avoidance of seed oils and refined carbohydrates, but 99% of my patients don't want to hear it. Maybe it's because i'm a pulmonologist and they don't expect a lung specialist giving nutritional advice. But i shall continue educating my patients.
Just because they are the majority doesn't mean they are right. Keep doing what you are doing 🙂🍖🐄
Maybe you should not educate your patience but yourself. Science is clearly not in your side and what you are advising is dangerous. It seems the patience that don’t want to hear about it are better educated.
@@juliawls I think you have a very strong agenda judging from your name, "eat plants", not a good thing to have name your account after something not grounded in much good research at all.
@@sealishproductions not much research? Have you checked the studies? There are thousands of randomized studies with control groups which support this. So yes, I do clearly have an agenda. This reminds me of the doctors still smoking and saying it was healthy even though the science was already there showing the opposite. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified processed meat and meat as carcinogenic. Not to speak of heart disease, auto immune disease and diabetes which can be reversed on a whole food plant based diet. Please do your homework and instead of relying on youtubers and google check the studies. They are public and available to all.
… and all of this not speaking of the environmental, pandemic promoting and cruelty aspects of animal farming.
@@juliawls the fact that you bring up the WHO proves to me that you actually don't have any good scientific literature to share, give me one good study on how meat is a carcinogen and how it causes heart disease plz.
Also for your information the the American Heart Association recently changed their view on saturated fat, saying there is no evidence that it is bad for health.
I think its clear to say, that you have not done research properly, and also there are podcasts of people talking about this stuff, where they review actual scientific literature and link it in the bio for anyone to inspect.
I also do not understand what you mean by animal cruelty, i live near a farm with cows on it, and they are grazing and lounging around like no ones business. So when it is time for slaughter, I can imagine a bullet to the brain being not very painful at all, in fact I think it would be a very painless death, instead of dying from starvation or mawling by other wild animals, as that's what you vegans are promoting.
Also to say that meat CAUSES diabetes is extremely ridiculous and shows to me that you have no understanding of the how the body works. Almost all disease is caused by energy inefficiency, either inside the mitochondria or in one of the conversion pathways, or absorption paths of food.
This is caused by eating, grains which causes leaky gut and endotoxin, as for seed oils or any other inflammatory food, they damage the mitochondria and therefore cause metabolic inefficiency.
Its not the sugar per say that causes diabetes, its what you've had with that sugar, the seed oils, the grains, etc.
It can be said the same with meat.
your smiles have brightend up my day 🙂
Thank you Mary for putting aside bias bringing us the real information! Incredible xoxo
Mary, thank you for everything you do and share with us. 🙏🏻 please continue, this information is so needed,. Maybe a documentary in your future? You are appreciated.
Thank you so much! Hopefully so!!
Half Italian, grew up in Nizza on the Mediterranean Sea. For my grand-parents (born in 1910s), a fresh meat meal was not everyday. They were peasants, and ate lots of greens, veggies, legumes, olives, olive oil, seasonal fruits, home made red wine they drank with water. They would have eggs when the hens layed the eggs. Some dry cheese. Fish from time to time. Fresh meat was a LUXURY then, reserved for for wealthy people. Peasants would prepare salted meat (pork, rabbit) : it was dry and it was supposed to last all winter. Most of the time, peasants relied on their animals in order to have milk, eggs, wool and help in the fields (it also took a long time to fatten a pig). They sold the eggs/cheese/wool/vegetables (that they cultivated with the help of their farm animals) on the market. Fresh meat was to celebrate a rare occasion, and was a big deal. In the 60s, meat became more available and everybody wanted to have the posh lifestyle and eat meat everyday. But as you can see, the original blue zone diet of Nizza was way more plants than meat.
At least this is an honest take, from someone with first-hand knowledge. I actually really liked the recent documentary series on Netflix about the Blue Zones, but it clearly had a vegan agenda. Which bummed me out, because the only way we will ever get the full benefit of learning to live this way (for those who want to) we need the truth, not someone's idealogy.
I definitely believed that all the official blue zones have a diet that relied heavily, or even mainly, on plants/beans/legumes and even in some of them some grains/grasses like corn or rice. But it was just dishonest to claim they NEVER ate any animal products
I was like, "why are these people doing all this work, raising all these goats and sheep, and in Nicoya they raise head of cattle, for no reason other than to be busy?" lol. I knew they were at least eating the eggs from the chickens running around, and they had to be consuming some of the milk (probably raw) and even making cheese with the other animals. I figured maybe they slaughter them for meat, once they were no longer able to produce milk and/or offspring. And fish. Islanders don't just pluck seaweed out of the ocean, they'd surely have some fish/shelfish? And in Okinawa, they actually eat pork I believe a few times a week.
No. They were simply economically poor folks.
Truth is a wonderful thing.
I think many points were missed. I visited Ikaria myself and had a chance to talk to the locals. A huge component the new gen has is the SUGAR drinks. The other was the starvation of the past. Being a super poor island there was limited pleasurable food, but just the basics. We see the same in many blue zones.
Thank you so much I love love love what you are doing .
Thank you!!
Thanks, Mary. I love the food and lifestyle of the Ikarians. After watching your video it makes me want to visit! And I look forward to seeing more of your videos. PS. I saw your chat with Paul S. Yours is an amazing story. Have a lovely day! :)
Thanks a lot, Mary for this gathering of information and the nice views within the video 🎉🎈💕
Elena Paravantes (also a nutritionist) from Olive Tomato blog who grew up in & currently lives in Greece is adamant that they ate/eat mostly of beans & veggies with meat once-twice/week. Makes sense that poorer areas traditionally have not eaten as much meat,
Thank you for sharing. I’m an American Greek and have been to the mainland and several islands. Meat is a huge part of the Greek diet. Along with, as you mentioned cheese and wine. 😁
Do you know of a good quality wine in America?
I absolutely LOVE THIS!! 🙏🙏 so valuable! Thank you for your effort Mary, I would love to see also other blue zones - Sardinia, Okinawa etc - it that on your bucket list? 🙏😊🌸
Thank you, Katherine! I am actually in Okinawa now!
P.S. Okinawa had been the only Blue Zone that I had not spent significant time in thus far. I'm currently sitting on 7 years worth of footage from all of my Blue Zone research & research in 70+ indigenous communities across 6 continents. Time is a factor at the moment, as well as my priorities (clients health is always first when I get back into wifi zones, rather than clipping film footage). I do have film editing on my docket though!
@@MaryRuddick777 wow that's amazing! 😯🙏🤍
@@MaryRuddick777 Sure, totally understand 🙏 At the same time, I'm looking forward to the conclusions whatever time it takes 🤍😊
Thanks for bringing us the truth about their diet. Why are we continually lied too about proper nutrition in the western world?🤔😡. Thankfully there are a growing group of people, like yourself, spreading truth! Btw, your happiness is infectious and we really enjoy listening to you😊❤️
Thank you!
Sounds like a wonderful lifestyle! ❤️
Amazing video! Thank you for sharing these insights - very interesting learning about both the food and the lifestyle. Look forward to the next video!
Thank you, Brett!
I don't think traditional Ikarian diet has a lot of meat, maybe younger generations eat more meat, but older people used to eat meat only at Xmas and big holidays, no more than once per month.
I think the secret is the pace of life and the vegetarian based nutrition.
Oh my goodness. Once a month 🤣
Funny... You look vegan or vegetarian.
😮 wow. Thank you for revealing some myths on the blue zone Ikaria. I purchased 2 books written by a well known author (that had a tv show as well) on the Ikarian diet. These books dis not capture the full scope of the Ikarian diet. While the recipes are good (I like the longevity soup), I got the false impression that meat was rarely eaten. I have been to Santorini, and would like to visit Ikaria. I would like to see if I can purchase wines from Ikaria here in America, but I am doubtful I can find them. I like the wines from Santorini and mainland Greece. Your video has changed my perspective on the Ikaria diet - I love goat and pork. I think you have also revealed the importance of other factors that impact longevity - gardening, slower pace of life, the wine without preservatons and no pasteurization, the hot thermal waters despite the toxic radon. There may be genetic factors as well. A researcher has also exposed some myths with other blue zones, in particular not finding birth certificates to back up claims of old age. In any event, thank you so much for a great video. I now have a better understanding of the Ikarian diet whick I have included in my diet. 🙏🙏🙏
Just listened to your podcast with Paul Saladino, good stuff, you were an excellent guest!
Mary, I first heard you several years ago in an interview with Pamela Kippola. From that moment, my healing journey shifted and I was really hopeful that you’d make more videos. I’m so happy to see your channel flourishing....you’re a healing star. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise. Blessings!
4 minutes in and subscribed, excellent research, thank you!
Beautiful people, beautiful land, beautiful culture.
Thanks, Mary! ❤️
Hey Mary, Just discovered you from Paul Saladino's UA-cam channel. Love your story and message. Will be following you from now on. Keep preaching the truth, with your infectious positive attitude!
Have you seen this one? ua-cam.com/video/w4gcpJWXsVY/v-deo.html there is also a second part.
Thank you for this. There is a new documentary on Netflix about the blue zones - and they really focus in that film on a plant-based diet (lots of grains and beans especially). I have many food sensitivities to beans, gluten, etc. and it’s hard for me to eat those foods without significant discomfort. I feel fine eating whole food/organic animal products but sometimes worry that it’s not the best for my health when I hear so much about the plant based diets in these areas. Thank you for your work, talking to local residents, and getting this information out. Whole Foods, sunshine, a sense of community, and being active seems best for health ❤
I too tried the Blue Zones/Mediterranean Vegan Diet for a while. Beans, lentils, grains; lectin, phytates, and oxalate heavy foods really tore-up my gut. I'm now doing a loose version of GAPS: eating meat, animal fats, little vegetables, little fruit, sauerkraut; basically whole, real foods. I cannot tolerate dairy, so I steer clear of that for now. I'm still learning.
So you’re buying into the propaganda that animal products are bad for you and your health? Netflix is promoting liberalism. Liberalism is a Disease. Meat is the cure, Vegetables are a Death Sentence. Veggies contain toxins, meat does not.
I would steer clear of anything but Fresh Meat, Fresh Eggs, Fresh Dairy, and Organic Fruit only. It’s the closest to a “Biblical Diet.”
Thank you SO much for sharing the truth about the Blue Zones and what true healthy nutrition and lifestyle choices are, Mary! I'm learning SO much from you! You are a gift from God!
Superb insights!! Looking forward to the follow up. BW
Thank you so much Mary! I loved seeing Greece, hearing your words of wisdom regarding health and longevity. I am half Greek and could never understand why I could not eat the cucumbers, green peppers, etc. in a greek salad! XOX!!
Wonderful video. Thank you so much!
Does anyone know what exact blue zone questionare she is refers to ? .. recent or the original one ? .. and /or how can is see it ?
I review it in another video here: ua-cam.com/video/cekfblF8yw0/v-deo.html
I suspect there is more than diet at play in the longevity of the Ikarian's. Environmental factors (clean air, sunshine etc.), favorable genetics, and happiness combined with less stress, and number of hours they sleep likely played an important role as well.
Judging what local centerians eat by what the local restaurant serves seems odd to me. Many many tourists come to this Island so of course the food will be basically Greek. I visited the blue zone in Costa Rica and one of the first things you see as you drive the peninsula is a KFC joint that does not mean that the healthy old people grew up eating fried chicken. We also visited the Blue zone villages in Sardinia. Same thing there the restaurant serve regular Italian fare not the meals people grew up eating 100 years ago. I am not a vegetarian myself but half of my wives family lives in Lomalinda CA. They are all 100 % vegetarian as are most of the Adventists that live there and they are the longest living people in the US as a group.
Try watching the entire video instead of cherrypicking the part of the video you disagree with.
@@johnnypenso9574 you replied to a comment my husband left 7 months ago. He won’t be reading it he passed away in June .
@@janettebuba126 I'm very sorry to hear that. My condolences.
Loved your interview with Paul last week! It truly was the best interview he’s done on his podcast. I listened twice. Can’t wait to see how the Africa trip goes.
So excited for you all!
Thank you!
How does one master talking while smiling and and showing all one’s teeth. Amazing
For more fascinating "Blue Zones" information by the radiant Mary Ruddick, check out her two-part discussion with Brian Sanders on his "Peak Human" podcast:
Part 1: ua-cam.com/video/t_Ud_sL05Ws/v-deo.html
Part 2: ua-cam.com/video/IzkYAIcNZr0/v-deo.html
Fabulous discussion. The first I heard of Mary and I was instantly captivated by her intelligence and compassion.
@@kateaye3506 Same here. She's awesome. Here's another neat "Blue Zones" resource, if you're interested: benjamindavidsteele.wordpress.com/2019/05/28/blue-zones-dietary-myth
@@kateaye3506 Hey, as an aside, do you have cold hands or feet, low energy, or any known thyroid issues?
@@karlhungus5554 Stop the flouride, which causes Thyroid snags, Brain snags and Brittle Bones. The u.n. labels the industrial waste as a "nutrient". No kidding. Must detox. It accumulates! Drink distilled water, only.
Suggestions.
@@anotherone5926 I don't use fluoride, but you're right to avoid ingesting it. Using it topically might be okay, but I still avoid it.
I understand from people who live there that the western influence is creeping in - especially with the younger generations.
Also, the diets that were more plant based have to do with WWII privation - however, I would not read restaurant menus for any concept of everyday eating - generally restaurants are for special food, special occasions & I imagine in Ikaria most especially for the tourist.
Those who live there & do in depth travel/food vlogs, blogs & books, those who are hanging with families & in remote regions more or less back the 'blue zone' concept - I will say though that your average article tends to just ignore that they do indeed eat dairy, almost every meal!, & add in meat/animal to dishes frequently, plus seafood, & usually a family roast every weekend & then there's the saint day feasts which are epic!
I've read some ideas of the 'blue zone' diets & they will have people eating edamame!!! So ridiculous....
Thank you for video - dream of mine to visit Ikaria :)
Thank you for this lovely video and interview, Mary! This 'real food' diet as part of their whole lifestyle makes so much more sense!
I live in Oregon's Willamette Valley, and am fortunate to have access to many of the same food choices - our Farmers Markets provide lamb and pork raised on local pastures, plus an abundance of organically grown vegetables and fruit in season. I also use organ meat (my lamb Farber teases that I'm one of the few customers w/o an accent who buys those! I use a Greek recipe for lamb tongue!)
I get eggs from my neighbor's urban free range chickens, and also garden. I enjoy growing unusual (to us) heritage produce. I also make yogurt and kombucha, and sometimes mead. (And occasionally have some of the local wine)
We're at ~ 45th parallel - so a lot less winter sun!
My mother-in love passed in 2019 at 103 - and was Scottish and Dutch (born and raised in Oregon), and was a botanist, who studied and classified many of our native earthworms (!)
She also gardened for many years, and canned a minestrone type mix of tomatoes summer squash and beans that we added to rice and lentils in the winter.
My dad hunted, as does my son, so I grew up with venison and trout, produce from our garden, and raw milk from the dairy across the street. My dad's brother Ole made it to nearly 103 - he lived in a small community near the ocean (Washington state) with a similar mostly real food mixed diet - he hunted into his 90s!
I do enjoy the awareness the Blue Zones project has brought to the 'whole lifestyle' - which was common in many more rural societies, world wide, until recently!
Access to a range of whole foods and food water, spending time with family and friends, music (my dad sang in choirs, and I play harp and attend an active, loving church) movement (gardening, walking, dance, tai Chi) and feeling there's purpose to one's life all contribute to health and happiness!
I thought the blue zones are more about what the centenarians in these areas ate and what their lifestyles are like. Not everyone in the country.
Hi Mary, I just started following you after your interviews and live with Harry Serpanos. I am wanting to make Russian Custard, but the GAPS recipe I have found is only egg yokes and honey. You mentioned adding cream and vanilla but no "sugar". What is the ratio between egg yolks and cream? Many thanks, and I look forward to more videos from you and collaborations with Harry!
Wasn't it wonderful!? To see Harry so joyful talking about his home...
the direct source from the island says that centenarians DO NOT eat in those restaurants and rarely shop in supermarkets. They live in remote areas , grow and eat their own food . So, I am not sure your story makes sense.
That may be. Many Greeks do not eat out often or use "grocery stores" outside of cities. Do be mindful that "not often" does not mean "ever." Even in America, it was unusual for adults to eat out more than once a month until the last three decades. When I speak of restaurants on Ikaria, I am speaking of something that looks very different than most of us are use to.. it is usually a few tables under a tree outside of a family's house. The grandmother is cooking in the house, and there is not usually a menu. There are usually few options (an appetizer, a main or two, and sides if it is a warm season). Dessert is usually fruit (if in season) or yogurt. Many of these "restaurants" had very old patrons sitting under the tree slowly drinking wine. They would often walk home for meals, but not always.
I can corroborate this. That's the kind of restaurant that I saw in Ikaria too. I found a similar sort of restaurant when I visited Croatia as well.
Did I miss in your video when you interview the centenarians about their particular diet? Or you are attributing to them the diet of the common people within the Blue Zone?
Can I just move there now? I'm done with winter ;). How rough are their winters? Anything like Wisconsin?
They do have snow in the mountains, but shorter season. Nothing like Wisconsin.
Just found you on livervking. You are a legend. Beauty
The restaurant owner said they eat more like Paleo than Vegan. So Dan Buetner made everything up to sell books?
Wikipedia says Buettner is a storyteller not a scientist or Anthropologist.
Thank you for showing what they ACTUALLY eat! The books and recipes out there are misleading. Life is balance and they eat balance and live a balance life.
All the propaganda out there is trying to knock us off balance. 😔
yeah, today. they should have asked a 90-year-old what he ate most of his life. not a young dude.
I watched this for a few minutes. My Greek family never ate pig organs or the things you showed in a restaurant. Mostly a plant based diet with some fish and chicken and maybe lamb on special occasions. I can't speak for the younger generation. They all lived into their 90's. It's a life style of walking and socialization along with diet.
At the end she says people eat meat with every meal and everyday. Yet the interview with the guy translating he says they eat meat 4 to 5 times a week. Every meal and everyday would 21 times a week.
Its because they eat fish and dairy on the other days ;)
@@ninguemjao1519 that's fine if it's true. But that's not what was said and if your a nutritionist the devil is in the details. My problem with this particular video is that it's not showing the whole truth. If you go to Okinawa right now where there's a blue zone. You'll find fast food restaurants and alot of fat Okinawans. That dosent mean they've got to 100 on fast food. Yes the restaurants on Ikaria were serving meat based traditional meals. But the island come along way. And meat would have been much more seldom in the past. Plus some of that is about serving to tourists. They hardly used to have fish because most of the inhabitants lived inland to escape pirates. It seems it's all in how you chose to report things or look at them and through what filters and what presumptions. It's easy to ignore small aspects. The researchers for the Blue Zones book spent a lot of time with locals and I feel give a much more level idea of what people really ate.
@@Δενβρισκωνικ Many of the facts about longevity secrets came from talking to people who were 100 years old and teasing out the particulars about theres lives and diets. How do you feel the lifestyles of the Centenarians differed from today? Is longevity decreasing in those areas due to changes?
@@Δενβρισκωνικ what other foods would be consumed in a day? Fruit,which veg etc? Thank you
@@Δενβρισκωνικ thanks so much
I would like to know what they eat in the morning for breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening snack
Wonderful video, thanks! I have a personal question: are you today totally pain free after your long illness? Or do you despite occasional pain manage to have such a wonderful smiling and happy attitude? I wish i could do that too 🙂
Thank you! I’m totally pain-free ❤️
Thanks for this video, you also have a wonderful atittude it makes it very nice as well !! I would love my parents to see this and understand, but they dont speak english. Have you thoght about some subtitles ? Spanish, Italian ? Very good information that needs to be spread :)
I would love to know how to become a patient of yours Mary. I’ve been doing the carnivore diet for almost 3 months to heal my skin and I’m feeling so discouraged. I ended up with skin issues after getting Covid, the emergency doctor put me on 50mg of steroids and I think that’s what caused my issue. I’ve been told it’s eczema and the psoriasis back in forth, the doctors just don’t seem to really know. They want me to take biologics but I’m sure there has to be a natural way to heal my body.
I think you have so much wisdom in nutrition and the healing ability of food.
The simple answer is dont do the carnivore diet. I was diagnosed with severe gallbladder disease in my 20s and almost died. But I switched to a low fat vegan diet and my health DRAMATICALLY improved. I stopped all of my symptoms and gallbladder inflammation decreased dramatically. I went from almost needing emergency surgery, to feeling normal again. Look in to plant based Drs like Dr McDougall. They talk about skin issues.
Hi Mary. I love your work and your radiant smile - it's magic! Can't wait till you post some of your African tribe footage. You are like the 21st century Weston Price! I got a quick question I was hoping you could answer for me, drawing from your vast personal and clinical experience. I have been trying a Weston Price style high fat diet for years, but always lose too much weight and get tired from it. My wife does fabulous on it, but as soon as I take out the starches, I lose energy and weight. I do have sxs associated with HPA axis dysregulation or adrenal fatigue or whatever they call it these days. Chris Kresser says low carb is not a good idea for such people, but I always think that ketosis should be the ancestral norm for humans. Is an ancestral style food low-carb high fat/protein diet not for everyone? Thanks!
Hi! It fully depends! I use both energy systems when working with people. Consider joint my Nervous System focus session so I can go deeper!
I would like to see the government policies on farming practices using glyphosate like products that Americans typically use. I don't necessarily think it is the way the food is prepared but more so that the food in certain places is safe from toxic chemicals used in firming practices. Is also, large manufacturing of food completely depletes the nutrient contents thereof
I agree. I think we are going to be settled where we live for many years, so I want to start setting up my little plot of land to be able to grow some veggies for us, also raise some chickens and quails, and even grow some stuff indoors, like herbs and maybe some other veggies inside during the harsh winters. I'd also really like a goat or two, for milk (and they keep the grass mown!) Most of our property is hillside though, it needs cleared but I'd love to turn the hillside into a big garden. And get some organic seeds because you are right, the produce we have today (at least here in the states) is not the same produce we had even 50 years ago.
Thanks for the video.i should go there myself and see
Great research :)
Thank you!!
Really? 1) You explained that the younger generation is not as healthy as the centenarians, 2) you use a menu from a modern taverna as evidence that it’s not the diet that contributes to their longevity. Well, don’t you think that it is the younger generation that dines in the tavernas and the very old stick to their older meagre diet?
This a small snippet of footage from my time there. More will be released later. What I have seen is animal food consumption decrease (dairy, egg, meat, fish) and potato consumption increase. This is true in the home and in the restaurants.
I also noticed this idiosyncrasie, looking at a local restaurant menu is the wrong to have a fair idea of the local diet, in the restaurant they serve the sunday meals not the everyday ones. The sure way to shorten your life is to eat every day at the restaurant.
thank you, loved this
Hi! Thank you for this wonderful and informative video. I am visiting Ikaria for the first time and would love to go the restaurant you mentioned with the pork liver, pig head stew and goat in lemon sauce. 120 year old restaurant I believe you said. Could you tell me where it is? We are staying in Therma. We really want to eat the traditional cuisine. I am a WAP member and have been following Dr. Price's principles for years. Thank you for all of your researches and telling the truth about real foods!
Nice breakdown of what actually goes on in a land that has been extorted for the vegoon narrative.
Great video Mary 😁
Thank you!
Good to see you here Blinky. Mate can you please ask Necro Kittie on my behalf, to let others know about this channel on discord...
@@HarrySerpanos
Done mate. 😁
Now you owe me 🤣🤣🤣
@@takeoffyourblinkers thanks Blinky
@@HarrySerpanos 👍
This is not the diet that kills, the stress is the killer.
Very nice video. Thank you.
I'm glad you commented on the radon - that made me sit up as I lived in a high radon area (Devon in UK) and our homes were inspected to make sure the gas would not be able to accumulate inside. That would not be a problem in a hot place like Ikaria!
Thanks for the great info and the great video
Love your approach - thank you for uncovering those myths - Would be nice to have more images to show how those foods look like.
Yes! We have tons of footage!! One day it will be produced ❤️
Mary! You are a joy to listen to! Your story resonates with me. I'm experiencing long covid and dysautonomia and have been bedridden for 13 months (it hit my gut and brain the hardest). I keep trying to do GAPS introduction and really struggling. My body just does not seem to process fat and protein. Extreme nausea, pain, stagnation, burning GI tract. The only things my body has been able to digest for several months are bananas, raw celery juice and apple juice. I take dessicated organ supplements and do ok with those. Do you think an ox bile supplement is a food option for processing fats and protein? ❤️❤️❤️🐔🐄
Join my long-covid group! ❤️❤️❤️
Holly, I have the same issue but from a virus in 2017. I cant eat beef, pork, or eggs, or junk food. So I follow what my body is telling me. When I stray, I crash.
Great video, Mary!
I'm a holistic doctor, and I suspect that the difference in health between the young and old in Ikaria may have a lot to do with vaccines, especially childhood vaccines, which the younger generation would have received, but not the elderly. It would be great if you could dig into this and see if there is a correlation.
What actual diet do you recommend and do you have a book or website.
So is the heavy meat consumption traditional, or is it more recent with the younger generation?
The younger generation is eating less animal products and more potatoes.
@@MaryRuddick777 fascinating! Thanks
Mary,do you have a video where you discuss resistant starch by any chance?
Just curious as to what your take on that is.Thanks
Fantastic video!
Wondering if the research for the blue zones research was done there during Great Lent or one of the other longer fasting periods. They would be primarily Greek Orthodox there. And for those who follow the traditional fasts of the church, it’s basically vegan (some seafood allowed). There are two long fasting periods, one for seven weeks before Greek Easter, one for about six weeks before Christmas, and a two week one in August. Then there are weekly fasting days, on Wednesdays and Fridays. So during those periods, they would not be eating meat or cheese. If the boys zone research as done during those times, the results would have been misleading.
Do they fast?
I'll be heading back to Ikaria during the Lenten fast this year, so I will let you know if they follow suit with the rest of Greece!
@@MaryRuddick777 Nice! I think it's important to ask about fasting when assessing the diet of a population.
Wonderful video!
Love the video. 👍🏼
Do you think dyslexia is linked with diet?
Also, people that live on or near the water, ocean, rives or lakes, live longer as well
I love your videos. I was wondering if arthritis is common there and if so, why that is.