234. Are the Blue Zones BS or not?

Paul Saladino MD podcast

Paul Saladino, MD

Medicine, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2023

⏱️ 79 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, Paul is re-releasing an episode about the Blue Zones and why he believes they are cherry-picked and not completely accurate when talking about their “plant-based diets” contributing to longevity. He also shines a light on the fact that meat is indeed eaten in the Blue Zones

*Produced by Mountain Valley Media

00:10:20 What are the Blue Zones?

00:15:00 Regions left out of the Blue Zones

00:16:50 Epidemiology studies vs. interventional studies

00:37:20 Does red meat cause cancer?

00:43:50 Unpacking Okinawa, Japan

00:50:40 Unpacking Nicoya, Costa Rica

0053:20 Unpacking Sardinia, Italy

00:54:50 Unpacking Ikaria, Greece

00:56:30 Unpacking Loma Linda, California

01:03:5 0 Conclusion

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References:

Vegetarian diet and all-cause mortality: Evidence from a large population-based Australian cohort - the 45 and Up Study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28040519/

Mortality in British vegetarians: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12001975/

Meat consumption and diet quality and mortality in NHANES III: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23486512/

Mortality in vegetarians and comparable nonvegetarians in the United Kingdom: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26657045/

Meat intake and cause-specific mortality: a pooled analysis of Asian prospective cohort studies: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23902788/

Major correlates of male height: A study of 105 countries: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26948573/

Nutrition for the Japanese elderly: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1407826/

The Nicoya region of Costa Rica: a high longevity island for elderly males: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4241350/

Male longevity in Sardinia, a review of historical sources supporting a causal link with dietary factors: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267864042_Male_longevity_in_Sardinia_a_review_of_historical_sources_supporting_a_causal_link_with_dietary_factors

Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Statistics of Oldest Old People (>80 Years) Living in Ikaria Island: The Ikaria Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3051199/

Lifestyle and reduced mortality among active California Mormons, 1980-2004: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17920112/

Food intake diet and sperm characteristics in a blue zone: a Loma Linda Study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27280539/

Lifetime stress accelerates epigenetic aging in an urban, African American cohort: relevance of glucocorticoid signaling: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26673150/

The relationship between peripheral blood mononuclear cells telomere length and diet - unexpected effect of red meat: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4944490/

Transcript

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0:00.0	On this week's podcast, I wanted to repost a podcast that I did a few months ago about the Blue
0:05.7	Zones. There's a new Netflix documentary, How to Live to 100, Secrets of the Blue Zones.
0:10.6	Except, as always, when talking about the Blue Zones, they get the message wrong when it comes to
0:17.4	dying. If you look at the Blue Zones, Sardinia, Okinawa, Icaria, the Nikoi region of Costa Rica,
0:24.3	and Loma Linda. In four out of those five Blue Zones, meat is eaten with enjoyment, with
0:30.4	relish. I've been to multiple Blue Zones. I used to live in the Nikoi region of Costa Rica,
0:35.0	lots of meat in there, and if you look at the research from the Nikoi region, it's only really a
0:38.7	Blue Zone for men, and clearly the research there shows that men in the Nikoi region of Costa Rica
0:44.2	eat more animal fat and more meat than men in other regions of Costa Rica, and they live longer.
0:48.4	So go figure. Icaria and Greece, I have not been to, but I've been to many of the G and islands
0:53.6	right near Icaria. I've been to Poxos. I've been to Antipoxos. I've been to Mecanos.
0:58.0	No, I didn't party on Mecanos, and that's not my deal. But I've been to a bunch of islands
1:02.0	right by Icaria in Greece and talk to people about what Icaria is like, and I've seen research on
1:08.0	Icaria showing they eat tons of meat. What else did they say about Icaria? They love to party.
1:12.7	They love to sing and dance, and they're happy people, and they're carefree. Might that have
1:16.3	something to do with their longevity? Absolutely. But plant-based diets? No. None of Greece ate plant-based
1:22.3	diets. I looked all over the Mediterranean in Greece for plant-based diets, and everyone told me
1:26.0	that they treasured meat and organs. Everyone I talked to, I've done content about this.
1:30.7	Sardinia, Okinawa, same deal. Both of those blue zones quote unquote eat significant amounts of meat.
1:36.4	So this notion that the blue zones are plant-based is complete bullshit. The one blue zone that
1:42.4	is kind of plant-based is Loma Linda. But that's because the seven-day Adventists there
1:46.7	are a religion that enforces or leans into a plant-based diet. Why? Basically because
	...

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