‘Marshall County is ready for Blue Zones’ : Marshall County Crossroads complete Blue Zone evaluations after two years
Since 2020, Blue Zones, LLC has been actively working with the Marshall County Crossroads Team to evaluate the county’s readiness to move forward to make the county a healthier place to live, thrive, and age. after two years of extensive evaluation, the Crossroads team has begun asking municipalities to partner with them to fund efforts to turn Marshall County into a Blue Zone.
at present, Marshall County is ranked 64th out of 92 counties in the state on health factors. “a conservative estimate indicates annual medical and productivity costs in Marshall County, without sustainable health transformations, will increase annually by $373 million over the next decade,” the executive summary from Marshall County Crossroads predicts. “The current well-being trends for Marshall County evidence a high price for doing nothing differently.”
Blue Zones are cultures around the world that boast some of the longest-living citizens in the world. The original five Blue Zones were located by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow. Upon discovering and studying the long, healthy, active lives—often spanning a century or longer—that people have in Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria,
Greece, and Loma Linda, California, he noticed nine similarities in the habits and cultures of the longest-living people on earth.
The first habit is that they live in ways that prompt them to move without thinking about it. Instead of joining the gym, they walk when they can instead of drive, they grow gardens, and don’t use convenient time-saving machines for house and yard work.
The second is that they know their purpose in life, which helps them answer a simple question: ‘why did I wake up this morning?’ according to the Blue Zones website, knowing
this has a tendency to add up to seven years to a person’s life expectancy.
Third, they routinely work on lowering their stress levels. For some that may be daily yoga, for others, it’s meditation or prayer, and in some Blue Zones, it looks like a daily nap. Whatever that habit looks like, it gets people into the habit of relaxing, even when life is hard.
Fourth, they stop eating their meals before they are full. According to the Blue Zones website, supper is the lightest meal and often happens in the early evening, and snacking doesn’t happen at night. The Okinawan take it one step further. They stop eating their meals when they are about 80% full.
Fifth, their diets are mostly plant based with meat being a delicacy that is consumed about five times a month in 3-4 oz. servings.
Sixth, alcohol in moderation is regularly on the menu. Most Blue Zoners have a glass or two a day with friends and food.
Seventh, belonging to a faith-based community and attending services four times a month is vital and typically adds four to 14 years onto a person’s life expectancy.
Eighth, and along those lines, they are devoted to their families. Aging parents are kept close—they live nearby or even in the same home as the younger generations. They hold to the sanctity of marriage and marry for life. That alone reportedly adds up to three years of life expectancy. They also invest in, care for, and love on their children.
Ninth, they surround themselves with the right social circles. Blue Zoners recognize the importance of choosing trustworthy friends to share life with—the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful. These friends are close enough that they provide accountability and encouragement as needed. It’s not always a big group. In fact, it’s often a small group of five or so that remain committed to each other for the long-term.
Blue Zones, LLC. now makes it their goal to educate other areas on how their community can live long and healthy lives and have impacted 61 communities. For more information about this organization, visit bluezones.com.
Over the next few years, Marshall County Crossroads Team plans to move forward to make the area into a Blue Zone. This will require a lot of effort and funds from the county. “A Blue Zone approach does not mandate change. Rather, through community collaboration and empowerment, it ensures the healthy choice is the easy choice. Through a Blue Zone Transformation, Marshall County has an opportunity to change not only individual lives but the entire course of health and vitality of the community today and for future generations,” reads the executive summary from Marshall County Crossroads. “It will take a meaningful investment of time, talent, and treasure to implement and execute on the Blue Zones blueprint for transformation. Marshall County is ready for the next step. Marshall County is ready for Blue Zones.”