The researcher has determined which product is consumed by all centenarians of the world

Adding a simple food to your diet can help you live to be 100, according to the world's longest-livers. CNBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

A few years ago, Dan Buettner, the author of this article, visited Okinawa in Japan, Nicoya in Costa Rica, Ikaria in Greece, Loma Linda in California and Sardinia in Italy - all so-called "blue zones", or regions with the longest living people in the world. Dan went there to find out what these people ate that helped them live to be 100 years old.

He also asked dozens of the world's leading nutritionists and scientists about what to eat to live a long, healthy life while respecting the environment.

One finding rang a bell (and may come as a shock to fans of the latest fad diets): Of the top 10 recommended foods, half were from the legume family—lentils, soybeans, peanuts, chickpeas and black beans.

Good old beans

For example, in Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula, your day can start with a warm corn tortilla stuffed with savory black beans. On the Italian island of Sardinia, lunch can be a steaming minestrone bowl filled with beans, cranberries and chickpeas. On the Japanese island of Okinawa, dinner can include a delicious roast of green beans, soybeans, or mung bean sprouts.

Accident? Hardly. A 2004 study of people 70 and older in three different cultures around the world found that every two tablespoons of legumes consumed by people per day reduced the risk of death by 8%.

Another study found that beans not only provide the body with complex carbohydrates, proteins and micronutrients, but also provide the fiber needed by our microbiomes, thereby strengthening the immune system. This makes sense, given that Blue Zone residents achieve their extraordinary longevity by avoiding obesity, diabetes, heart disease, dementia and cancer better than the rest of us.

In contrast, nearly two-thirds of Americans are now overweight or obese, according to Gallup. And according to a recent Harvard study, the United States has a shorter average life expectancy than almost every other high-income country—largely due to diet and lifestyle.

On the subject: 3 Easy Ways to Get US Farm Products for Free

Be kind to your body and the planet

In addition to being healthy, beans are cheap to produce and grow almost everywhere, from equatorial zones to northern regions, so they don't need to be transported long distances for sale. They also do not require refrigeration and can be stored for a long time.

Beans are good for even the earth itself because they restore important nitrogen in the soil. The impact of what we eat on the environment has become more relevant as the climate crisis on Earth worsens. The global food system currently accounts for more than a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from livestock production.

Changing our diet in favor of plants instead of meat can be very important. According to scientists at Oxford University, if people followed standard dietary guidelines, we could cut our food production's greenhouse gas emissions by 70%.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Confusion and delirium: scientists have figured out how COVID-19 attacks the brain

Onions, Peaches and Chicken Salad: 8 Foods Recalled Due to Food Infections

Source of infection: coronavirus can survive for a week on certain foods

Scientists have discovered an unexpected effect of taking vitamins

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.