The Blue Zone of Nicoya, Costa Rica

Nursing -- Issues in Aging Healthily

This particular Blue Zone video documented the value of various lifestyle elements in connection with longevity and long-term fulfillment in life. According to the documentary, communities with reputations for longevity in their populations have a tradition of consuming low-calorie, whole grain diets that might be partially responsible for their long life spans. Other factors identified as possible contributors to long life spans in the community profiled in the video are a dry climate that is conducive to maintaining the quality of foods and their resistance to spoilage; hard water with high calcium concentrations that contributes to strong bones and low instances of pelvic fractures among the elderly; traditions of appreciating meaningful work; and rich social relationships and support networks upon which elderly members of the community rely.

In fact, the observations made in the video are precisely consistent with the reported findings of Western medical researchers, particularly with respect to the beneficial effects of reduced calorie diets, the maintenance of meaningful work or hobbies, and (especially) the availability of healthy long-term social relationships and support networks, particularly in later life (Yates, Djousse, Kurth, et al., 2008). With respect to applying the observations in the video to nursing practice in the West, some of the factors identified in the video are more readily applicable to contemporary elder communities are those that are consistent with clinical research findings, such as pertains to reduced calorie diets, exercise or moderate physical activity, and maintaining social relationships (Yates, Djousse, Kurth, et al., 2008).

Other aspects of the observations in the video may be equally valid but more difficult to apply in the relative short-term. For example, a lifetime of consuming calcium-rich water probably provides a protective effect that is more difficult to reproduce in the much shorter term, although calcium supplementation is also known to be beneficial to bone health in general. Similarly, calorie restriction is known to be associated with longevity, but studies documenting the benefits of calorie-restricted diets in terms of longevity suggest that those benefits require long-term lifestyle changes whose benefits would be difficult to duplicate in the much shorter term (Yates, Djousse, Kurth, et al., 2008). Nevertheless, volumes of empirical contemporary research confirm the health benefits of ideal weight maintenance, reduction in body fat, and reduction of triglycerides, blood glucose concentrations, and blood pressure through dietetic changes consistent with the types of dietary norms detailed in the video (Yates, Djousse, Kurth, et al., 2008).

The video also provides independent anecdotal confirmation of empirical data documenting the tremendous importance of maintaining moderate levels of physical activity in the later years and of maintaining a purpose to life, such as productive work or other forms of community involvement (Yates, Djousse, Kurth, et al., 2008). Moreover, the video also confirms the empirical evidence of the tremendous importance of strong social bonds and of the availability of support from family and friends, especially in the later years when many individuals become less self sufficient. According to the available research, depression is a major risk factor in many of the symptoms of aging and of the diseases associated with old age (Yates, Djousse, Kurth, et al., 2008).