Blue Zone Myths with Nutritionist Mary Ruddick

Nutritionist Mary Ruddick travels the world studying traditional diets and their impact on health. Here she reviews her time in Ikaria, the famous "Blue Zone," and sheds insight on the myths surrounding the Ikarian diet.

[mihelbergel]

Mary, this is FANTASTIC! I hope you are able to release more videos like this. Thank you!

[tasostheodorakos]

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 .

[gybx]

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.

[George-ktgy]

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.

[luthienzirael]

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.

[cozycountrycabin]

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.

[MeatHeals]

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!

[cwitham]

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!

[ldean]

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.

[earthmamma]

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.

[charliesconsulting]

Can't believe this video doesn't have millions of views. Keep up the great work DR.

[vonschlief]

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

[le]

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.

[catherinegreen]

I love your nuanced approach. Food is important in context. Small production, communal meals, lack of garbage pumped into the environment

[sakisathan]

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

[allieshepherd]

Thank you for taking us with you to Greece, I love it. And thank you for accurate information on the "Blue Zone" there.

[kateaye]

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.

[owenroberts]

your smiles have brightend up my day 🙂

[elenifaller]

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.

[mollymershon]

So interesting ! Beautiful Island. Thank you Mary