Longevity and Healthy Diet of Costa Rica

Longevity and Healthy Diet of Costa Rica will reveal some of the basic foods of the Costa Rican’s diet that has been tied to longevity. Based on your health status today, do you feel that if you lived to be a 100 years old that you still would be able to chop wood and maintain a farm? If the answer is no! Then, let me introduce you to a region where there are many centenarians that are very active.

Located in Central America between Panama and Nicaragua is Costa Rica and the Nicoya Peninsula. Go on a Costa Rica tour and discover that here the numbers of people that live past their 90’s are 4 times greater than in the US. The below plate would be served for a typical lunch and is called Casado. This dish usually consists of : rice, fried plantain, onioned meat (chicken or beef), an egg, beans and a cabbage or lettuce salad sprinkled with lemon juice and salt.

You might recall that Nicoya Peninsula is one of the Blue Zone Regions that I introduced in my hub titled Need a Healthy Diet: Eat Blue Zones Superfoods. If you are an individual that is interested in living longer you might want to take a look at that hub once you’ve finished here. Many nutritionists would theorize that the food selections of this region are too high in saturated fats; however when you look at how active the senior citizens are an individual might question such a theory.

There are several theories as to why this Blue Zone region has so many centenarians; however this hub is going to focus on Costa Rican cuisine.  As with most healthy diets, “moderation” is the key; or as the local Costa Rican’s call it, “Ticos” which means never eat excessively.   

The native dishes rely heavily on beans and rice; an example is the Gallo Pinto, the national dish of fried rice and black beans is generally served for breakfast.  Costa Rican diet consists of a lot of fried foods; however, there are numerous fruits and vegetables that are enjoyed.  Beef, chicken, and fish are the meat staples because shrimp or lobster is too expensive since most of the country’s seafood is exported.

In Nicoya, Costa Rica author of the Blue Zones, Dan Buettner and Dr. Oz believe that the diet of beans, squash, and a special corn tortilla are the contributing factors to the natives’ longevity in living past their 90’s. The health benefits of these three foods are as follows:

Black Beans – Rich in antioxidant flavonoids that destroy free radicals, and protects against heart disease, cancer, and aging, when eaten regularly in one’s diet. High in dietary fiber, black beans have been shown to help naturally lower cholesterol, and keeps blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal. In addition, when black beans are served with a whole grain like wild rice or barley, it offers an individual a meal that is fat-free with a high quality source of protein.

Squash – This yellow vegetable should be a part of your diet to help lower the fat in one’s diet. Squash also contains 20 nutrients that assist in maintaining vision health, heart health, a strong immune system, and can lower the risk of some cancers. Squash contains antioxidants such as vitamin C, carotenoids, and bioflavonoids, two classes of phytochemicals for promoting overall health.

Corn Tortillas - Made from a mesoAmerican recipe that is over 3500 years old is still being made by hand, organic, and home-made in a make-shift factory in the Nicoya Peninsula. The nutritionist at the hospital explains that the process of adding limestone powder to water to boil the corn kernels causes the shells of the corn to be removed. The micro toxins are reduced which leaves only the nutrients of vitamin A, vitamin D, niacin, iron, calcium, folate, phosphorous, manganese, dietary fiber, and proteins to be left in the tortillas and absorbed by the body. Corn tortillas have been connected by some scientists to niacin, the B vitamin that assists in controlling cholesterol.

1 lb black beans fresh or dried

8-10 sprigs cilantro fresh or frozen

1 small or medium onion

½ small red or yellow sweet pepper (optional)

3 cups chicken broth or water

2 cups white rice

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1-3 Tablespoon oil to fry the Gallo Pinto

Instructions - If beans are dried, cover with water and soak overnight, if they are fresh, just rinse them off. Now, I’m going to suggest that if you are in a hurry you can cook the beans and rice in the crockpot by just following the instructions found on the hub Crockpot Cooking: Organic Beans and Rice.  Once cooked refrigerate overnight make a ball of beans and rice and fry the next morning.

Alternatives – To add more spice to this recipe some individuals use small red hot peppers instead of the sweet peppers. If you do not have a crock pot slow cooker and or choose to stand over the stove to prepare this recipe here is the link to Beans and Rice basic recipe for this dish that details all the steps including having to refrigerate the beans and rice over night prior to frying them.  Also here’s a link to another quick and easy recipe for Gallo Pinto Costa Rican Beans and Rice.

As one can see by the pictures of the meals the people of Nicoya, Costa Rica eat hearty breakfast and lunches. With more emphasis being placed on the lunch meal. However, their active lifestyles that comes with farming and their belief in 'Ticos' which means never eat excessively contributes to their overall health and longevity. Nonetheless, in his book the Blue Zones, Dan Buettner reveals that Nicoya, Costa Rica has all the nine healthy diet tips to living longer which are:

• Move naturally
  
• Cut calories
  
• Avoid eating processed foods and meat
• Drink alcohol, red wine, in particular, in moderation
• Keep your family first
• Reduce your stress levels
• Belong to a community
• Maintain a positive outlook
• Surround yourself with people who have the same kind of blue zone values as you have

This concludes Longevity and Healthy Diet of Costa Rica . I hope you’ve found this hub useful or at least interesting. The below video is a native song and more pictures of delicious foods that I thought you might enjoy viewing.

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Namaste'