The picturesque Greek island of Ikaria isn’t just known for its stunning landscapes and year-round sunshine; it’s also the home to some of the world’s oldest inhabitants, boasting impressively low levels of dementia.
On Sarah Ann Macklin’s Live Well Be Well podcast, longevity guru Dan Buettner provided insights into the remarkable brain health of Ikarians.
He revealed: “(People from) Ikaria, Greece live about eight years longer (on average than US citizens), largely without dementia, no discernible dementia.”
In a shocking contrast, Sarah highlighted that dementia is currently the UK’s leading cause of death among certain age groups. Responding to this, Dan emphasised: “Well, people ought to be paying attention to the way people live in Ikaria, because we found every person aged over 65, (and) there were only three very mild cases of dementia.”
Dan Buettner, who has explored numerous global longevity hotspots, noticed particular healthy practices in Ikaria during his visit.
Herbal Tea
In his book, The Blue Zones – Secrets for Living Longer, he suggests that their regular consumption of herbal tea might be key to their exceptional cognitive health.
“Many Ikarians treat themselves to a cup of herbal tea every day, often using wild herbs harvested from the rocky island and sweetened with local honey,” he wrote.
Crucially, he added: “Many common herbs act as mild diuretics and contain anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, which may contribute to Ikaria’s low rates of cardiovascular disease and dementia.”
Coffee
Next, Dan shed light on the importance of coffee in the diet of Ikarians and how prominent it was across several other of the longevity hotspots that he has researched down the years.
Explaining how the islanders drink “copious amounts of coffee”, he said that drinking the popular hot drink has been linked to lower rates of dementia and even Parkinson’s disease. Dan’s claims are backed up by a wealth of research on the notion of the chances of dementia possibly being reduced by coffee consumption.
In a study released in 2021 from a group of Chinese and American researchers in the PLOS Medicine journal, it was found that people who drank two to three cups of coffee with two to three cups of tea per day had approximately 30 percent lower risk of dementia or having a stroke compared to those who didn’t drink either hot drink.
You can find more information on dementia on the NHS website here.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
