By Elsie Yang・January 27, 2022

A fact that many of us have been well-aware of for, well, a while: Coffee is an elixir of life.

But according to Dan Buettner, an expert on longevity, National Geographic fellow, and author of The Blue Zones Challenge: A 4-Week Plan for a Longer, Better Life, coffee’s benefits far transcend its potent caffeine content.

Buettner has spent much of his career studying the world’s Blue Zones: The five regions that contain the highest concentration of the longest-living people on earth. These include Okinawa, Japan; Ikaria, Greece; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California.

Each Blue Zone has its own unique cultural customs, traditions, and environmental influences, but the five regions share a few characteristics in common. One is their eating habits: Folks living in the Blue Zones tend to follow a largely plant-based diet filled with fresh produce, beans, healthy fats, and whole grains; highly processed foods don’t play a big role in their cuisine.

Source: How Ikarian Coffee Benefits Longevity, Plus How To Make It | Well+Good