The word centenarian is used to describe a person who has lived to be 100 years old and beyond – today there are 451,000 centenarians all over the world. But these aren’t random occurrences of longevity, in fact, quite the contrary. Much of the world’s centenarian population is localized in select geographic locations known as Blue Zones.

On such Blue Zone is Sardinia, Italy, home to 10 times the centenarian population of the US, its inhabitants enjoying a traditional low-protein, plant-based diet, and tight-knit community. Six thousand miles away, Okinawa, Japan has the highest life expectancy age of anywhere in the world as citizens also emphasize plant-based diets and the Japanese tradition of Ikigai, translated to “reason for being.” Thousands of miles away, yet again, men over 60 in the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica are 7 times more likely to reach age 100, calling on the sense of life purpose – a plan de vida, and enjoying the indigenous inspired diet of, you guessed it, fresh vegetables like squash and corn. Beginning to see a pattern here?

While the secrets to a long life may always remain that way, what we can learn from Blue Zones may give us more insight into the value of a meaningful, healthy, long life. See more in the infographic below.