Your breakfast could be the secret to longevity (Image: Getty)
Breakfast, often dubbed the “most important meal” of the day, could hold the key to a long life.
Longevity researcher Dan Buettner has unearthed a breakfast from a Costa Rican village that locals believe will help them reach the ripe old age of 100.
The dish, hailed as the “world’s healthiest breakfast,” is said to lower blood pressure and “reduce cancer risk”.
Buettner stumbled upon this nutritious meal while studying the dietary habits of residents in Nicoya, an area known as one of the world’s “Blue Zones,” where people enjoy longer, healthier lives.
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Costa Rica has been named the friendliest country in the world (Image: Matteo Colombo/Getty Images)
According to Buettner, the world’s healthiest breakfast comprises a hearty serving of spiced black beans, cornmeal tortillas, and a mix of onion, red peppers, local herbs, and long-grain white rice. These ingredients offer numerous health benefits, with the tortillas made from dough mixed with wood ash for a vitamin B boost.
The black beans are packed with antioxidants, potassium, and vitamin B, which aid in insulin regulation or blood pressure reduction, reports .
Paired with the rice, Buettner claims they “create complete protein, all the amino acids necessary for human sustenance.”
In a 2023 article for CNBC, the longevity expert explained: “The corn tortillas, chewy with a nutty flavour, are an excellent source of whole-grain, low-glycemic complex carbohydrates. The wood ash breaks down the corn’s cell walls, making niacin (a B vitamin that plays a role in cell signalling and DNA repair) available, and freeing amino acids so the body can absorb them.”
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Your breakfast could be the secret to longevity. (Image: Getty Images)
“The black beans contain the same pigment-based anthocyanins (antioxidants) found in blueberries. They’re rich, colon cleansing, blood pressure lowering, and insulin regulating, and they are filled with folates like potassium and B vitamins to boot. The bean-and-rice combination creates a whole protein, which is to say all the amino acids necessary for human sustenance.”
Buettner also revealed that even the coffee consumed in Nicoya was healthier than anticipated. It’s brewed from a local variety of “pea berry,” offering an additional dose of antioxidants and a metabolism kick from the caffeine.
The entire breakfast is also budget-friendly, costing just $4.23 – approximately £3.80 – per serving. Plus, it’s a meal that the villagers can largely prepare in one batch, consuming it throughout the week.