Tomiko Itooka, currently aged 116 years old, is the oldest living Japanese person today based in Okinawa. Okinawa is considered to be a paradise of pristine beaches and natural beauty, where it has long fascinated researchers on how Okinawa seems to produce the highest number of centenarians. While we marvel at the longevity of Tomiko as a supercenternarian, the bigger mystery lingers in our minds – Why do certain “blue zones” have the ability to produce more centenarians than others? Could it be non-modifiable factors such as genetics that holds the biggest influence? Is there specific environmental factors that could be a source of longevity livestream? Or food nutrition could be the single most important contribution factor to our health?

In our pursuit for healthy longevity, researchers have long explored varying exposome factors that could affect an individual’s healthspan. The concept of exposome isn’t new, yet it is only defined in 2005 by Christopher P. Wild in which it encompasses the biochemical changes in the organism in response to the totality of all environmental exposures throughout its entire lifespan associating to health outcomes (Hahad et al., 2024). Interestingly, just as how there are scientific studies that could clearly define the harmful effects of certain symptomatic biomarkers caused through an independent variable, the idea of “pollutomes” as an exposome subdivision has gained traction in its study on health outcomes. For example, the problem of city air pollution versus rural forested region in respiratory diseases trigger through harmful particulate matter and its observable negative correlation on neurophysiological tests (Vichit-Vadakan & Vajanapoom, 2011).

It is however, highly complex to construct a golden framework surrounding exposome and health outcomes, as it involves many factors besides environmental, including: Self biological response, personal lifestyle & social environmental influences, as well as the cultural ecosystem that is unique for every individual. But what we could already figure, that right on the top of the pyramid lies the governing modifiable exposome that contributes to the overall wellbeing of our health.

Figure 1: The exposome (Vermeulen et al., 2020)

While environment factors could contribute to detrimental health effects, conversely it could be salutogenic to consider its positive health benefits; such as the Okinawans’ lifestyle. It is definitely not immediately quantifiable, but a myriad factors contributing to their healthspan involves diet, social, mental health, & physical activity. From the idea of “Hara hachi bu” of eating till you are 80% full to find nutritional balance, to the social idea of “moai” where Okinawans develop strong social support groups for one another. These are factors that possibly influenced healthy aging and prevented oxidative diseases trigger. It may be completely different for other blue-zones such as a different diet found in Icaria (Greece) where Mediterranean diet, red wine & olive oil are the staples, or the mountainous Ogliastra region of Sardinia (Italy) depicts a completely different environmental landscape (Robertson, 2023). Yet, the thematic similarities that link all centenarians to a long lifespan seemed to surround a common exposome outcome – I.e diet, physical activity, social, and lifestyle factors.

With this in mind, this health blog aims to dive deep into what true preventive medicine is all about – surrounding salutogenic factors that take into consideration scientific studies to lay out the possibilities of our own behavioural change so as to adopt better health outcomes. While inherent biological response and genetic expressions differ for individuals, we can influence modifiable risk factors surrounding the exposome. Let us take control of our health in meaningful ways to bring out the best version of ourselves. Spand.life embodies the heart of health “span” as we aim to “expand” ourselves through a discovery journey of modifiable lifestyle factors. Bookmark this page and subscribe to our posts, as we bring to you relevant content that could potentially change your life.

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References

Hahad, O. et al. (2024). Supporting and implementing the beneficial parts of the exposome: The environment can be the problem, but it can also be the solution. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 255(2024).

Vichit-Vadakan, N. & Vajanapoom, N. (2011). Health Impact from Air Pollution in Thailand: Current and Future Challenges. Environ Health Perspect. 2011 May; 119(5): A197–A198

Vermeulen, Roel, Emma L Schymanski, Albert-László Barabási, and Gary W Miller. 2020. “The Exposome and Health: Where Chemistry Meets Biology.” Science367 (6476): 392–96.

Robertson, R. (2023). Why People in “Blue Zones” Live Longer Than the Rest of the World. Heathline.