Do you live in the ‘world’s healthiest place’?

(Ivan Sgualdini)

According to the June edition of the magazine  International Living (IL), the healthiest lifestyle cannot be found in the United States, and according to their 2010 report, greater health and well-being requires moving to one of these five places.

For the first time the IL will be devoted to health including their top five places to live to "feel better, look younger and live longer." Here they are, in no specific ranking: 

- New Zealand based on the 'healthy living Kiwi-style'

- Volcan in Panama, often described as the "Shangri-La Valley"

- Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica

- Sardinia

- Vilcabamba in Ecuador, also referred to as the 'Valley of Longevity'

The places were selected based on US expat experiences, analysis of diet, pollution, stress levels and longevity research. All five spots deliver the healthiest quality of living with pollution-free/highly oxygenated air, inexpensive organic fresh produce, locavore diet, low-to-no-stress living, natural medicines, water supply and everything else you pay for through the nose trying to achieve in your urban dwelling.

Three of the five places (Costa Rica, Sardinia and Ecuador) are blue zones, areas in the world with the longest living populations (exceeding 100 years old). In Sardinia the diet is worth moving for alone - local dark red wine is enjoyed by the liter daily because of its rich amount of antioxidants and grass-fed sheep produce pecorino cheese brimming with Omega-3s.

IL's January list of top countries to live in based on the 'quality of life index' looked at cost of living, culture and leisure, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety and risk, and climate to rank 194 nations: here are the top five (in order of first to fifth): France, Australia, Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand.

Full report, "Feel Younger, Live Longer: The World's Healthiest Places to Live in 2010": http://internationalliving.com/2010/05/worlds-healthiest-places-to-live-2010