What Do Sardinian Centenarians Eat?

What do Sardinian centenarians eat?

It is one of the most common questions about longevity in Sardinia, but there is no single menu followed by every long-lived person and no individual food can explain why some people in Ogliastra and Barbagia reached such advanced ages.

Food habits differed according to:

• village;
• family;
• occupation;
• household income;
• season;
• harvest;
• livestock;
• historical period.

The diet experienced by people born in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was also very different from the way many Sardinians eat today.

To understand it, we must consider not only which foods were available, but also everyday work, physical activity, portion sizes and community life.

Is there really a Sardinian centenarian diet?

It is more accurate to speak about traditional food patterns than one universal centenarian diet.

In the villages of the Sardinia Blue Zone, food was closely connected with what families could grow, raise, gather, preserve or exchange.

The long-lived generations were not intentionally following a diet designed to increase lifespan. They ate according to the resources offered by their environment and the rural society of their time.

Research identifies several recurring elements:

• frequent use of cereals and bread;
• legumes;
• seasonal vegetables and produce;
• sheep's and goat's dairy;
• varying amounts of meat;
• home cooking;
• limited availability of industrially processed food;
• a close relationship between food intake and physical work.

This pattern was not identical in every village and did not remain unchanged throughout the twentieth century.

Bread and cereals were fundamental foods

Bread and other cereal-based foods formed an important part of the traditional diet.

Durum wheat, barley and other grains could be used to prepare:

• bread;
• flatbreads;
• soups;
• pasta;
• simple dishes suitable for storage or transport.

Bread was practical for agricultural and pastoral work because it provided energy and could be carried and preserved more easily than many other foods.

Sardinia has numerous regional bread traditions, but it would be inaccurate to imagine that every centenarian ate exactly the same bread or dish every day.

The type and quantity depended on household production, access to flour and economic circumstances.

Legumes, vegetables and seasonal foods

Beans, broad beans, chickpeas, lentils and other legumes could be combined with vegetables, potatoes, grains and wild plants.

Legumes were valuable because they:

• could be stored;
• worked well in soups;
• could be combined with cereals and vegetables;
• were accessible to many households.

Family gardens supplied different produce according to the season. Variety was not necessarily constant throughout the year and depended on climate and harvest conditions.

Plant foods were important, but this should not be used to describe the historical diet as exclusively plant-based.

Sheep's and goat's milk and cheese

Pastoralism has played a central role in the history of Ogliastra and Barbagia.

Milk, ricotta and cheeses made from sheep's and goat's milk were part of the available food supply for many families, particularly those directly involved in livestock farming.

Studies of Sardinia's longevity area describe a relatively significant consumption of animal-derived foods, especially dairy products, compared with other parts of the island.

These foods could provide:

• protein;
• fat;
• calcium;
• energy;
• products that could be preserved.

This does not mean that every person ate the same amount or that dairy products independently explain longevity.

Their role must be considered within lives characterised by high energy expenditure, physical labour and limited food availability.

Was the diet vegetarian?

No. Describing the historical Sardinia Blue Zone diet as completely vegetarian would be inaccurate.

Historical sources and dietary studies indicate a strong presence of cereals and plant foods together with:

• milk;
• cheese;
• ricotta;
• meat;
• cured products;
• animal fats;
• eggs;
• other locally available animal foods.

Meat frequency varied according to family resources, occupation, season and occasion.

In some communities it may not have been an everyday food, but it could be eaten during celebrations, family slaughtering, religious festivals and particular times of the year.

At the same time, the Blue Zone population was closely connected with livestock farming and did not follow a diet free from animal products.

Was meat rarely eaten?

This statement also requires caution.

Meat may have been less frequent than it is in many modern diets, but access was not the same for every person.

Shepherds, livestock farmers and rural households might consume:

• sheep;
• goat;
• pork;
• poultry;
• cured meats;
• organ meats.

Research into the nutrition transition found that meat consumption increased during the twentieth century as economic conditions improved.

A study of older adults in the Sardinian Blue Zone found an association between a moderate increase in meat consumption, particularly pastured poultry, and better performance in daily activities.

This does not prove that meat caused longevity. It does show that portraying the centenarian diet as almost entirely free from animal foods is an oversimplification.

Olive oil and animal fats

Olive oil is now one of the best-known symbols of Mediterranean food.

In the historical diet of mountain communities, however, its use was not necessarily high or uniform. Some households and periods also relied on animal fats, including lard.

As economic conditions improved during the post-war nutrition transition, olive-oil intake increased while lard consumption declined.

Retrospective studies among Blue Zone elders have associated increased olive-oil consumption with some favourable measures of health and mobility.

These are observations in a particular population, not proof that one food can guarantee longevity.

Did people eat fish in the Sardinia Blue Zone?

The original Sardinia Blue Zone was identified mainly in mountain villages of the central-eastern part of the island.

Fish was therefore not necessarily central to the everyday diet of inland pastoral communities, despite Sardinia being an island.

Availability depended on:

• distance from the coast;
• transport;
• household income;
• preservation;
• trade.

This is one difference between the historical inland Ogliastra diet and a generalised modern image of the Mediterranean diet based on frequent fish consumption.

Fruit, vegetables and economic change

The food pattern did not remain unchanged throughout the lives of long-lived people.

The nutrition transition began in urban and coastal areas during the 1950s and reached mountain communities later.

As economic conditions improved, there was generally greater access to:

• fresh fruit;
• olive oil;
• meat;
• food storage;
• markets;
• a wider variety of ingredients.

Research suggests that the long-lived generations may have benefited both from the traditional diet followed during much of their lives and from some improvements introduced during adulthood and older age.

This is important because it challenges the idea of one perfect diet remaining unchanged for an entire century.

Simple meals and home cooking

Everyday food was generally prepared with a limited number of available ingredients.

Meals could include:

• legume soups;
• vegetable soups;
• bread;
• pasta;
• potatoes;
• cheese;
• ricotta;
• dishes made with wild plants;
• meat when available.

There is no single recipe that can accurately be called the "longevity soup" or "centenarian meal".

Recipes varied between villages and households and were adapted to available resources.

The cultural value of traditional food in Ogliastra lies partly in the ability to use and transform what the territory provided.

How important were portion sizes?

The long-lived generations often experienced conditions in which food was not available in unlimited quantities.

Portions depended on:

• household production;
• season;
• income;
• family size;
• intensity of work;
• periods of abundance or scarcity.

Moderation may partly have resulted from material circumstances rather than a deliberate health strategy.

This does not mean that permanent food scarcity was beneficial or that all centenarians followed calorie restriction.

It means that their relationship with food was very different from that of modern societies, where highly caloric and processed products are continuously available.

Was Cannonau part of the diet?

Wine was present in the food and social culture of several Sardinian communities.

Cannonau is now frequently connected with longevity, but there is insufficient evidence to claim that drinking it makes people live longer.

Alcohol carries health risks and should not be presented as a medicine or protective food.

When wine was consumed, it formed part of a wider context involving meals, social interaction, physical work and community habits.

The relationship between Cannonau and longevity therefore requires a separate and cautious discussion; to learn about local production you can read our page about wine in Ogliastra.

Was it a Mediterranean diet?

The traditional Sardinian pattern shares some elements now associated with the Mediterranean diet:

• cereals;
• legumes;
• vegetables;
• fruit;
• olive oil;
• local ingredients;
• shared meals.

There were also important differences.

The historical food pattern of Sardinian pastoral communities could include significant amounts of sheep's and goat's dairy, animal fats and meat. Fish availability could be limited in mountain villages.

Dietary habits also changed throughout the twentieth century.

It is therefore more accurate to describe an evolving local food pattern than one perfect and unchanging Mediterranean diet.

Food alone does not explain longevity

Even a precise reconstruction of traditional eating habits cannot separate food from the rest of life.

The same people:

• walked frequently;
• performed physical work;
• lived in small communities;
• maintained family relationships;
• participated in village life;
• followed long-established routines;
• experienced historical conditions very different from those of today.

A food consumed within this environment will not necessarily have the same effects in a sedentary lifestyle.

Diet is therefore one part of the longevity story, not a complete explanation: we look at the wider picture in our article on why Sardinians live so long.

What can we learn today?

The food history of Sardinia's Blue Zone does not offer a guaranteed recipe for reaching one hundred.

It can still suggest several principles:

• choose minimally processed foods;
• use a variety of ingredients;
• respect seasonality;
• maintain a relationship with local production;
• cook more frequently;
• avoid treating one food as miraculous;
• consider food together with movement and relationships;
• recognise that nutritional needs change with age.

Individual needs vary, and health-related food choices should be discussed with qualified professionals.

Discover the food traditions of the land of centenarians

Experiencing Ogliastra's food means meeting families, producers, craftspeople and traditions shaped by the relationship with the land.

A journey can include:

• traditional breads;
• fresh pasta;
• cheeses;
• local agricultural products;
• wine;
• workshops;
• food experiences;
• encounters with local businesses.

You can start from our tours and experiences or tell us which flavours and traditions you would like to discover: our travel agency will help you plan your journey through Ogliastra Blue Zone.

Plan Your Trip

Sources and Further Reading

• Giovanni Mario Pes et al., Male longevity in Sardinia, a review of historical sources supporting a causal link with dietary factors, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2015.
• Alberto Nieddu et al., Dietary Habits, Anthropometric Features and Daily Performance in Two Independent Long-Lived Populations from Nicoya Peninsula and Ogliastra, Nutrients, 2020.
• Giovanni Mario Pes et al., Evolution of the Dietary Patterns across Nutrition Transition in the Sardinian Longevity Blue Zone and Association with Health Indicators in the Oldest Old, Nutrients, 2021.
• Giovanni Mario Pes, Maria Pina Dore, Fotini Tsofliou and Michel Poulain, Diet and longevity in the Blue Zones: A set-and-forget issue?, Maturitas, 2022.
• Vanessa Palmas et al., Gut Microbiota Markers and Dietary Habits Associated with Extreme Longevity in Healthy Sardinian Centenarians, Nutrients, 2022.