Spain’s northwestern region has one of Europe’s highest concentrations of centenarians. Researchers point to a combination of traditional eating habits, local food, community ties and long-term preventive healthcare as possible factors behind its exceptional longevity.
Spain’s Galicia region, shaped by the Atlantic Ocean and its distinctive food culture, is emerging as one of Europe’s most notable longevity hotspots. Although it is neither an officially recognised Blue Zone nor part of the Mediterranean diet tradition, Galicia has an unusually high concentration of people aged 100 and over.
According to figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute analysed in a study published in the Revista Española de Geriatría y Gerontología, Galicia had 75.8 centenarians per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022. The figure was considerably higher in its inland provinces: Ourense recorded 127.2 centenarians per 100,000 people, while Lugo had 96.6.
By comparison, the European Union average was 22 centenarians per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021. Spain’s national average was 27, while Italy recorded 33. Galicia therefore stands out even among countries with comparatively high levels of longevity.
The region had 1,757 centenarians in April 2026, representing approximately 12 per cent of Spain’s total of 15,000.
The Atlantic diet
Researchers believe that one of the factors behind Galicia’s longevity is the traditional Atlantic diet, which shares some characteristics with the Mediterranean diet but has its own distinctive features.
The diet centres on fresh, seasonal and minimally processed local produce, with fish and seafood playing a particularly important role. Cod, octopus, mussels and clams are staples, and fish is commonly eaten three or four times a week, sometimes daily in coastal communities.
Potatoes, bread and chestnuts are important sources of carbohydrates, while vegetables such as cabbage, turnip greens and other brassicas feature prominently in soups and everyday meals. Legumes, moderate amounts of dairy products and relatively modest portions of meat also form part of the traditional diet.
Olive oil is the main cooking fat, while food is generally prepared using simple methods such as boiling, steaming, baking and grilling.
Scientific evidence behind the diet
The health benefits of the Atlantic diet have also been examined in the GALIAT clinical trial, published in JAMA Network Open in 2024.
The randomised study involved 250 families in a rural Galician community. Participants were divided into a control group, which continued its usual eating habits, and an intervention group, which followed a traditional Atlantic diet programme for six months.
The researchers found that participants in the intervention group lost weight and significantly reduced their LDL cholesterol levels. A subsequent analysis found that their risk of metabolic syndrome had fallen by approximately one-third.
Mar Calvo Malvar, principal investigator and clinical group coordinator of GALIAT, said the findings supported the benefits of returning to traditional eating habits.
Francisco Gude Sampedro, the study’s co-principal investigator and biostatistician, said the researchers had initially set out to reduce cholesterol levels but were surprised to see weight loss despite the absence of calorie restrictions. Improvements were also recorded in blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels.
Both researchers believe these metabolic improvements could contribute to better long-term health and quality of life, although the trial did not directly establish that the diet increases lifespan.
They also highlighted the nutritional value of locally sourced seafood. Malvar said mussels and clams from the Galician coast have distinctive nutritional characteristics linked to the region’s marine environment, findings supported by research conducted by Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC).
A regional register to study centenarians
Galicia is also seeking to turn its unusually high number of centenarians into a research opportunity. In 2026, the regional government launched the Rexistro Galego de Persoas Centenarias (REGACE), a dedicated register designed to collect sociodemographic, clinical and epidemiological information on people aged 100 and over.
The initiative, developed with the Galician Health Service and the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMG), aims to identify the factors associated with exceptional longevity.
Pilar Rodríguez Ledo, national president of SEMG and coordinator of the project, said the goal was to learn from centenarians and use their experiences to shape healthier lifestyles and preventive healthcare policies from childhood onwards.
The register links individuals’ medical histories with information about their families, living environments, health conditions, medication and daily habits. Keith Albert Foo Gil, president of SEMG Galicia and a REGACE researcher, said family doctors were particularly well placed to contribute because they often follow the same families for 30 to 40 years.
Earlier research conducted in 2011 offered some initial insights into the region’s oldest residents. According to Rodríguez Ledo, Galician centenarians in that study had relatively few chronic illnesses, low rates of obesity and cancer, and generally did not smoke. Alcohol consumption was limited, with very few drinking small amounts and no reported preference for spirits.
One striking finding was that 80 per cent of the centenarians could read and did so every day, despite having been born before 1911, when literacy rates in rural Spain were low.
Galicia is not officially classified as a Blue Zone, partly because historical migration makes it difficult to meet the requirement that centenarians must have lived their entire lives in the same place. Rodríguez Ledo instead describes the region as a “longevity belt”, arguing that its experience should be studied without forcing it into an existing classification.
A sustainable model within reach
The Atlantic diet may also offer environmental benefits. The GALIAT researchers calculated the carbon footprint associated with participants’ food consumption and found that emissions in the intervention group fell by 0.17 kilograms of CO2 per person per day compared with the control group. The difference was not statistically significant, however, partly because of the limited number of participants.
The study also sought to change eating habits at community level rather than focusing solely on individuals. Local authorities, family doctors, schools, restaurants, shops and media organisations were involved, while families were offered cooking classes and a recipe book featuring affordable meals made with local ingredients.
The approach helped spread new habits beyond the intervention group, with other families and neighbours also attending the cooking sessions.
For researchers, Galicia’s experience suggests that longevity cannot be attributed to a single food or dietary rule. Instead, it may reflect the interaction between traditional eating habits, local environments, family and community life, and preventive healthcare — a combination that offers lessons for healthier ageing well beyond the region.
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