Eat All Those Longevity Noodles Off Your Plate, Then Smash It.

Researchers at TNSB World Headquarters have conclusively found that the best thing for your health and longevity in 2025 is to read TNSB every week.? What can we say, it’s just science.

And what better way to start off a year of TNSB than a look at healthy New Year’s Traditions from around the world. There are plenty of, let’s call them, interesting traditions: banging bread against the wall in Ireland, wearing red undergarments in Italy, and making new year’s resolutions and breaking them within weeks in the US (so many people abandon their resolutions on the second Friday of the month that it is now known as “Quitters Day”). But here are three traditions that might actually help your health, at least a little bit:

1. Tradition #1: Eating Longevity Noodles.

In Japan, families eat buckwheat soba noodles, or toshikoshi soba, for Lunar New Year to bid farewell to the year gone by and welcome the year to come. The long noodles symbolize longer life and prosperity, and are known as “longevity noodles”.? The tradition reportedly dates back to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (141-87 BCE) in China, who told his ministers that he heard that if one had a long face, one would have a long life. As he couldn’t change the length of his face, the emperor decided to eat long noodles because the word for noodle sounds similar to the word for face in Chinese.? We don’t quite understand the reasoning either but we love the idea of eating soba noodles for New Year’s, or really anytime.

Buckwheat has been linked to a wide variety of positive health outcomes, including improved heart health, blood sugar, inflammation and cancer prevention. And if you have celiac disease or other gluten sensitivities, buckwheat is a good option for noodles since it doesn’t contain gluten and is more nutritious than some other gluten-free options such as rice noodles.

?

2. Tradition #2: Eat All Those Longevity Noodles Off Your Plate, Then Smash It.

That’s right, in Denmark, they don’t bother sticking the dirty plates in the dishwasher. Instead, they walk over to a friend’s house and smash them against their front door. By tradition, rather than throwing unused dishes and plates, the Danes save them until the end of the year and then break them as a celebration of the New Year. This tradition is known as “smashing plates” or “plate smashing.” The Danes are apparently quite literal people.??

It might not sound like a good New Year’s gift to have a mountain of plate shards on your front stoop, but in fact it’s considered a symbol of popularity among your peers. The more smashed dishes you have on your front porch, the more popular you are within your social circle. Smashing plates is a way of saying “thank you” and wishing good luck for the coming year. Plate smashing is also a way to get rid of the old, and bring in the new.?

There are all sorts of positive health benefits associated with the tradition of breaking plates, at least in our view. Decluttering is good for your mental health, and smashing plates can be a stress reduction mechanism by releasing endorphins, natural chemicals that act as neurotransmitters. Endorphins are a pain-relieving mechanism and can contribute to feelings of pleasure and well-being. So go ahead, drop by TNSB Headquarters and smash a few plates.? Just be sure to miss the windows.

?

3. Tradition #3: If You Want To Keep Those Danes Away, Decorate Like a Greek.

If you are walking down the street in Athens on New Year’s Day, don’t be surprised if you see bags of onions hanging outside everyone’s front door. Onions are believed to bring good luck and signify the beginning of a new life.

Typically, families hang the onions once they return from New Year’s Day church service. Onions have been a prominent symbol of rebirth and growth since the days of Ancient Greece. They are viewed as symbols of good luck and fertility, because the bulbs sprout, even if they are untended.?

It’s not entirely clear to us what happens to the onions after New Year’s Day, but we assume that the Greeks eat them. And why wouldn’t they? Onions have a multitude of longevity and healthy aging benefits. Onions are high in vitamin C, which may help regulate immune health, collagen production, and iron absorption. It’s also a powerful antioxidant that could help protect your cells from damage and deterioration. Onions are rich in B vitamins, including folate and vitamin B6, which help metabolism, red blood cell production, and nerve function. They also help with heart health, blood sugar regulation and bone density.

And if you don’t want to eat them, onions are also good for cleaning rusty knives, soothing bee stings and acne removal. Truly a wonder vegetable.??