‘Blue Zones’ provide guide to living longer, healthier life
Summary
TLDRDan Buettner, a New York Times best-selling author and founder of Blue Zones, discusses his book 'The Blue Zone Challenge' in this interview. He explains the concept of Blue Zones, regions known for the longest-lived people, such as Sardinia, Italy, and Okinawa, Japan. Buettner outlines key lifestyle habits that contribute to longevity, like plant-based diets, stress-reducing rituals, and community involvement. He emphasizes that longevity is not about discipline or self-control, but about shaping environments that naturally promote healthier choices, and he offers a four-week guide to help people achieve long-term well-being.
Takeaways
- 🌍 The concept of 'Blue Zones' refers to areas around the world where people live the longest, including Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), Ikaria (Greece), Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica), and the Seventh-day Adventist community in the U.S.
- 🧬 Only 20% of longevity is dictated by genetics; the other 80% comes from lifestyle, environment, and habits.
- 🥗 People in Blue Zones primarily follow a whole food, plant-based diet, with 65% of their intake coming from complex carbohydrates.
- 🚶♂️ Regular movement is naturally integrated into daily life in these regions, often through activities like walking, gardening, and manual work.
- 🧘♀️ Stress management is key: Blue Zone residents have daily rituals to downshift, like remembering ancestors (Okinawa), napping (Greece), and prayer (Seventh-day Adventists).
- 🍷 Socializing and connection are crucial, with traditions like 'happy hour' in Sardinia fostering a sense of community and relaxation.
- 👫 The immediate social circle significantly impacts health: If your friends have healthy habits, you're more likely to adopt them as well.
- 💪 Successful long-term health changes are more about shaping your environment than relying on self-control or discipline.
- 📅 The Blue Zone Challenge is a four-week guide that helps people engineer their surroundings to naturally promote healthier choices without needing willpower.
- 🎯 Long-term, sustainable health improvements require creating environments that make the healthy choice the easy and automatic one.
Q & A
Who is Dan Buettner?
-Dan Buettner is a New York Times best-selling author and the founder of Blue Zones, an organization focused on providing people with tools to live longer, healthier, and happier lives.
What is the main purpose of Buettner's book 'The Blue Zone Challenge'?
-'The Blue Zone Challenge' provides a four-week guide to help people live longer, healthier lives based on habits and environments from the world's longest-lived communities.
What are 'Blue Zones'?
-Blue Zones are regions identified through a National Geographic project where people live significantly longer lives. These regions include Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), Ikaria (Greece), Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica), and among Seventh-day Adventists in the United States.
What percentage of longevity is determined by genetics, according to Buettner?
-Only 20% of longevity is dictated by genetics, while the other 80% is influenced by lifestyle and environment.
What common habits do people in Blue Zones share that contribute to their longevity?
-People in Blue Zones live in environments that encourage regular movement, have sacred rituals to reduce stress, eat primarily whole food, plant-based diets, and have strong social circles that support healthy living.
How does diet in Blue Zones differ from the standard American diet?
-In Blue Zones, about 65% of dietary intake comes from complex carbohydrates, mainly from whole plant-based foods. This diet can extend life expectancy by about six years compared to the standard American diet, which is higher in processed foods.
What rituals help reduce stress in Blue Zones?
-In Okinawa, people remember their ancestors daily, in Costa Rica and Greece, napping is common, and among Adventists, prayer is used to manage stress.
Why does Buettner believe diets fail to create lasting change?
-Buettner argues that no diet has worked for more than 3% of people after two years. Instead of relying on willpower and self-control, he advocates for shaping environments to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
What role do social circles play in achieving longevity, according to Buettner?
-Buettner emphasizes that the people you spend time with influence your habits. If your closest friends are healthy and active, you are more likely to adopt similar habits, which can improve long-term health.
What is Buettner’s advice for people seeking long-term change for a healthier life?
-Instead of focusing on self-discipline or trying to change behavior, Buettner suggests shaping your environment and social circle to support healthier choices automatically.
Outlines
🎤 Interview with Dan Buettner: Founder of Blue Zones
Dan Buettner, New York Times best-selling author and founder of Blue Zones, joins the show from Miami to discuss his new book, *The Blue Zone Challenge*. This book offers a four-week guide aimed at helping people live longer, healthier lives. The guide is based on insights from Blue Zones, regions around the world where people live significantly longer lives. Buettner explains that only 20% of longevity is determined by genes, while 80% is influenced by lifestyle factors, which he and his team have studied in various locations including Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Ikaria, Greece; the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica; and among Seventh-day Adventists in the U.S.
🌍 Common Habits of Long-Lived People
Buettner shares key findings from his research into Blue Zones, emphasizing that the inhabitants of these regions do not suffer from common diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Their lifestyle promotes movement every 20 minutes, as they live in walkable communities, have gardens, and perform daily tasks manually. Additionally, 65% of their diet consists of complex carbohydrates, mostly from whole, plant-based foods. He highlights that following this diet can add about six years to life expectancy compared to the standard American diet.
💆 Rituals and Stress Reduction in Blue Zones
Buettner dives deeper into the daily rituals practiced in Blue Zones that help reduce stress, which in turn lowers inflammation—a key factor in aging-related diseases. He explains that in Okinawa, people honor their ancestors, while in Costa Rica and Greece, taking naps is common. These practices are associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease. In Sardinia, happy hour gatherings provide a way to unwind, and among the Adventists, daily prayers serve as a form of meditation.
📊 What Makes Blue Zones Unique
Buettner explains that Blue Zones inhabitants share similar genes and levels of discipline as the rest of the world, but what sets them apart is their environment, which naturally promotes healthier living. He notes that in Blue Zones, the healthiest food is often the cheapest and most accessible. This contrasts with the challenge many face in other parts of the world, where unhealthy food options are more readily available. Buettner also highlights that diets, particularly New Year's resolutions, tend to fail in the long term for most people, whereas in Blue Zones, healthy living is part of the natural environment.
👥 The Importance of Social Circles in Longevity
Buettner emphasizes that one of the most powerful factors in achieving longevity is curating a healthy social circle. He explains that the behavior of the people we spend the most time with has a significant impact on our own health habits. By surrounding ourselves with friends who enjoy physical activities and eat plant-based diets, we can improve our chances of living healthier and longer lives. He advises shaping our surroundings rather than relying on self-control to make lasting changes.
🚶 Long-Term Lifestyle Changes for a Healthier Life
Buettner wraps up the conversation by stressing that there is no quick fix to living longer—no pill, supplement, or superfood will add years to life unless it becomes a long-term habit. The *Blue Zone Challenge* provides a four-week guide to help individuals gradually reshape their surroundings and social environment in ways that promote healthier choices. He reinforces the idea that long-term change requires adjusting our environment rather than relying on willpower, especially as people prepare to make New Year’s resolutions.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Blue Zones
💡Longevity
💡Power of Nine
💡Environment
💡Complex Carbohydrates
💡Stress Reduction
💡Social Circle
💡Plant-Based Diet
💡Movement
💡Purpose
Highlights
Dan Buettner is the founder of Blue Zones, an organization providing tools for living longer, healthier, and happier lives.
Blue Zones were identified as the statistically longest-lived places, including Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and a Seventh-day Adventist community in the U.S.
The Blue Zones study found that only 20% of how long we live is dictated by genetics, while 80% is influenced by lifestyle factors.
Common habits in Blue Zones include being in environments that naturally encourage movement, such as walkable communities and gardening.
The diet in these zones consists mainly of whole food, plant-based items, with 65% of their dietary intake coming from complex carbohydrates.
Practicing sacred daily rituals to reduce stress is a commonality in Blue Zones, helping reduce the inflammation that causes many age-related diseases.
In Okinawa, Japan, people practice ancestor remembrance as a way to manage stress, while in Costa Rica and Greece, taking daily naps is a common practice.
The Blue Zones study suggests that taking a nap five days a week is linked to a one-third lower rate of cardiovascular disease.
The Adventists in the U.S. engage in prayer as a form of meditation, while Sardinians use happy hour for social relaxation.
The key difference between Blue Zones and other regions is their environments, which make healthy choices the easy choices.
No diet has successfully worked for more than 3% of people after two years, emphasizing the importance of shaping one's environment for long-term health.
In the Blue Zone Challenge, Dan Buettner suggests focusing on curating one's social circle to include friends who encourage healthy habits.
Research shows that if your three closest friends are unhealthy or overweight, you're 150% more likely to be unhealthy yourself.
Longevity is achieved through long-term lifestyle changes, not quick fixes, supplements, or superfoods.
The Blue Zone Challenge provides a four-week guide to help individuals engineer their surroundings for unconscious healthy choices.
Transcripts
and joining us now is dan buettner the
new york times best-selling author and
founder of blue zones it's an
organization seeking to provide people
with the tools to live longer healthier
and happier lives thanks so much for
joining us tonight dan from miami
i'm delighted well in your new book the
blue zone challenge you provide a
four-week guide to those looking for a
longer better life and that's pretty
much all of us
you model your guide off of so-called
blue zones can you first break down for
us what those blue zones are
yeah so it was a national geographic
project to reverse engineer longevity
and because only 20 of how long you live
is dictated by your genes the other 80
is something else we found the
statistically longest lived places in
sardinia italy okinawa japan the island
of ikaria greece the nicoya peninsula of
costa rica and among the seventh-day
adventists in
the united states here and then over the
next decade
we searched for the common denominators
or the correlates and we believe we
found a pretty convincing set of
guidelines and and wisdom distilled from
people who've achieved the outcomes we
want
and we're just clicking through some of
the images of you hanging out with those
clearly
long-lived people in these various parts
throughout the globe
you begin your book by breaking down the
power of nine that you described to be
the habits of the world's healthiest and
longest living people and these are
people as you mentioned from people from
greece japan costa rica what are those
commonalities that you discovered in
your research
yeah so these are people who are not
suffering from diabetes and heart
disease and many of the cancers that are
foreshortening our lives and you see
they don't exercise as much as they live
in environments where they're nudged
into movement every 20 minutes or so so
walkable communities they have gardens
out back their houses aren't full of
conveniences they have sacred daily
rituals to reduce the stress of everyday
life 65 of of their dietary intake comes
from complex carbohydrates this is
largely a whole food plant-based diet
and by the way eating this way can
confer about six extra years of life
expectancy over eating the standard
american diet so less processed food
clearly now give us a sense of some of
those rituals that you talked about
that's intriguing to me what are those
things that that help with longevity
yeah so every time you're
in a hurry or feel worried or stressed
it triggers the inflammatory response
and inflammation is at the root of every
major age-related disease so in okinawa
they spend a few minutes every day
remembering their ancestors where they
came from in costa rica what we're
looking at now they tend to take a nap
same with greece what we're looking at
right now
taking a nap uh five days a week is
associated with about a third uh lower
rate of cardiovascular disease and then
in uh the advent just say just say
prayer they tend to start their day and
their meals with the prayer and that in
its own way is meditation as well uh the
sardinians just do happy hour which
believe it or not is a good way to
downshift this is sardinia right here i
see and i see you know the happy hour
wine cooler behind you i see you're
taking your practice
as well
absolutely and so what do you think
makes these places so special is there
anything scientifically different about
these blue zones
you know they say they have the same
genes we have
they have the same level of discipline
and self-control but what they have that
we don't
is environments that make the healthy
choice the easy choice and this is the
big insight because we tend to think
especially with the holidays coming up
that we're going to make new year's
resolutions and get on a new diet and no
diet in the history of the world has
ever worked for more than three percent
of the people after two years the reason
people in blue zones are living a long
time is because the the healthiest food
is cheapest and most successful i'm
dying to know how you suggest we inject
purpose into our lives but short of
moving to greece which after looking at
that video i want to do you ask readers
to give the plan 30 days what specific
things can people do in 30 days that you
think will help people live longer
yeah the first i i'm not going to ask
them to dip into self-control i'm going
to ask them to shape their surroundings
and the big thing though is to really
pay attention to your immediate social
circle those three or four friends that
you spend the most time with we know
that if your three best friends are
obese and unhealthy there's a hundred
and fifty percent better chance that
you'll be overweight yourself so we're
going to show you how to curate your
social circle to have a few more friends
whose idea of recreation is walking or
playing pickleball uh it's eating
plant-based and people who care about
you on a bad day and that's probably the
most powerful thing you can do for the
future uh to change your healthy habits
because when it comes to longevity
there's no short-term fix there's no
pill there's no supplement there's no
superfood
if you're not going to do something for
years or decades it's not going to add
years to your life and the blue zone
challenge takes you over the course of
four weeks holds you by the hand and
shows you how to engineer your
surroundings so you will unconsciously
make the better choice all day long i
have to say that with the new year right
around the corner many of us are going
to make resolutions to live a healthier
more meaningful new year and yet so
often people struggle to make that
lasting change right what advice would
you give someone who's looking for
long-term change in the new year
well it goes back again to
not thinking you're going to change your
behavior we never successfully change
your behavior
but uh shaping your environment so again
we're asking the engineers surroundings
not trying to change your mind not
asking you to be disciplined not asking
you to exert inhuman self-control well
dan i've been scribbling notes the
entire time you've been talking thank
you dan buettner your new book the blue
zone challenge is available wherever
books are sold thanks for joining us
hi everyone george stephanopoulos here
thanks for checking out the abc news
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for watching
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