The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest [Hardcover]

Dan Buettner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book Description
With the right lifestyle, experts say, chances are that you may live up to a decade longer. What’s the prescription for success? National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner has traveled the globe to uncover the best strategies for longevity found in the Blue Zones: places in the world where higher percentages of people enjoy remarkably long, full lives. And in this dynamic book he discloses the recipe, blending this unique lifestyle formula with the latest scientific findings to inspire easy, lasting change that may add years to your life.

You’ll meet a 94-year-old farmer and self-confessed "ladies man" in Costa Rica, a 102-year-old grandmother in Okinawa a 102-year-old Sardinian who hikes at least six miles a day, and others. By observing their lifestyles, Buettner's team has identified critical everyday choices.

Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Dan Buettner

Question: In your book, you identify the "Power 9": nine habits or behaviors all Blue Zone populations have in common. Could you talk about one or two that the average American takes most for granted?

Dan Buettner: Many Americans exercise too hard. The life expectancy of our species, for 99.9% of human history, was about 30 years. The fact that medicine has pushed life expectancy to age 78 doesn't mean our bodies were designed for three-quarters of a century of pounding. Muscles tear, joints wear out, backs go out. The world's longest-lived people tend to do regular, low intensity physical activity, like walking with friends, gardening and playing with their children. The key is to do something light every day.

I also think the trend toward isolation is a mistake. Drive down any American street at 9:00 pm and you can see the greenish glow of the television or the computer in people's window. We've become an increasingly isolated society. Fifteen years ago, the average American had three good friends. Now it's down to two. We know that isolation shaves good years off of your life. In The Blue Zones, I advocate reconnecting with your religious community and proactively building friendships with the right people.

Question: Is there something about the physical landscape that contributes to an area being a Blue Zone, or can people make their own personal Blue Zones, regardless of where they live?

Dan Buettner: Staying young and living long is mostly a function of your environment... and the good news is that to a great extent, we each have control over that environment. In the Blue Zones around the world, people live in places where walking is the main means of transportation, where the sun shines strong all year long so they get enough vitamin D; where they have established social norms that bring people together in supportive groups or clubs. The Blue Zones book shows you how to take about two hours and set up your home, your social life and your work place to help you get up to 10 more good years out of life (and look younger along the way!).

Question: Are Blue Zones about living longer, or living better?

Dan Buettner: Both. The same things that get you to a healthy 100 get you there better. The Blue Zones offers a completely different way to think about longevity and youth maintenance. If you look at the Power9—the common denominators of the longest-lived people—you see that they tend to put their families first, they belong to a faith-based community and they know their sense of purpose. All of these behaviors are associated with 3-6 years of life (which is better than any diet can promise) and they're good years. In other words, the same Blue Zone tenets that will help you get to a healthy age 90 will help ensure those years are vital and enriching.

Question: If considering all nine habits at once seems overwhelming, what's the first step someone could take toward living a more enriching, longer life?

Dan Buettner: The good news is that the Power9 is an a la carte menu: by no means do you have to do all nine to gain more good years out of life. In fact, do six of them and get about 90% of the benefit. The most important thing you can do is building your own Right Tribe. Which is to say, all of the world's longest-lived people were born into, or consciously chose to associate with, the right people. The Framingham Studies show us that if your three best friends are obese, there's a 50% better chance that you'll be obese. The reverse is true too. If you dine with people who eat healthy food, you're more likely to eat healthy food; if the friends you spend the most time with play a sport, you're more likely to join them. As your mother said, "You're known by the company you keep." You're also likely to resemble them.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

“A must-read if you want to stay young! Buettner teaches us the secrets of the world’s longest-lived cultures and how they can turn back your biological clock.”
—Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.

“The Blue Zone is one of the most important and engaging stories you will ever read! With Dan Buettner as your intrepid narrator, you will visit locations where people are living the longest, healthiest lives anywhere on the planet. More importantly, you will learn how to immediately incorporate those lessons from faraway places into your very own life. When I hosted the documentary, Chasing Life, Dan Buettner was the man we looked to for advice. Now, you have all of it at your fingertips. Inside: The Secret to a Long Life.”
—Sanjay Gupta, M.D.

“This book gives you practical tips for living long and well—the essential components of lifestyles in those areas of the world where healthy aging is the rule. I recommend it.”
—Andrew Weil, M.D.

“After a lifetime in the health and beauty business, I had the feeling that I knew most everything about aging gracefully. Then along comes Blue Zones, which is a valuable guide to help us achieve longer healthier lives. Each engaging encounter reveals simple, healthy choices that everyone can incorporate into their lives no matter where they live. Thank you, Dan Buettner!”
—Cheryl Tiegs

 “Dan Buettner takes us on a journey to explore the secrets of longevity and in so doing introduces us to a world of joy in aging... at 91, this is very good news!”
—Walter Cronkite

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic; 1 edition (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426202741
• ISBN-13: 978-1426202742
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #96,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

204 of 214 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just yogurt and olive oil, March 27, 2008

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest (Hardcover)

Back in the 50's, it was the Hunza people who the were exemplars of longlived folk in popular literature about healthy living. The Hunza valley is popularly believed to be the inspiration for Shangri-la, the place of the immortals in James Hilton's novel "Lost Horizon." The Hunza live in high altitude, eat whole grains, and this was the model for much of health food lore in the 50's. Then there were the Georgians, famous in the 80's, whose long life was attributed to the consumption of yogurt. Now it's the Okinawans, Mediterraneans and Costa Ricans who have the secret of long life.

The "Blue Zone" is how these areas with a high percentage of centenarians is designated. In this book, the author combines lessons from various zones around the world. In this way, not only are the different cultures described, but the commonalities are easily derived from the chapters. And they are hardly surprising, but it's great to have them all in one book because you can see that it's not yogurt or fermented mare's milk or a diet rich in tofu and fermented bean paste and fish--it's healthy habits. They are pretty much (no surprise here), a diet including plenty of fresh, unchilled water, lots of vegetables, limited meat and fats and sweets, and the habit of hard farm work or walking and exercise and having a richly entwined family life and close group of friends--a support system. (Doesn't the Bible say "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you." Exodus 20:12)

This book is excellent not only for the interesting anthropological information, but because you can see that long life is really something that is a matter of habits and practices, not just eating a bowl of yogurt or using olive oil instead of butter.

131 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A welcome and refreshing contribution to the literature about living longer, March 26, 2008

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest (Hardcover)

In a world of questionable claims and dubious pseudoscience about how to live a long and productive life, this book stands out. The author defines a "Blue Zone" as an area where there is an unusually high number of people living a century or more. Furthermore, they are people who have remained mentally and physically vibrant as they aged. Four areas are identified and examined:

*) In the Barbagia region of the Italian island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea. In one village of 2,500 there were seven people 100 years or older.
*) The Japanese islands of Okinawa, site of one of the bloodiest battles in World War II.
*) Loma Linda, California where the people who make it a Blue Zone are Seventh Day Adventists.
*) An area of Costa Rica in Central America.

As a mathematician/statistician, my first thought was that this would turn out to be another false claim. I based this on two natural premises.

*) While modern records are complete, the birth records of these people would extend back to the start of the twentieth century, a time when the recording of births was much less precise. Therefore, some of the claims of advanced age could be false.
*) Given the large number of potential Blue Zones that could be created, the four cited in the book could just be statistical anomalies that can be expected due to the workings of chance. Those anomalies could also be due to the concentration of the members of a single family whose genetic makeup strongly favors long life.

The meticulous scholarship of various people, which includes the author, renders the first objection untenable. By examining the records in detail, there is no doubt that the ages of the people are accurate and the Blue Zones do exist.
The second objection is much harder to refute. The world is a big place and slight modifications of the borders can turn something that is close to a Blue Zone into something that is. Certain families have the genes for longevity, for example the people in one line of my wife's family routinely live into their nineties. Given the numbers of the Barbagia region, the presence of one or two such families could be enough to create a Blue Zone. While this would not change the fact that the data is interesting, a genetic anomaly would render any lifestyle conclusions moot for everyone else lacking the appropriate genetic components.
In carrying out a comparison of the lifestyles of the people in the Blue Zones around the world, some common factors clearly emerge.

*) They all have a strong and supportive social structure. All remain active in their community, they are surrounded by people who care about them and that they care about.
*) The centenarians have worked at heavy physical labor their entire lives and most still do. While they do eat meat, it is not a daily component of their diets.
*) The centenarians tend to have a lower level of stress in their lives and the hard work tends to help them burn off what stress they have.

These factors are not news to anyone who pays attention to the elements of a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, there is no reason to suspect an unusual environmental factor being a cause of the Blue Zone. Eat healthy, avoiding stress and exercise are the three key ingredients to a long and healthy life and that is true inside and outside the Blue Zones.
This book is a welcome and refreshing contribution to the literature about living longer. Although it is readable in nature and tone, it is scholarly enough to pass all tests of dubious credibility.

60 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ten star sane, interesting, thought provoking book, April 1, 2008

By	MotherLodeBeth "MotherLodeBeth" (Sierras of California) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest (Hardcover)

Published by the National Geographic made this book a reliable read for me. It is so full of valuable information, including the website http://www.bluezones.com mentioned in the book on page 228 where you can do the Vitality Compass. And one of the many wise pieces of advise given (page 213_ deals with learning to move or be active without thinking about it.

Liked this, because I see so many people over the age of seventy where I live out walking for walking enjoyment, not for any physical fitness routine. Same with going to the gym. People I know simply see everyday movement as natural and healthy.

Lesson Five: Purpose Now Take time to see the big picture is something we need to start teaching our young. The whole idea of seeing a purpose however small in getting up in the morning.

Lesson Seven: Belong Participate in a spiritual community shouldn't turn anyone off. Fact is their research shows that belonging to a community where one thinks about something bigger, and is around people who believe in prayer and positive purpose live not only longer but healthier and happier lives. They mention Dr Gary Frasers book Diet, Life Expectancy and Chronic Disease which is a good book.

Also like the information on diet and how healthy eating doesn't mean boring or not fun. Simply eating less, and not so much meat can make a difference they say and I agree. They do NOT say never eat meat. Which reminded me of the exchange students we have had in our home whose eyes would grow big when they would see the steaks on the BBQ at peoples homes, and then see a steak plopped on their plate. This was a shock to them, because no matter if they were from Asia or Scandinavia, meat was more of a condiment, served in small servings, rather that THE meal.