The Blue Zones, Second Edition: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

Dan Buettner’s fantastic 2012 New York Times Magazine Article, “The Island Where People Forgot to Die”, was my introduction to Blue Zones. Are there places in the world where people disproportionately live to be 100 or more? And if so, what’s their secret? With the backing of National Geographic, Buettner and his crack team of top-notch scientists went around the world and found 5 places that fit the strict Blue Zones criteria: the Italian island of Sardinia; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; the Seventh-Day Adventists of Loma Linda, California; and the Greek island of Ikaria. These regions have a disproportionately high population of centenarians, up to 50 times the US average. But even more remarkably, their centenarians are independent at a rate far higher than in the US and Europe: 90% vs 15%. What’s going on? Having gone to medical school and read the NYT Magazine article, I thought I knew what was in the book and thus postponed reading it. That was a mistake. Buettner and team are incredibly thorough in their approach, uncovering details about living a good life that casual observation would miss. And they back every one of their conclusions with as much data as they can. Definite patterns emerge amongst the various groups. All of them foster a strong sense of community and intergenerational cohesiveness. In Costa Rica, there’s a 99-person village all descended from one person, and there’s a touching picture of a blissed-out 104-year old lady holding her great-great-granddaughter. People hang out with family and friends every day, and the elderly live with their offspring. All the communities eat a mostly plant-based diet. Exercise is also built into their daily activity. Although it’s safe to say that none of these people have ever stepped into a gym, every day they till fields, work gardens, tend sheep over hilly terrain, and walk around. Some other data points also emerge. Several of the communities incorporate goat milk products in their diet, which is more nutritious than cow’s milk. Red wine features prominently in the two Mediterranean communities, with Sardinian Cannonau offering an extra dose of antioxidants. Almost all the communities eat diets rich in beans. Although I hope you find this review useful, there are several reasons to read the book in its entirety. First, there are a lot of practices worth incorporating into your own life that I don’t have room to mention in detail, e.g. “ikigai”, your reason to get up in the morning; “moai”, a group of friends who meet regularly; and turmeric. Second, by reading the stories of all five communities, you not only get the details but also the gestalt of living a long and fruitful life. Is there a worldview that predisposes to healthy longevity? Third, the healthy, functioning centenarians profiled will turn your preconceptions of aging upside down. They also have sterling advice to offer: “Eat your vegetables, have a positive outlook, be kind to people, and smile.” Fourth and most important: do you really have something better to do than learning how to live a long, productive and healthy life? If so, I’d like to know what that is. In the meantime, I also got the book for my parents, and would encourage you to do the same. Its life-affirming message is wise and invigorating for all future centenarians. -- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil., Happiness Engineer and author of The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible , the highest-rated dating book on Amazon for 4 years, and Should I Go to Medical School?: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in Medicine

I heard of Blue Zones from some articles and TV shows, and decided to pick this up. Although it looks like a typical fad "healthy" diet book on the outside, it's actually not. Buettner doesn't offer any "sliver bullet" solutions to living healthier longer lives, but showcases the quality research that has been done on longevity in these 5 blue zones with high concentrations of centenarians. All of the zones have common features such as primarily plant-based diets, foods rich in antioxidants, and a supportive social network. He intersperses heart warming interviews of some of the centenarians with summaries of the quantitative data. The writing lacks polish here and there, but the content is fascinating enough to pull through some of the rougher patches. Overall it is worth the read and may prompt some lifestyle changes for those seeking the fountain of youth.

This is a fascinating book, full of information about a number of cultures that have lived longer than most humans do. I think there are some valuable lessons that could be learned from the information in the book. However, there are several areas I feel the author has some significant biases that unfortunately prevented him from asking some different questions. One of those concerns the fact that most of the long lived areas were cut off from most of what we see in "normal" civilization. Therefore, the people did not have to deal with the level of government regulation and taxation and control. Is that a factor in their longevity? The author expresses disdain for genetically modified foods, yet the ability to feed the current population of the world has been enhanced through genetic modification. What about the caretakers for the people who are living much longer lives? Are they living as long, or are they sacrificing their life expectancy by caring for parents? Read this book but don't just accept what is reported without looking beyond to what is not reported. Again, it is extremely valuable information and I do not intend to imply otherwise. I just have some unanswered questions.

Purchased this month, and still reading it but so far all I can say is that I'm SO GLAD I came across this book and I'm learning a lot. I've been eating a plant based diet for years, so I'm very familiar with the health benefits of such a diet, however this book takes it further by making you understand the diets of several different groups / cultures of people, their diets, their way of life, and to try to emulate their practices in order to add longevity to your own life, or your family's lives. While we can't and won't change everything, we can do our best within our abilities. Note that the author and the doctors whose opinions are in this book do not say that everyone should be on a plant based diet, but most readers will be able to realize that if a plant based diet helps (and not even the type that people like me have been eating here in America!) then maybe we can change our diet habits and strive for a diet that is similar to what these long-living cultures are able to achieve. I certainly look forward to that. I also purchased the cookbook, and will be trying that out soon. I'm still reading this book for now, but I will start trying some recipes from the cookbook soon, and I will post a review of that as well. In the meantime, I'm enjoying this book, and learning a lot from it.

The author shares the daily habits, and diet of those who have lived longer than average, and are still in good health and active daily, in various parts of the world. A lot of scientific information on the benefits of various foods, and habits, is also identified, it is all very interesting and insightful.

忙しい時にたまに読むと落ち着く。

Grandes insights sobre estilo de vida e longevidade e como lidar com o envelhecimento. Livro que baseou meu TCC de bacharelado em nutrição!

Really a good book to learn about the history of the blue zone I recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about it

It is a very interesting book, easy to read. In the Blue Zones, people live in harmony with nature, eat natural and pure foods, have strong family and community bonds, but above all, they are free from high levels of stress.