"Eat your vegetables, have a positive outlook, be kind to people, and smile." - Dan Buettner
Want to live to be 100? The odds are against you, but lessons from the blue zones provide steps you can take to increase your chances of adding years to your life. In his research, Dan Buettner has identified specific areas around the world with an unusually high number of centenarians. Through studying and interviewing people from these blue zones, he provides lessons on how to not only live longer but add quality years to your life.
In The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest, we learn diet and exercise alone are not the only things necessary to live a long life. Having a purpose in life, building a strong community, and your attitude all play a role in your lifespan. The habits we do daily contribute greatly to the quality of our life. The choice to live a long and healthy life is up to us.
"Scientific studies suggest that only about 25 percent of how long we live is dictated by genes, according to famous studies of Danish twins. The other 75 percent is determined by our lifestyles and the everyday choices we make." - Dan Buettner
The book begins by helping the reader understand aging and introduces the Blue Zone project, a 20-year National Geographic commissioned study of longevity around the world. Throughout the chapters, the author describes the extensive criteria that an area has to meet to become a blue zone. Only five areas in the world qualified. Those are Sardinia in Italy, Okinawa in Japan, Loma Linda in California, Nicoya in Costa Rica, and Ikaria in Greece.
Buettner uses the majority of the chapters to tell stories of the centenarians his research team met in each blue zone. These stories reveal the ingredients to longevity in each area. While the areas are different, the similarities show the impact lifestyle has on quality of life. I liked how the author used these stories to help you trust his findings and inspire you to adopt these habits in your own life.
The book emphasizes the goal isn't just to live longer it is to gain more quality years. The centenarians he met were active and did not suffer from any age-related diseases. When he told stories of centenarians who passed away, they died peacefully in their sleep. They were healthy and had a purpose in life until the end.
"We can live a shorter life with more years of disability, or we can live the longest possible life with the fewest bad years. As my centenarian friends showed me, the choice is largely up to us." - Dan Buettner
Through his findings, Buettner created the Power 9. Doing these 9 things can help you add years to your life.
Move Naturally - This involves finding ways to incorporate movement in your life that you do without even thinking about it. Daily, low-intensity activities are the goal.
Hara Hachi Bu is a practice he discovered in Okinawa. It means eat until you are 80% full.
Eat a More Plant-Based Diet - Limiting meat and eating more fruits and vegetables was a big part of the centenarian diet. A daily serving of nuts and beans were also encouraged.
Drink Red Wine - He recommends consuming a serving or two of red wine daily.
Have a Purpose - Finding a mission in life or a reason to wake up each morning is part of living a long, fulfilling life.
Downshift - Relieve stressors and reduce the noise in your everyday life.
Belong - Find a spiritual community. Faith is a big part of life for centenarians.
Make Family a Priority - Centenarians put family first and have strong family values. Many live with their family as they age. Creating family rituals as a part of your daily life is important.
Build an Inner Circle - Having strong social connections creates a positive support network. Meet regularly with those people who add value to your life.
The last chapter of the book goes over creating a personal blue zone plan for your life. It refers the reader to a quiz on the website that determines your current health and provides improvements you can make to live longer. I recommend doing it to get an idea of areas you can focus on to improve your overall life expectancy.
I enjoyed the book and would recommend adopting this lifestyle to anyone. It is less about unrealistic diet and exercise goals and more about creating a balanced, meaningful life. The book promotes healthy eating, movement that you enjoy, finding purpose, and building quality relationships in your life. That is a plan I believe in and encourage. It closely follows the philosophies presented in the 100 days to change series. These guided journals promote healthy, balanced, happy living. They were created to help you implement daily habits that increase the quality of your life and maybe even add a few more years to your journey on this Earth.
Ready to start your journey to 100? Our guided journal 100 Days to Healthy is based on the principles of the Blue Zones. It promotes healthy living and is a great way to develop the habits needed to live a long and happy life.
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