What would you do,
if you could live to be 100?
Regina Boi lives on the Italian island of Sardinia, where she works in a community bakery with eleven other women. Boi, who is in her eighties, lives in one of the world’s «Blue Zones» – areas where people tend to live longer than other places – and the residents often live to celebrate their 100th birthdays!
While working for National Geographic magazine, explorer Dan Buettner caught on to the fact that there are specific places in the world where people live longer than the average. He called the areas Blue Zones and identified five of them: Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Icaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California, USA.
In addition to living longer, Buettner found out that people in Blue Zones are happier and healthier. According to Buettner, their culture and way of life are responsible for this, not their genes. Buettner figured out that residents of Blue Zones have certain things in common, such as their diet. They all drink a lot of tea and water, and eat very little meat. Instead, their mostly plant-based diet includes a lot of vegetables, beans, nuts, and whole grains. Additionally, people in Blue Zones do a lot of physical activity. They don’t work out, but get exercise from routine tasks such as gardening, walking places rather than driving, and doing household chores.
Another thing people in Blue Zones have in common is being social. «You can’t walk outside your front door in these regions without bumping into somebody you know, and this is all so much more powerful than we think,» explains Buettner. In Blue Zone communities, grandparents often live with their children and grandchildren, which studies show can build up longevity. Elderly people are valued members of the community who continue to contribute – just like Boi, who still runs the whole bakery!
Buettner has brought Blue Zone principles to communities across the United States with his Blue Zones Project. By working with policy makers, local businesses, schools and individuals, the project has helped increase life expectancy in Blue Zones Project communities. So, what’s Buettner’s advice for those of us who don’t live in Blue Zones? He says we should make healthier choices.
As the Sardinians say, «May you live to 100!»
6 Phrasal Verbs to Learn
To catch on
To build up
To figure out
To find out
To work out
To bump into
Live to 100!
Award-winning author and researcher Dan Buettner has traveled the world to meet the planet’s longest-lived people, and learned nine powerful yet simple lessons that could put you on the path to longer life. Where did he find them? In the Blue Zones. Blue Zones are communities where common elements of lifestyle, diet and outlook have led to an amazing quantity – and quality – of life. Dan Buettner shares the secrets from four of the world’s Blue Zones. Buettner’s extensive study uncovers how these people manage to live longer and better, but found in the everyday things they do: the food they eat, the company they keep, and their very perspectives on life. In The Blue Zones, they become yours to follow for life!
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The Blue Zones of Happiness: Lessons from the World’s Happiest People (2017) by Dan Buettner explores how personal choices, cultural milieu, and geographical location all help promote happiness. Buettner draws lessons from cultural practices in some of the world’s “Blue Zones,” or geographic areas where the population tends to live long, happy lives…
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