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

“You don’t just wake up one day and have cancer. It’s a process, not an event. And prevention is the same way; it has to be a daily activity.” With this in mind, Dan Buettner, accompanied by various teams of doctors and researchers, goes on a globe trot to find out which cultures live the longest and why. From Seventh Day Adventists in Southern California to Costa Rica to Greece to Okinawa he tracks down and interviews the most aged healthy people on the planet. Then in The Blue Zones he lays out lessons on how to live longer based on the interviews and research. Vegans vegetarians and gym haters will be thrilled with this book. All of the diets include very little or no meat. All the cultures encouraged modest, regular physical activity like walking and working in the garden. None of them went to gyms.While the diets varied there were commonalities like eating fruits or vegetables, cultivating their own gardens full of green foods, and having a fulfilling social and/or family life. Several cultures drank daily herbal teas; most avoided dairy. Ikarians drink alcohol daily; Sardinians drink only a locally made wine and Adventists drink no alcohol at all. Okinawans eat fermented soy, sweet potatoes, miso paste, fresh organic vegies, garlic, onions and use lots of herbs, like Jasmine, in tea. Besides the Seventh Day Adventists, the Costa Ricans with their tortillas, beans, rice, fresh fruit, hard work and hard water, were the only people from the Americas that made the longevity list. Imagine that Americans, North and South.It is not a new book, published in 2008, yet I find it still relevant. Buettner does a good job of describing different locals and the longest-living people and their personalities, so that I felt I was in the rooms and villages with him. He reveals the depth of work he and others have gone through to collect accurate data and presents it in an interesting way. Probably most of us knew most of it or could guess at it already, but do we do it? I myself could not live full time the lifestyle of any of these cultures. I love living in a big city with all its diversions, so naturally, I encounter the stress that comes with my lifestyle. However, I can and do “borrow” from these centenarians good reminders to keep doing what I already am doing, such as keep a positive mindset; eat nuts, and vegetables; drink herbal teas; and walk daily.Perhaps, the most relevant passage in the book is: “Have a plan de vida. Successful centenarians have a strong sense of purpose. They feel needed and want to contribute to a greater good. . . the most highly functioning people over 90 in Nicoya have a few common traits. . . One of them is that they feel a strong sense of service to others or care for their family. We see that as soon as they lose this, the switch goes off. They die very quickly if they don’t feel needed.”If you are a stressed-out city dweller and in a big rush, or going to die next week, because you stuff yourself with junk food, chain smoke, complain all the time, and never concern yourself with others, you can just read the end of each chapter in which Buettner lists the “secret” habits of each centenarian culture. If you choose to read only the chapter end lists, you’ll miss meeting those centenarians and hearing their stories; you’ll miss seeing how the scientist live and work together, but you’ll get an outline for a “plan de vida”. It’s not too late (well, maybe for those who will die next week) for a change of attitude and a diet adjustment. I recommend reading the entire book, incorporating what works for you and enjoying life. In doing so, you’ll probably live longer too.

After learning about the Blue Zones I was inspired to book a vacation with my girlfriend to Ikaria Island in Greece. I have to say it was the one of the best experiences we ever had.I've read all the comments on here, and for those who keep complaining about it's not scientific enough, well they just don't get it and probably never will. The problem with most people is they want to know which foods to eat, which supplements to swallow and what kind of exercises to do at the gym and how often. As the author states it's not about that. It's a combination of many things and all about doing things naturally.Ikaria was the most laid back place I've ever been to. No one is in a hurry there and they have no concept of time. It took me a couple of days to adjust to it, but after working years at a job where your boss freaks out if you are 2 minutes late, it's was a refreshing place. Plus visiting the historic sites, eating the food, interacting with the locals who live there, and visiting the thermal springs, was all refreshing. If there ever was a fountain of youth, this place was it. Everyone was so friendly and treated us like family. We went during the very end of the tourist season to get a better of idea of how the locals really are instead of having to deal with tourist. The wine is different than other wines, the honey is unique, the teas are unique. In fact everything about Ikaria is unique. It's easy to make healthy choices since this place nudges you into them. Even the walks don't seem like exercise because the scenery is so beautiful. Even getting to the beaches at many places requires a climb down the rocks.My point is the author wrote the perfect book in the perfect way. I didn't want to read some dry boring book about scientific charts and numbers. The author writes from an explorer's point of view and there is no better way to put the points across. So open your mind and forgot your normal way of thinking. Or better yet, get off your butt and actually go visit a Blue Zone area like we did. You won't regret it and the book will make even more sense to you after experiencing it yourself.