Blue Zones, The: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest (The Blue Zones) Mass Market Paperback – Illustrated, October 19, 2010

This review is based on the audible audiobook.I was not expecting much from this book at all, and I was pleasantly surprised. For one, I had just finished "The China Study" and "The Jungle Effect: Healthiest Diets from Around the World," by Daphne Miller, both of which were excellent. For another, the book was published by National Geographic, and for some reason I figured it this was more mainstream and would be a watered-down, feel good book for Americans. However, I was totally wrong and this book was honest, hard-hitting, and also excellent.In fact, "Blue Zones", "The China Study" and "Jungle Effect" are extremely complimentary to each other. Part of the reason for this is that "The China Study" just focuses on a few areas geographically (granted, they are big areas), while "The Jungle Effect" and Blue Zones add other areas to the mix, with some overlap and some new geographical areas between the latter two books.One small issue with "Blue Zones" is that it focuses on centenarians. While it does touch on this some, an important thing to understand is that even if people aren't living to be 100-plus, the people in these areas have incredibly less degenerative disease than typical Americans do. What that means is that while they aren't disease free, the people in these "blue zones" have less cancer, heart disease, diabetes, inflammatory-related disease, etc.In fact, these areas of health are often isolated areas in regions where the same ethnic populations have higher disease rates similar to western countries. For example, in both "The Jungle Effect" and "Blue Zones," the authors often reached modern destinations populated with fast-food restaurants and all the things that go along with more affluent living, including western diseases. To get to the really healthy people, they had to travel outside these areas. But what this shows is that clearly it isn't just a matter of genes. Within the same ethnic groups, those that ate like westerners, had diseases of affluence, while those that ate the "old" ways, were living healthily into their eighties, nineties and on.The neat thing is that among these people, from China to Costa Rica, a very clear pattern emerges. While almost every single group ate meat, they usually did so only on special occasions and holidays, and as more of a side dish than the main course. For example, the first centenarian interviewed in "Blue Zones" only ate meat on Sundays.In fact, between three books, the diets were almost identical, give or take a small difference here or there, and only one group examined in any detail was vegetarian, which was the Seventh Day Adventist in America.Among the groups that did eat a lot of animal products, as some in "The Jungle Effect" did, it was because they lived in geographically harsh conditions where it was impractical to grow vegetables and eat them directly. People in these areas were forced to get their nutrition second-hand through the animals they ate. The key point to understand is that these animals were not eaten in the way typical Americans eat them. The meat or fish was usually wild, and they ate the whole animals, organs and all.It is funny how this information can be viewed, and clearly there is a pattern to be viewed, and researchers overlay information onto the subject which was not actually present in the data. For example, Dr. Weston Price viewed this same evidence first hand, and yet somehow, his foundation focuses only on the groups which ate a lot of animals, regardless of the fact that Americans did not eat meat in the same way these groups did, nor was the meat of the same quality, nor did Americans put the same amount of effort into preparing the meat.In The China Study, T. Colin Campbell viewed the same information that Dr. Weston Price viewed, and advocated veganism, regardless of the fact that the vast majority of the people he studied ate animal products during special events, celebrations, and holidays. To Dr. Campbell, all disease was related to diet, as well,despite the fact that there is a clear evidence that there are other causes for disease. Lack of exercise, sunshine, etc., for example, can all cause disease.So it appears there is some danger in getting all your information from one source, but between these three books, a sort of balance starts to emerge and a picture is painted...one that clearly shows that health is a package deal, and here are the items in the package:1) Move naturally. 2) Have a purpose. 3) Have a stress shedding strategy. 4) Stop eating when your stomach is 80% full. 5) Eat a plant-based diet. 6) Drink 1-2 drinks per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine). 7) Belong to a faith-community. 8) Put loved ones first and 9) Hang with a tribe that has healthy attributes.Also, one of the important things that "Blue Zones" adds to the debate is that in Costa Rica, government records were examined to verify the ages of the centenarians. This is important because no matter the amount of effort and documentation that went into "The China Study", some simply dismiss the entire book as lies by the Chinese people. With this verification in "Blue Zones" the opportunity to simply dismiss it in this manner goes right out the window.You know, despite all the information we have, people still smoke and do drugs, so just having this information available does not mean that everyone would follow it. But these three books should be read by everyone, so that at least when they get cancer or heart disease, they understand why they got sick and not try to blame God.

Blue . . . the color of peace, tranquility, and everlasting life. Standing at the edge of the ocean, big waves splashing cool, salty water over my toes, I look out over the ocean and up at the turquoise sky, feeling as one with the earth. The ocean, where life began, and the sky, where my soul will later disappear, show the color blue as far as I can see.Somewhere in between the beginning of life and eternity lies the Blue Zone, a place offering longevity, good health, and contentment. While the Blue Zones described in Dan Buettner's chronicle are found in four specific locations broadly spread across the earth, he tells us in detail how we can create our own "Blue Zone." These four places, populated with many centenarians, share their secrets with us through the magnificent stories told to us by Dan Buettner.I ran across a newspaper article about The Blue Zones when I was researching why obesity seemed prevalent in certain departments of my company. It seemed to me there must have been a great deal of negative influence on each other, perhaps a contagious attitude of not caring what they eat. Dan confirmed what I suspected, stating that studies have shown that if your three best friends are obese, you have a 50 percent greater chance of also being obese. The Blue Zones have taught us that in order to live longer, healthier lives we need to surround ourselves with the right people, people who reinforce the right habits.We can learn so much from the inspiring stories of the people in this book. Marge Jetton, 100 at the time the book was written, is shown in a photograph lifting weights. She begins each day with a mile walk, a stationary bike ride, and (of course) lifting weights. In our literary visit to Costa Rica, we meet Juvenil Munoz, a 90 year old man who eats mostly beans, tortillas, fruit, and once a year, beef when he butchers a cow. Yes, you read that right, just once a year he eats beef. These are just two of the amazing people you will meet in this book. Why don't you order it so you can meet the others? You'll learn something special about life from each and every one.Some books are for dieters, some are for athletes, and some are for cooks. The Blue Zones is for everyone. Even if you're one of the few people who don't care about living a long life, you'll love the journey through this book. It is like no other you've ever taken. Beam me to the Blue Zones!

Boring. Useless.

Great and easy read. Loved it, and learned a lot !

Sehr interessantes Buch, das das Thema der Langlebigkeit behandelt. Der Autor hat mit anderen Wissenschaftern Regionen besucht, in denen es einen überdurchschnittlichen Anteil an 100jährigen Menschen gibt. Egal, ob Sardinien, eine japanische Insel oder in Costa Rica - überall wurden bestimmte Gemeinsamkeiten entdeckt: eine überwiegend pflanzliche Ernährung (oder sogar ausschließlich pflanzlich), viel körperliche Bewegung, enge Familienbande und eine tägliche Aufgabe waren die herausragenden Faktoren. Sehr interessant und empfehlenswert.

I was hoping to see Ikaria in this book, and somehow didn't realize that it isn't included. But the book is still fantastic. For a work of non-fiction, I find it spell-binding, since I love to learn the way other cultures have lived and thrived over generations. I've learned a lot, and some of the lessons come to mind often––including the benefit of living each day with a concrete purpose in mind. I come back to this book now and then for inspiration, which I know I'll keep doing over the years. It was a good purchase.

Interesting marginally repititive.