IF YOU are looking for a fountain of youth, forget pills and diet supplements. Adventurer Dan Buettner has visited four spots on the globe where people live into their 90s and 100s and outlines how they add years of good life in his new book, ‘The Blue Zones’.
The answer, Mr Buettner says, smaller food portions, an active lifestyle and moderate drinking. “If someone tells you they have a pill or hormone (that extends life), you’re about to lose money,” Mr Buettner says. He identifies four hot spots of longevity: the mountainous Barbagia region of Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy; the Japanese island of Okinawa; a community of seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California, 60 miles east of Los Angeles; and the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica.
What Mr Buettner found in his seven years of research and travel were common denominators among the vigorous super-elderly — close family relationships, a sense of purpose and healthy eating habits. He distils them into what he calls the Power Nine that readers can use to create their own Blue Zone.
“Picking half a dozen things off of this a la carte menu, and sticking to it, is probably worth eight to 10 extra years for the average American. And you’ll look younger and feel younger on the way,” says Mr Buettner, a tall and lean 48-yearold who says he hopes to live at least upto 100.
Mr Buettner turned to probing the secrets of the longest-living cultures after leading three long-distance bicycle expeditions — from the tip of North America to the tip of South America; across the US, Europe and the Soviet Union; and across Africa—in the 1980s and 1990s. He also used the internet to take classrooms on interactive quests to solve everything from the collapse of the ancient Mayan civilisation to human origins in Africa.
Mr Buettner made his first expedition to Okinawa in 2000 and eventually wrote a ‘National Geographic’ cover story, ‘The secrets of long life,’ in November 2005. That led to ‘National Geographic’ publishing ‘The Blue Zones’ this March. The book debuted at No. 15 on ‘The New York Times’ list of advice book best sellers but has since dropped off.
Living long—even forever—is a human desire throughout history, says International Longevity Center-USA’s president and CEO Dr Robert Butler. But Mr Butler says he’s sceptical of claims of places of long-living people. “There have always been these rumours but they’ve always turned out to be inaccurate,” said Mr Butler, who appears in ‘The Blue Zones’.
Don't forget the view the site: http://www.bluezones.com
If possible sign in that site to partake Vitality Compass, a simple test that can tell you how young/old you are. http://www.bluezones.com/compass
from Economic Times, 21 Jun 2008
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