Dan Buettner’s Live to 100 docuseries on Netflix points out: “The same things that help us live a long and healthy life are the things that make life worth living.”
The consistencies in Buettner’s explanation for why inhabitants of Blue Zones continue to live longer are intricately woven into the culture of the people of these areas. The families and communities are tight, they eat exceptionally well, they enjoy an active, movement-centered lifestyle, and they maintain a strong sense of meaning, purpose and faith.
“Only about 20% of how long you live is dictated by your genes. The other 80% is something else, and a lot of what produces healthy longevity surprises people. People in the Blue Zones are achieving an extra 10 years without disease, and it costs them nothing. Their journey to a healthy age 100 is joyous,” Buettner tells TODAY.com. “In fact, there’s about an 80% overlap where what drives longevity also drives happiness.”
WHAT DOES LIVING LONGER LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
What we can agree on, because the statistics aren’t lying, is that, despite the rise in diseases and lifestyle-related health problems, we’re all living longer, albeit not necessarily healthier. With modern medicine, average global life expectancy has more than doubled over the past 100 years. But the burden of chronic disease has also increased dramatically–millions are living longer with heart disease, diabetes and even cancer.
As awareness grows around the idea that we could avoid growing old chronically ill, the concept of healthspan has gained ground–although even Buettner admits that we most likely won’t find consensus yet among the broader public.
“I have found that most of what people think leads to a long, healthy life is misguided, or just plain wrong,” he says, pointing to our obsession with diet plans, gym memberships and expensive supplements (noticeably absent from the lifestyles of inhabitants of the Blue Zones). “The fact of the matter
