The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World's Healthiest People

301 Pages·2015·1.75 MB·English

by  Dan Buettner

ALSO BY DAN BUETTNER:
The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From
the People Who’ve Lived the Longest
Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way
Published by the National Geographic Society
1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036
Copyright © 2015 Dan Buettner. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of
the contents without written permission from the publisher is prohibited.
Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint “Giant Beans in Tomato Sauce” from
The Mediterranean Slow Cooker by Michele Scicolone. Copyright © 2013 by Michele Scicolone.
Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Buettner, Dan.
The Blue Zones solution : eating and living like the world’s healthiest people / Dan Buettner.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-4262-1192-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
eBook ISBN: 978-1-42621193-5
1. Diet. 2. Nutrition. 3. Health. 4. Functional foods. I. Title.
RA784.B75 2015
613.2–dc23
2014044932
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For brothers Steve, Nick, and Tony—my best friends
and partners in exploration.
A MESSAGE TO THE READER
This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is
intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects
addressed in the publication. It is sold with the understanding that the
authors and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health, or
any other kind of personal professional services in the book. The reader
should consult his or her medical, health, or other competent
professional before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or
drawing inferences from it.
The authors and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any
liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a
consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of
the contents in this book.
CONTENTS
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
A Message to the Reader
Foreword by Dean Ornish, M.D.
Introduction: Discovering the Blue Zones Solution
PART ONE
Discovering the Blue Zones
The Secrets of a Mediterranean Diet: Ikaria, Greece
A Diet From the World’s Longest-Lived Women: Okinawa, Japan
A Diet From the World’s Longest-Lived Men: Sardinia, Italy
An American Blue Zones Diet: Loma Linda, California
History’s Best Longevity Diet: Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
PART TWO
Making an American Blue Zone
Finland’s Miracle Makeover
The Minnesota Experiment
Thriving in the Beach Cities
Blue Zoning the Pork State
PART THREE
Building Your Own Blue Zone
Food Rituals: How to Eat to 100
Blue Zones Menus: Meals and Snacks
Blue Zones Living: A Design for Easy Health
PART FOUR
Blue Zones Recipes
77 Easy, Delicious Recipes
The Science Behind the Blue Zones Solution
Acknowledgments
Selected Bibliography
FOREWORD

S A JOURNALIST AND HEALTH ACTIVIST, Dan Buettner has redefined what it
means to be a National Geographic Fellow, investigating
Aextraordinary places around the world—called Blue Zones—
where people live long, healthy lives.
In this new book, The Blue Zones Solution, Dan describes in detail how
we can incorporate the life-extending diets and habits of these people
into our own lives. Based on his extensive reporting and exhaustive
research by his team of experts, Dan has teased out the key factors that
have enabled Blue Zones residents to enjoy long, healthy lives. In a
sense, he’s reverse-engineered a solution to better health and longevity
so that we, too, can live long and well.
Of course, it’s not just how long we live, it’s also how well we live.
People in Blue Zones cultures not only live longer lives, they often live
better lives, with health, meaning, and love—dying young as old as
possible.
For the past several years, Dan has launched a major public health
initiative to transform American cities based on principles from this
book—establishing Blue Zones right here in the United States. Part of
what he’s learned is that you’re more likely to make healthier choices
when it’s easier to do so. In this book, he shows you how.
His findings echo the research that my colleagues and I have
conducted for almost four decades. As we’ve also learned, the most
powerful determinants of our health and well-being are the lifestyle
choices we make each day: