Answer: Dan Beuttner explains how. Watch his TED talk and find out.
Dan Buettner: How to live to be 100+ (2010, 22 minutes; >160,000 downloads)
Talk summary:
To find the path to long life and health, Dan Buettner and team study the world’s “Blue Zones,” communities whose elders live with vim and vigor to record-setting age. Dan shares the 9 common diet and lifestyle habits that keep them spry past age 100.
Some highlights:
“The best science tells us that the capacity of the human body is about 90 years–a bit longer for women. But life expectancy in [the USA] is only 78. So somewhere along the line we’re leaving about 12 good years on the table. . . And the research shows that they could be years largely free of chronic disease.”
“The two most dangerous years of your life are the year you are born, because of infant mortality, and the year you retire.”
Common characteristics of people living in these healthy cultures:
- They move naturally: Their lifestyle constantly nudges them into physical activity, and when they do do formal exercise, it’s exercise they enjoy.
- They have the right outlook: (a) They take time to downshift each day ( usually through prayer).
(b) They have a strong sense of purpose in their life.
- They eat wisely: (a) They drink a bit of wine each day.
(b) They have a plant-based diet, with lots of beans and nuts with maybe some meat.
(c) They have strategies to keep from over-eating.
- They form strong social connections: (a) They put family first, caring for their children and their elderly well.
(b) They belong to faith-based communities.
(c) They belong to the right tribe, either being born into it or proactively surrounding themselves with the right people.
