 | Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com | Book Description
With the right lifestyle, experts say, chances are that you may live up to a decade longer. What’s the prescription for success? National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner has traveled the globe to uncover the best strategies for longevity found in the Blue Zones: places in the world where higher percentages of people enjoy remarkably long, full lives. And in this dynamic book he discloses the recipe, blending this unique lifestyle formula with the latest scientific findings to inspire easy, lasting change that may add years to your life.
You’ll meet a 94-year-old farmer and self-confessed "ladies man" in Costa Rica, a 102-year-old grandmother in Okinawa a 102-year-old Sardinian who hikes at least six miles a day, and others. By observing their lifestyles, Buettner's team has identified critical everyday choices. Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Dan Buettner
Question: In your book, you identify the "Power 9": nine habits or behaviors all Blue Zone populations have in common. Could you talk about one or two that the average American takes most for granted? Dan Buettner: Many Americans exercise too hard. The life expectancy of our species, for 99.9% of human history, was about 30 years. The fact that medicine has pushed life expectancy to age 78 doesn't mean our bodies were designed for three-quarters of a century of pounding. Muscles tear, joints wear out, backs go out. The world's longest-lived people tend to do regular, low intensity physical activity, like walking with friends, gardening and playing with their children. The key is to do something light every day. I also think the trend toward isolation is a mistake. Drive down any American street at 9:00 pm and you can see the greenish glow of the television or the computer in people's window. We've become an increasingly isolated society. Fifteen years ago, the average American had three good friends. Now it's down to two. We know that isolation shaves good years off of your life. In The Blue Zones, I advocate reconnecting with your religious community and proactively building friendships with the right people. Question: Is there something about the physical landscape that contributes to an area being a Blue Zone, or can people make their own personal Blue Zones, regardless of where they live? Dan Buettner: Staying young and living long is mostly a function of your environment... and the good news is that to a great extent, we each have control over that environment. In the Blue Zones around the world, people live in places where walking is the main means of transportation, where the sun shines strong all year long so they get enough vitamin D; where they have established social norms that bring people together in supportive groups or clubs. The Blue Zones book shows you how to take about two hours and set up your home, your social life and your work place to help you get up to 10 more good years out of life (and look younger along the way!). Question: Are Blue Zones about living longer, or living better? Dan Buettner: Both. The same things that get you to a healthy 100 get you there better. The Blue Zones offers a completely different way to think about longevity and youth maintenance. If you look at the Power9—the common denominators of the longest-lived people—you see that they tend to put their families first, they belong to a faith-based community and they know their sense of purpose. All of these behaviors are associated with 3-6 years of life (which is better than any diet can promise) and they're good years. In other words, the same Blue Zone tenets that will help you get to a healthy age 90 will help ensure those years are vital and enriching. Question: If considering all nine habits at once seems overwhelming, what's the first step someone could take toward living a more enriching, longer life? Dan Buettner: The good news is that the Power9 is an a la carte menu: by no means do you have to do all nine to gain more good years out of life. In fact, do six of them and get about 90% of the benefit. The most important thing you can do is building your own Right Tribe. Which is to say, all of the world's longest-lived people were born into, or consciously chose to associate with, the right people. The Framingham Studies show us that if your three best friends are obese, there's a 50% better chance that you'll be obese. The reverse is true too. If you dine with people who eat healthy food, you're more likely to eat healthy food; if the friends you spend the most time with play a sport, you're more likely to join them. As your mother said, "You're known by the company you keep." You're also likely to resemble them. |
Average Customer Rating:   Anecdotes interesting, suggestions inconsistent My husband heard the author speak at a medical conference recently. He was impressed enough to want to get the book. Two of his colleagues, both geriatricians as well, had varying opinions. One thought the lecture was one of the top five he had ever heard. The other walked out because it was just too loosey-goosey.
It is unfortunate that the publisher put Dr. Oz's comment ("A must-read if you want to stay young!" on the cover or used it at all. Who cares about youth; we are talking about aging.
This book is about a healthy attitude toward growing old and not about staying young. It is about optimizing who we are and what we do under the limitations that growing older imposes. And that is why i gave it one star.
I probably should have given it another star for the stories of the Blue Zone individuals. They were inspiring.
But there is too much that is a waste to give it more than two stars.
On the positive side there is a very general outline and reminders of what most people already know. Reminders can be helpful. The best of the lessons is Lesson One: Move Naturally. If you don't sweat, don't sweat it, just get up and move and move in a variety of ways for endurance, strength, stretching, and balance. Living to exercise as so many in America do these days may not be as beneficial as exercising to live--moderation not marathons or sprints, simplicity not machines and complicated poses, carrying what you can and need to.
The rest of this review is on the negative side, so if you have decided to buy the book and are entranced by the positive reviews, you may want to stop here.
As a self-help book, this book is mediocre or worse. There are not enough ideas for what one can do to implement the lessons. The ideas that are there are very general. Don't look for much outside help here. You better be ready to do your own research and find your own data. If you are looking for lots of suggestions and options, you won't find them here.
The book uses some documentation, in my opinion to give a false sense of authority to the opinions.
There is nothing new here if one has kept up with literature on aging, even the popular literature. And the nine lessons and the suggested strategies are inconsistent. His slant is definitely toward Eastern philosophy and vegetarianism, although he does include some options for other philosophies.
Lesson 4--Grapes of Life: It is all about alcohol, especially red wine, and there is no consideration of those who chose not to drink alcohol because of addition, personal beliefs, or medical reasons. It would have been improved if he had discussed why alcoholic drinks may have more benefit than fruit juices from which the wine is made. That is a real disservice to alcoholics, especially in a book, that even though it states that "you don't have to do it all", wants to make things easy and give a great variety of options. Also in the lesson on meat there is a description of the size of a piece of meat that is appropriate. In the lesson on alcohol, the size is 'a glass'. Well, there are many different sizes of glasses and as with supersized sodas, there are supersized alcoholic drinks. I think 4 ounces is the size of 'a glass'.
Lesson 6: With respect to meditation, there is no real good definition of what he means by that. If i don't follow Eastern practices, can i meditate on the pleasure of seeing my enemy suffer? Again there is no strategy for those who would like to do something similar to this but aren't into Eastern meditation.
So there isn't much new here. Having been to the website, i feel that the book is a big promotion for the website and the author's business.
Get it at the library. Borrow it from a friend. Buy it at a used book store. Share the cost of the book with others. But don't get too excited about not reading it. There are more supportive books with better and more complete ideas about aging gracefully and in good health out there if you need books. Better still, if you have internet access, just get on line and look for blogs and sites that are there for the picking.
Great service I ordered the book and it was sent to me quickly. It's condition is good and I am pleased with the book and the service providing the book to me. Our neighborhood is going to employ some of the ideaas put forth in the book. Thank you. Add more (and better) years to your life! "The Blue Zones" provides a comprehensive, fascinating, easy-to-read prescription not only for adding years to your life, but also adding life to your years. It is a refreshing contrast to the "quick fix" (and ineffective) approaches that many American authors take to health and wellness reporting.
By focusing on the areas of the world (known as "Blue Zones") where people tend to live the longest, healthiest lives, the author systematically investigates what it is about these unique populations that contributes to their extraordinary health and vigor. At the end of each chapter, he summarizes the lessons learned from each particular Blue Zone population. A remarkable and consistent pattern emerges, with many of the same behaviors appearing in very diverse (geographically and culturally) populations that all share the characteristic of longevity. Then, in the final chapter he pulls it all together into practical recommendations that every one of us can incorporate into our own lives to increase our longevity, health, and vitality.
I appreciated the journalistic style in which the book was written. The author takes us along with him as he explores each of the populations that have been targeted as Blue Zones, and he allows us to share his process of discovery about the secrets to longevity that each population holds. We get to meet many remarkable and inspiring individuals, while learning about the geography in which they live and the cultures that they share. The author's writing style is engaging - I had trouble putting the book down!
The recommendations that emerge go beyond just diet and exercise (though these are an important part of it), speaking also of mental outlook, the importance of having a reason for living, the influence of religious faith and of social connections.
This book prescribes a powerful antidote to many of the practices that have conspired to make Western populations so unhealthy and unhappy. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in living a longer, healthier, fuller life!
A Motivational and Practical "Must Read"! You may already know that the world's longest lived healthiest people get lots of physical activity, consume very little if any of their diet as animal products, have close family ties, a spiritual (not necessarily religious) practice, and a sense of purpose in life. If you don't know this, I strongly recommend you read this book. And if you do know this, I strongly recommend you read this book for 3 reasons: A. There still may be things in here you don't know, such as the importance of drinking hard water as opposed to soft or distilled, B. Motivation, and C. the practical advice to help the reader implement the strategies successful seniors use to stay healthy and active.
The motivational factor of this book is huge. There's nothing like reading about 100 year-old Marge Jetton, riding more than 8 miles on her exercise bike at a speed of 25 and 30 miles per hour while she tells her life story without having to catch her breath. There's nothing like seeing the picture of 91 year-old heart surgeon, Dr. Ellsworth Wareham, age 91, assisting with heart surgery, after he spent the weekend installing an 8 foot high wooden fence on his property in the heat. The folks in this book are great motivators for us much younger readers to get off our butts, exercise, eat something healthier than a bucket of chicken wings, and perhaps reconnect with family and friends.
After visiting people well into their 90s or 100s, in the four blue zones, there is a very helpful chapter discussing the commonalities among successful seniors across these cultures, breaking down what they're doing into 9 strategies. Each strategy lists specific things we can do to implement that strategy. Few, if any, people will implement all these things, but just doing a few will certainly help most readers. I'm impressed that Blue Zones is as hands-on practical as it is motivational.
My quibbles with the book are minor. I think it could have used a little editing, as the reader doesn't need to know so much about the logistics of how the meetings were set up or of traveling around these countries. Also, on page 242, there's a list of "best nuts" and "less desirable" nuts. I take issue with listing Brazil nuts as less desirable because these are the richest nut source of selenium, which is necessary for optimal immune functioning, yet low in many soils. Brazil nuts are also very high in vitamin B1. Peanuts OTOH are listed as one of the most desirable sources of nuts. Peanuts, which are technically legumes, are difficult to find raw. (Eating raw nuts and peanuts is preferred as heating them damages their fats.) However, peanuts often contain aflatoxins, a carcinogen.
Despite my quibbles, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. I think it should be on everyone's reading list!
It was a gift for someone else, and he liked it I bought this book as a gift after seeing the author being interviewed on CNN. The feedback was that it's more of a personal opionion than a scientific study, but a very interesting light read to gain overall health. |  |
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