Table Of ContentPublished by the National Geographic Society
Copyright © 2008, 2012 Dan Buettner
All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written
permission from the publisher is prohibited.
Illustration Credits: 1.1: Coneyl Jay/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 1.2: Bettmann/Corbis; 1.3:
David McLain/Aurora Photos; 2.1: Alinari Archives/Corbis; 2.2: David McLain/Aurora
Photos; 2.3, 2.4, 3.1: David McLain/NGS Image Collection; 3.2, 3.3, 3.4: David
McLain/Aurora Photos; 4.1: Ellen G. White Estate, Inc.; 4.2, 4.3, 4.4: David McLain/Aurora
Photos; 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5: Gianluca Colla; 7.1: David McLain/NGS
Image Collection; 7.2, 7.3: David McLain/Aurora Photos; 7.4: David McLain/NGS Image
Collection.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the first edition as follows:
Buettner, Dan.
The blue zones : lessons for living longer from the people who’ve lived the longest /
by Dan Buettner.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN: 978-1-42620949-9
1. Longevity. 2. Medical geography. I. Title.
RA776.75.B84 2008
613.2—dc22
2007044375
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v3.1
For Roger and Dolly
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
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
A Message to the Reader
Acknowledgments
Preface
Get Ready to Change Your Life
Chapter One
The Truth About Living Longer
Chapter Two
The Sardinian Blue Zone
Chapter Three
The Blue Zone in Okinawa
Chapter Four
An American Blue Zone
Chapter Five
Discovering Costa Rica’s Blue Zone
Chapter Six
The Greek Blue Zone
Chapter Seven
Your Personal Blue Zone
Reflecting on the Lessons
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
WITHOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA’S Dr. Robert Kane,
who endorsed and helped shape the Blue Zones premise, this
book would have never materialized. He and his colleagues
from the National Institute on Aging, Dr. Jack Guralnik, Dr. Luigi
Ferrucci and Dr. Paul Costas; Dr. Thomas Perls from the New England
Centenarian Study; Dr. Greg Plotnikoff, Medical Director of Allina’s
Institute for Health and Healing; University of Louvain’s Dr. Michel
Poulain and University of Illinois, Chicago’s Dr. S. Jay Olshansky would
spend countless hours sharing expertise, identifying locations,
developing methodologies, and ultimately keeping me on the path of
science and off the short cuts of conjecture and hyperbole. I cannot
thank them enough.
Of the many experts around the world who contributed to this project,
I am especially indebted to Dr. Craig Willcox, Dr. Bradley Willcox, Dr.
Mokoto Suzuki of the Okinawa Centenarian study; Dr. Tatsama; Dr. Luca
Deiana of Sardinia’s AKEA Study and his incandescently brilliant protégé
Dr. Gianni Pes; Dr. Paolo Francalacci; Drs. Gary Fraser and Terry Butler
of the Adventist Health Study; Dr. Luis Rosero-Bixby of the Central
American Population Center; and Dr. Leonardo Mata. They not only lent
their expertise but also extended their hospitality and generosity of
spirit. Dr. Len Hayflick, Dr. Jack Weatherford, and Dr. Richard Suzman
graciously consented to many long interviews. The faculty at the
University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, including Dr. Robert
Jeffreys, Dr. Tatyana Shamliyan, Dr. Robert W. Jeffery, Dr. John
Finnegan, Dr. Cheryl Perry, and especially Dr. Leslie Lytle have been and
still are my academic partners.
Many of the experiences on which this book is based reflect a shared
effort by the members of Quest Team who have traveled with me to the
Blue Zones. Photographer and longtime expedition partner David McLain
deserves much of the credit in developing the Blue Zones idea. Nick
Buettner, Damian Petrou, Gianluca Colla, Sabriya Rice, Rachel Binns,
Sayoko Ogata, Dr. Elizabeth Lopez, Eliza Thomas, Tom Adair, Michael
Mintz, Meshach Weber, Thad Dahlberg, Eric Luoma, Joseph Van Harken,
and Suzanne Pfeifer all shared their ample talents and endured many
long days and nights to bring Blue Zones to life.
This story would have never been told without Peter Miller, my editor
at National Geographic. He backed the idea for the original magazine
story and guided me through my first drafts of the book. Michelle Harris
further improved the book through her thorough fact checking, and Dr.
Robert M. Russell’s review of our chapters helped keep us on track. Also
at National Geographic, I thank Lisa Thomas and Amy Briggs for
orchestrating this book; Rebecca Martin for shepherding us through the
Expeditions Council grant process; Valerie May and Miki Meek for
bringing Blue Zones to life online; and picture editor Susan Welchman
for her fiercely relentless friendship and guidance. Assistants Jorge
Vindas (Costa Rica), Marisa Montebella (Sardinia), and Kadowaki Kunio
(Okinawa) were the unseen engines behind our successful stories.
No project of this magnitude happens without sponsors and financial
partners. I wish to especially thank Marty Davis, the Davis family, and
DAVISCO for their commitment to health and vast generosity; Jane
Shure from the National Institute on Aging who was instrumental in
obtaining our initial funding from the National Institutes of Health;
Becky Malkerson, John Helgerson, Laura Juergens, and Maria Lindsley
who championed Blue Zones at Allianz Life; Valerie May and Nancy
Graham for navigating the waters at AARP; Nishino Hiroshi who found
most of the funding in Japan; the Target Foundation, the Best Buy
Foundation, Lawson Software, and the National Geographic Expeditions
Council.
At Blue Zones’ Minneapolis headquarters, Scott Meyer has been our
mentor and marketing guru from the very beginning. The office team:
Matt Osterman, Sarah Kast, Phil Noyed, Amy Tomczyk, Nancy Fuller
McRae, and Jennifer Havrish have endlessly helped with research,
proofreading, and have patiently endured my nonlinear methods; and
the extended team including PR maven Laura Reynolds; Remar Sutton,
Dr. Mary Abbott Waite, and the late George Plimpton, who provided
crucial editorial assistance; Britt Robson for his help on the Okinawa and
