Blue Zones

Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones - 2023 Netflix documentary, 4 episodes - Based on the 2008 book: “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from People Who’ve Lived the Longest.” - By Dan Buettner, Journalist, National Geographic Explorer, New York Times Best Seller What is a Blue Zone - Geographic location where people’s life expectancies are much much higher than in other parts of the world - A much higher percent of people live to 100 years of age than other areas. 4x more people than in the USA. Original 5 Blue Zones - Started with Gianni Pes and Michael Poulain's 2004 paper: Identification of a geographic area characterized by extreme longevity in the Sardinia Island. - Dan Buettner read this and then established 4 more Blue Zones with the help of epidemiologists (bluezones.com) - SARDINA, ITALY - OKINAWA, JAPAN - NICOYA, COSTA RICA - ICARIA, GREECE - LOMA LINDA, CALIFORNIA, USA 4x more likely to live to 100 than in the US. Life expectancies > 85 years, apposed to 76 years in the US. Dan Buettner’s Theory on Why People in Blue Zones Live Longer - CONNECT (INVEST IN RELATIONSHIPS MORE. KEEP FAMILY AROUND MORE, FRIENDS) - OULOOK (DAILY RITUALS, FAITH, SHOW UP, PURPOSE VOCABULARY) - MOVE NATURALLY, (GARDEN, WORK, WALK everywhere, sit on the floor), - EAT WISELY (WHOLE FOODS, HEAVY PRODUCE, WINE, MODERATION) According to the US CIA, Singapore has the second highest life expectancy at birth in the world at 86.5 years (second to Monaco, 89.6 year average life expectancy, < 1 sq mile in the French Riviera, < 40k residents, tax haven, wealthiest location in the world, high performers flock to Monaco) SINGAPORE - Island in SE Asia. 2nd highest population density of any country in the world, globalized, one of four main languages is English. 283 square miles. 5.5 million residents. - 80% of people own CARS in the US. 11% of people own CARS in SINGAPORE, PUBLIC TRANSIT USED BY HALF THE POPULATION EVERY DAY. Build in natural scapes in cities, good city planning with lots of walkways, < 10% obesity, Low healthcare costs (in spite of living longer) - KEEP OLDER FAMILY MEMBERS OUT OF CARE HOMES - (NEEDS TO BE EARNED, HARDER IN THE USA per below) Singapore Physician Philosophy and how to live a long time. Why do you like being a doctor? 1) TREAT A PATIENT, FEEL JOY (enjoy the process) What advice would you give someone who wants to live a long time? 2) WORK HARD EVERYDAY, BE HONEST, HUMBLE (get to work) - Work hard and enjoy the process. No wonder the people in Singapore are living longer…..their doctors are giving much better advice and generally enjoying their job as a physician.