Health 411- Blue Zones

Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to increase our lifespans and health spans? While many factors go into what makes us live longer and stay sharp, a term arose in the early 2000's to describe areas of the world that housed people with extraordinary longevity: "Blue Zones". This is a term coined by researchers Michel Poulain and Gianni Pes in March of 2000 when they were studying centenarians (people 100 years of age or older) in Sardinia, Italy. Later on, from 2004-2008, Dan Buettner, a journalist with National Geographic, set out to find more "Blue Zones", or areas with high instances of centenarians, and marked four more places besides Sardinia in the world that eventually became the blue zones of the world. These places include Sardinia Italy, Okinawa Japan, Nicoya Costa Rica, Ikaria Greece, and Loma Linda United States. The goal here was to find common factors that allowed for older populations to reach 100 years of age or surpass it. Eventually, Dan Buettner came up with around 4 general commonalities between these places. The people in these areas were highly active, they ate wisely, had a positive outlook on life and a sense of purpose, and connected with the community and themselves. Today, Dr. Jonathan Karp and student producer Kaya Basatemur dive in to what blue zones have in common, how it relates to general health and wellness advice, and if there really is anything "special" about these locations that improves longevity. Don't miss this episode of Health 411!