The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner [Book Summary]


All through human history, a lot of people have searched for the renowned spring of being young and wished for being eternal. Maybe we’ll really set that one day; however, till then we’ll need to satisfy ourselves with developing means of endurance. However, what is the way to do that?

Working on the regions on this earth that individuals have the most duration of life looks like a reasonable initial stage. Furthermore, with just that, we have already acquired a lot of knowledge of what adds to enduring, healthy living.

This review will reveal to you that the crucial way to endurance is magic neither is astronautics. All you need to have to really raise your lifespan is to realize some changes to your day-to-day agenda. A few of these changes, such as quitting and being more active, are well-known already. However, there have also been further, less clear means to endure. This summary will reveal to you the things they have been.


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Chapter 1 – The Blue Zones have been the regions on this earth where individuals reach the oldest and remain healthiest.


Our world has been occupied with exceptional cultures and civilizations, each having its exceptional routines and traditions, all contributing to global wellness and health. Desiring to endure, it is useful to explore Blue Regions, the regions on this earth where people, owing to their routines for health, get older compared to any other people elsewhere.

An initial region to get attraction for its oddly healthy and enduring people had been Sardinia, an Italian island. A study conducted in 2011 revealed that on average approximately 1 in six hundred individuals around the hilly Barbagia part of this island endure till they are 100 years old, different to the 1 in four thousand in the US.

People living on this island, as well as individuals around further Blue Zones, share so many things to train others regarding the way to have an enduring life – when we are ready to learn.

You will learn that it has not been your genes; however, your way of life which owns the most important influence on the duration you will live. We noticed proof of that with Danish research on more than two thousand five hundred twins; this study showed that, compared to every reason leading to endurance, our DNAs contribute to just approximately 25%.The fact about living a longer life has been that there has been no transformation in the way of living or magical capsules which would halt the procedure of aging. You will continuously age, daily, regardless of what. But, this procedure could be quickened or reduced, and the individuals around Blue Zones proved effective methods of slowing down the process.



Ultimately, the appropriate lifestyle may provide you with ten years more of a nice, healthy life. Fascinatingly, centenarians have been the rapidest-raising international age demographics, particularly around the Western part of the world.

And becoming more than 100 years old isn’t about taking accurate vitamin tablets or programming your active lifestyle. Instead, it has been regarding a further organic lifestyle, being active organically, and consuming more veggies and fruits. Any of these becomes apparent in observing the Blue Zones of the world.


Chapter 2 – The drinks and foods you take have an important effect on the duration of your life.


All of us have encountered the sentence that says “You have been the thing you ingest.” Actually, this cliche sentence has been more correct than you would assume.

Let’s begin with the juices. Be certain to drink plenty of water – and take red wine occasionally.

The sole Blue Zone around the US has been Loma Linda which is a habitation of 7th-Day Adventurists external from LA, California; and it reveals just how essential it has been to have plenty of water. Rather than other drinks, the people of this place have water – 5 to 6 glasses daily. Due to that, the ratio of diseases in the heart around this region is very low, and life expectancy is really higher.

However, you do not need to abide by just water for longevity. A little bit of red wine has been beneficial as well. The first region to be known as the Blue Zone, Sardinia, the clingy Barbagia area on Italy’s island, for men, brags a great life expectancy. Furthermore, their day-to-day food is served with a little bit of red wine all the time.

Wine’s secret is in flavonoids, a substance that could also be seen in colorful veggies and fruits or bitter chocolate. Flavonoids decrease the risk of specific heart diseases and cancers, therefore, when you do drink, prefer having red wine.



Definitely, you cannot go with just the drink only. You need to also eat, the things you ingest have a huge influence on the length you will live.

The majority of the individuals around Blue Zones own low-calorie eating habits, normally vegan or vegetarian. Their core meal has either been lunch or breakfast; dinner has regularly been light.

Around Okinawa, Japan’s Blue Zone, people own an exclusive viewpoint regarding the things they eat: they deliberately curb the calorie consumption and keep in mind to eat just till they become 80% full. This reduces their metabolism, and these assist decrease the number of harmful oxidants they have in their bodies.


Chapter 3 – Longevity entails giving your family the initial priority and you need to have a bright aim to keep living.


However, longevity is not entirely regarding the things you eat. It is regarding the way you function your mind too. You need to have the power to move on and that is the purpose!

Evidence revealed that more people from the US lose their lives during their initial time of retirement compared to the final time of their work. That statistic proposes that having a life with no aim may be detrimental to one’s health. You need to own a thing that drives you to leave your bed each morning.

For instance, around the peninsula of Nicoya, in Costa Rica’s Blue Zone, everybody senses that they possess a scheme of life, scheme de Vida. Essentially, they do not quit living even when they reach sixty, or sixty-six, or seventy or anytime around – for them, life is a nonstop path. This thinking has a favorable outcome: by making themselves really full, they do not involve a fight with each other – they basically do not have time.

However, keeping full is not the only path to the end. Every one of them likes to be busy since the outcome of the work feeds their families. To them, having a healthy and happy family has been the main purpose.

In every Blue Zones so far found, families have an exclusive duty, and every one of the centenarians prioritizes their families.



Around Sardinia, an essential aspect is living together as a family. The people from this place who live to be a hundred, 95% could achieve that since they own a granddaughter or daughter to look for them. Furthermore, the centenarians give back in that intercourse by giving love, childcare, drive, and frequently even financial assistance.

Families do not just work as a backing-up network; also, there is an association in being respectful to older people and endurance. It is just at the time older people are required to offer assistance if they feel required and own a bright aim.


Chapter 4 – One would live more if one belongs to a society.


World’s Blue Zones have usually been little and working communities. However, what is the reason why this community formation adds to a long life?

You understood in the previous chapter how essential a family backing-up web is considering Blue Zones. Also, the bigger society offers a feeling of affinity – a cause to continue.

Around Okinawa, that has been standardized in the structure of Moai. Initially, this entailed meeting all the time for shared goals, like the organization of regional festivities or harvesting. Presently, it’s more like a formalistic channel for being companions. The strong community offers an aim in the minds of Okinawans, and this decreases stress as well.

Also, there is Ikaria, a Greek island. Around this Greek Blue Zone, at the time products are remaining from a cultural or religious holiday, these foods are provided to needy people as a means of instilling a feeling of society.

Also, around Sardinia, males get older compared to most regions because they put family businesses into the hands’ females for them to come as a whole.

That feeling of community has frequently been attached to some type of inner tranquility.



For instance, the 7th Day Adventurists around Loma Linda keep an eating style regarding religious tenets– for instance, they don’t drink caffeine, and they also disapprove of cigarettes. The culture of endurance originates from their spirituality.

Keeping the Sabbath is a piece of the religion, and this is the time they move their bodies and come together with friends, family, as well as further members of the society. By basically obeying their religion, they have discovered a means to endure.

Likewise, around Okinawa, spirituality focuses on being in the present and having past things intact. All previous adversities are seen as important to have pleasure at the moment; therefore, the population does not experience the anxiety or stress of upsetting previous choices. In this way, they have endurance.

Spirituality does not need to become a determined religious faith. That might be some common routines that comprise bodily movements and methods to minimize stress as well.


Chapter 5 – Bodily movement and decreasing stress have to be a piece of the day-to-day routines if you desire to endure.


We have used lots of time learning regarding the aspects you have to do to increase the duration of life. Throughout this last blink, we’ll explore the thing you need to completely avoid: stress.

Every of  Blue Zones uses approaches to minimize stress, any of those is different. For instance, around Sardinia, stress has been maintained with a feeling of society and great humor. Individuals do not consider each other really firmly around that place, and everyone may all have the pleasure of a full laugh.

The Sabbath has the special purpose of retaining stress at a minimum around Loma Linda. The Sabbath has been a chance to create some time with other people and family, to share things, and to laugh as well. Laughter has really been healthy; it reduces the possibility of attacks on the heart and reduces blood pressure. Also, it is soothing and a great means to defeat stress.

A further stress decrease is having sex.

Around Nicoya, individuals have really liberal outlooks regarding sex, and a lot of people gave birth to kids without marriage. That liberation allows them to be more comfortable and assists them to have low-stress levels.

Apart from tendencies because of culture, being active provides a great way of reducing stress. It is not just about gym training; however, as a normal piece of daily life.



Around Sardinia, the majority of centenarians were either or have been shepherds, this occupation requires these people to wander approximately six miles daily.

Around Loma Linda, people do different types of activity all through the day – activities such as hiking, walking, and swimming any of those moves their bodies in various means.

That inherent activity of the body owns the extra advantage of raised intake of sun rays. Intake of sun rays gives vitamin D, this vitamin functions against different kinds of diabetes and cancer. That has been the reason why Okinawa has a lot of freer and healthier centenarians compared to the US or Europe – these people basically have the sunnier part of this earth!


The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner Book Review


A lot of people desire an ever-ending life. Sadly, people cannot live forever. However, people may live more than 100 years, given that they take measures to improve healthy social, spiritual, and physical routines.


Do not become the Scrooge!

Various research around Blue Zones demonstrates that individuals that have been more likable have a tendency to have a bigger social web, more regular meetings, and at the time they are older, further people to look for them.


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Savaş Ateş

I'm a software engineer. I like reading books and writing summaries. I like to play soccer too :) Good Reads Profile: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/106467014-sava-ate

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