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- OIX TUTTTilEN IilD CEilIE}IARIA}IS AROUilD IIIT WORLD

tO}IGEVITY EXPEBT

nd sudd enl"y re pegg ed a ) m idd le- ged But wh at ir it rea lly

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skyroc ket to 600 000 by 20 50 Bette r yet, many of these

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of 83.

BY

COVER PI.lOTOGRAPHY BY

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lnterested io joining this dub? Enterjoumalist Dan Buettner. He has speat orrer a decade studying

the healthiesg longest-living

people arouad the world from residents oftheJapanese island of Okinawa to the Greekisland of Ikaria--+o-called Tlue Zones," orlongevity hotspots (Sardinia,

Loma Linda, Calif and Nicoya, Cosa Rica are the others),where people live to 100 or older at much

higher-than-average rates.

"These aren't the frail elderiyr" he says. "They're still working, riding bikes, socializing, having sex and enjoyrng life."

Since 2009, Buettner has taken the Blue Zones lessons to a few U.S. cities, transforming their residents'health. Now, he's letting the rest of us in on their secrets in his new boolq 7/a Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Likz tlte World's Healtbiest P e op I e (N aaonal Geographic Books). Here are the most important longevity-boosting habits of centenarians around the globe. Adopt even a ferar, and you'Il stand a better chance of celebrating your 1006 birthday.

l. FindYourftibe "\Mho you hang out with trumps just about everything else when it comes to your health," says Buettner. He found that the people who live longest surround themselves with people who support healthy behaviors, and other research bacfts that up: When psychologists at Brigham Young University reviewed 148 studies on social relationships, they found that those with stronger connections were half as likely to die is those with weaker ties during the study periods. One orplanation: "Health

habits-both good and bad- can spread like a contagion," says NoahWebster, Ph.D., an assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan's Life

are 95 percent plant-based, says Buetrner. "They eat a little meat, but mosdy fishr"he says. British researchers tracked 65,000 people for 12 years and

of death-cancer and car&ovascular

aging," says Valter Longo, Ph.D.,

director of the UniversitY of S outhem C alifornia's L ongevitY

Institute, whose studies have

shown that people with the highest protein

highest risk ofcancer and mortality compared with those who eat the least.

Never learned to love veggies? Take

Course Development Institute found that those for Social Research. who ate seven or

boosting effect offriends in fruits every day ultra-o1d Okinawans, who form lowered their risk azaazs (rhyrnes with "doe eyes")- ofdying from the groups of lifelong alliances. It's two leading causes a concePt he

inAmerican has introduced cities, including

Redondo Beach, Calif., where disease-by 25 Joan Edelman lives. More than percent and 31 four years ago, Edelman and percent. her husband met a handfi:l of strangers at a Blue Zones

walked four miles four. days a since-"There are 13 of

us, rangmg from our 40s to 80s," says Edelman, 67. "We've become very close.\Mhen someone has a crisis,we show up.".

Centenarians from Blue Zones also ake a&antage of the life-giving power of social connections in other wqis: They belong to a faith-based commudty (attending services four times a month can add up to 14 yean to your life, Buettner salrs) and have dose-knit families.

"Extended families live near iach other, ifnot together, and they invest time and energy not only in their children but in their parents, grandparents and li:[e partners," Buettner says. Just committing to a life partn€r can add up to tfuee years to your Iife, according to our research,"

2.Eat Smart The worldt most robust L00- year-olds stickwith diets that

"Protein, especially from formed a rnonthly poduck zaai animal sources, activates two a couple ofyears ago. "We have sets ofgenes that accelerate a group of 12 peoplg andwe

longevity-BoostingTricls to Try Right l{ow Downsize your dishes Nudge yoursetf toward eating [ess by using ptates no [arger than 1 0 inches lresearch shows it can reduce the- amount you consume by 22 percent).

Get more sociat You don't have to go far to bring more people into your Life. Join a ctub or take a ctass, says journalist Dan Buettner. "l've increased my sociaI network just by ptanting a community garden in front of my house." frightl

Make movement a no- brainer "Coax yoursetf into moving more by taking pubtic transportation, which requires watking to and from your house, or maintaining a garden or buying a dog who needs a daiLy watk," says Buettner.

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from a variery of sources, but volunteering is a common one. "There's growing evidence that it

young. What is unexpected: 'They dont e:<ercise, per se," says Buettner. "Instead, their lifestyles encourage physical activity."They garden, bake bread from scratch and walk to the store or to work

healthier but longerr'salrs

some people, a

BueffiPorwhn':amEd

$iglrt$utlook

Purpose Now

Downshift

Okinawans invoke a 2J00-year- old Confucian mantra, known as bara hachi b4 to remind themselves to stop eatingwhen

conclusion: Having a PurPose in life provides a buffer against mortality, no matter your age.

Community .

Lowd 0nes First

4. tlove lt It's no sulprise that physical

life expectancyby 4.5 years, according to a,2012 study by National Institutes of Health. If you dont already have a regular, routine, consider starting a ' : walking mo ai. Brian Mattson, 44, of Albert Lea, Minn., has participated in one since the

&dnt know each other when we

social support aod relaxation and friendship. Turns out, this one, activity checks a lot ofboxes on

Sense of purpose can come aaivity also keeps Blue Zorers the Blue Zones list.'

I I APR|L s, 2015

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