This article was originally published as an op-ed in The Jerusalem Post (27 Feb 2025): https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-843911
“What are the best preventative measures against illness and disease?”
Ask anyone you know. Ask your doctor, a dietician, or a holistic practitioner. The odds are very good that no matter who you speak to, you’ll hear something like, “eat a healthy diet, exercise a lot and don’t smoke.” This has been the advice we’ve all been hearing for decades. Yet, we have done very little to better ourselves.
There are more instances of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes than ever before. I was shocked to read the latest data from the USA showing that more than 700,000 people a year are dying from heart disease. There is a heart attack almost every 40 seconds. Couple that with the acceleration in weight gain, obesity, and the downturn in life expectancy. With all this known, good advice, why are things still getting worse?
In the news
I try my best to keep up with the latest research in both the world of lifestyle medicine and the more mainstream. In the world of lifestyle, particularly nutrition, things change very quickly. New, responsible studies are coming out with unbelievable frequency-it’s hard to stay current. I follow all of the lifestyle medicine researchers, but I also get my mainstream medicine newsletters daily. Over the last few years there has been more and more overlap between the two.
I was really excited last week to see coverage of Dan Buettner’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Aging. Buettner’s research with National Geographic highlighted 5 places in the world where life expectancy and quality of life, even in very old age, greatly exceed the norms of Western societies. Living to 100 or more is not a rare event in these locations known as the Blue Zones. We have much to learn from the lifestyle of these places.
The Blue Zones
The Blue Zones referred to are Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Ikaria, Greece; Loma Linda, California; and Nicoya, Costa Rica. These are the ones studied. There are other places on the planet with extremely good longevity as well. As you can see, there is nothing geographically similar, but their lifestyles, although not identical, have a lot of overlap. When Mr. Buettner came before the Senate committee, he was asked, the simple question of why are the people in Blue Zones living 10 years longer than the average American? If you were waiting for some highly complicated and long-winded answer, you were disappointed.
Buettner’s answer was:
Because they’re avoiding the diseases that shorten Americans’ lives and are bankrupting us in many ways. None of them are dieting or exercising or running down to Latin America for stem cell treatments. Every time they go to work, or a friend’s house, or out to eat it occasions a walk — they’re getting 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day, mindlessly. The cheapest and most accessible foods for them are peasant foods; they’re whole-grains or tubers. The cornerstone of every longevity diet in the world is beans. They’re eating about a cup of beans a day. They’re not spending time on Facebook. Instead, they’re spending time in face-to-face conversations, living in extended families, and connecting with their neighbors.
None of the Blue Zone residents go to the gym, have a personal trainer, take supplements, or go on crazy diets. They don’t run marathons or even go out for a daily jog. Everything they need to do is just built into their daily lives. They aren’t even totally WFPB healthy vegans. Their diets are extremely plant-predominant, without ultra-processed foods. On occasion, maybe 2 or 3 times a week, a very small amount of meat or fish might be used as a flavoring in rice and vegetable dishes. Those of us who grew up in the West always looked at meat, fish, and dairy as what takes up most of our plate. In the Blue Zones, it is the opposite. Animal protein is less than 10% of their diet. And as Buettner said, they have real friends, great social connectedness, and aren’t on social media and the internet all day. Extended family is a must.
But there’s more!
This part of his testimony is intriguing:
We know that people who have a sense of purpose live about 8 years longer than people who are rudderless. They manifest their purpose usually in family, but also with religion. We know people who show up at church or temple or mosque live about 4 years longer than people who don’t show up at all.
Other witnesses testified how even though our medical system has managed to lengthen life over the last many decades, that the quality of life is not good. We may be living longer but not healthier.
Spending less and living longer
We spend enormous amounts of money in order to stay healthy—in the United States 90 billion dollars a year is spent on weight loss alone. A survey in 2020 by the Global Wellness Institute show that the US leads overall spending with $828 billion in the physical activity market, meaning going to some kind of gym. But it ranks 20th in participation. The United States spends more per capita on medical care than anyone, but their outcomes always rank very low in the group of industrialized nations.
Dr. Michael Greger often points out that it can take over a decade for new findings to make their way into the clinical setting. Unfortunately, there are treatments and preventions available that are taking way too long to be implemented. Mr. Buettner’s research and testimony needs to be and can be implemented now. It’s cheap and it’s the best return on your effort and money you will find! That return is a longer, healthier and more productive life.
Dan Buettner and his colleagues are on to something really important. Sure, going to the gym is beneficial. Nonetheless, it seems that it is the most basic, inexpensive and simple habits, that brings good health. You’ve heard this from me before, eat vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, lots of legumes, some nuts and seeds. Stay active in your daily routine—and walking is a great and free exercise. Sleep at least 7 hours a night. Don’t smoke or abuse any other substance. Instead of befriending your phone, befriend real live people. Keep your stress in check. Guess what? You can create your own Blue Zone with fantastic quality of life and “add hours to your days, days to your years and years to your lives.”
Your words are music to the ears. If only our people would listen to you!!