What It’s All About

What if you really could live to a healthy 100 years of age? It could mean not only living to meet your great grandchildren, but to see them fall in love. It would mean not only getting to blow out 100 candles, but to do it with gusto.

People living in Blue Zones*, a term coined by educator and explorer Dan Buettner and featured in National Geographic, live longer and healthier than people in the rest of the world. Buettner found five such sites, one in Japan, Greece, Italy, Costa Rica, and, surprisingly right here in the United States, in Loma Linda, California.

While there are no great secret diets, and certainly no magic pill that enables these people to live a longer life, the common themes to their longevity is healthy eating, balancing work and play, valuing the importance of family and friends, and understanding that getting enough rest is vital to staying healthy.

So while there is no one cure-all, living to a Healthy 100 will mean a lifestyle change for many.

The good news is that changing just some little things can help in gaining a decade or more to one’s life.

Some changes involve losing a convenience or two ( walking just a little farther  by choosing the parking space at the mall that is furthest away, or taking the steps at work instead of the elevator). Some are practical, like eating more vegetables and nuts and using smaller plates to start controlling portions.

And some are ones just about everyone can really rally around: taking power-hour naps every day or going outside to play with the grandchildren.

To help you make these adjustments and keep your New Year’s resolutions, Florida Hospital is planning a variety of events, including free physician lectures (click here) for events happening January – March and an eight-week workshop teaching the principles of Living to a Healthy 100. (click here)

So join us on the journey.  Small changes can make big differences to improve your health and happiness.

The book, Blue Zones, by Dan Buettner is available at local book stores and on Amazon.com.