Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones

Wonderfully presented documentary and essential viewing for those wanting to live a long, healthy, happy and mindful life. The documentary starts by highlighting and travelling to various locations around the world where a particularly high number of people are living to 100 years and more. The film documents numerous ways in which longevity in life can be achieved and how you can live a long, happy and enjoyable life. Finally the documentary ventures into the prospect of the possible to create these so called blue zones by changing societal factors within cities and even nations and how changes can be implemented in the future.

Blue Zones got their label from when they were marked with blue ink on the map to indicate areas with high proportion of centenarians. Dan Buettner, a National Geographic writer and bestselling author, takes viewers to Blue Zones all over the world - Okinawa Japan, Sardinia Italy, Ikaria Greece, Nikoya Costa Rica, Loma Linda California and Singapore - to find secrets to long and healthy living.

The tips he found have been in our consciousness for as long as I can remember - healthy food and lifestyle, sense of purpose and relationships, but his presentation brings all of these more into focus.

The most interesting aspect for me are the efforts to apply these tips in the US, like the experiment in Albert Lea, Minnesota. It would really help if the government provides boosts, like providing pedestrian lanes to encourage walking, providing public transport like trains and buses to discourage dependence on cars, or giving housing incentives to children who choose to live near elderly parents. Not only will people have healthier, longer and happier lives, the government would not have to spend as much for healthcare. Everyone wins.

Change your environment and you change the people within it. These are concepts that most people know, but fail to put into practice. We have the power to live longer, happier and healthier lives, we just need to promote it and "nudge" each other forward, but backwards, with our public policy. Eat healthier, connect with each other, stay active and value our family members of all ages. It can be done. We will all be better for it.

Dan presents the case studies in the first 3 episodes and then the examples of how to duplicate them in the last one. It isn't difficult, we have to focus on the goal. What is good for all of us is good for all of us.

I can see why some people didn't like this. The revelations appear "too simple" and in many cases go against the way most of us are living our modern lives. There is no magic pill or easy solution for maintaining vitality. Perhaps that's why this didn't resonate with some viewers. If you come into this with the expectation of learning about a miracle drug or super food that scientists are just now researching the benefits of, you're going to be disappointed.

Instead, it's a reminder of the truths all of humanity instinctively knows, yet in many parts of the world, has been conditioned to ignore (or actively chose to reject). The reporter shares his honest findings (again, not necessarily any earth-shattering revelations), and while the concepts are simple, implementation isn't necessarily easy.

In the pursuit of growth, convenience, and personal success, we've overcomplicated our lives to our own detriment. It may be an uncomfortable watch at times, as the viewer faces the dissonance between their lifestyle and the lifestyles of those living in blue zones. That being said, overall it's an informative series that not only sheds light on the "secrets" of centenarians, but also provides accessible ways for almost every person to implement these practices into their own lives.

I'm always very interested in health documentaries. Some are ahead of their time like fat sick and nearly dead or cowspiracy, and others are a little bit of a rehash of the things that hopefully most people over 40 already know. This one falls somewhere in the middle but is very important for young adults and children to understand. It meanders its way through the centurions like The China Study did. What we need to do though is look at why are people expiring earlier. We hear about things like diabetes and cancer and obesity. Why do we have those when Okinawa doesn't and Greece doesn't? The answer is processed food and stressful living in what we politely call a free market Society. Free market unfortunately means that I can sell you anything as long as you will buy it, and if I find enough loopholes I can sell you things that are not up to standards, as well. When the US government developed processed packaged Foods for boots on the ground, they knew that it wasn't viable for health long-term. This documentary in the beginning starts telling us that the FDA guided us to a higher caloric intake, but what really happened in my mind is that when they subsidized farms and corn and we started having an overabundance of cheap processed food then the FDA changed the food chart to reflect that we should consume more of these processed foods. Although processed meat is listed as a carcinogenic, for instance, it is still actually part of the ACS's list of things to eat on a balanced diet. So there's just a lot of lobbying mixed in with marketing in our society and very little honest information. This series seems to barely touch on that. But it does reveal the fact that a simpler life is the answer to health. And that covers everything I've just said because in a simpler life we eat what is fondly called whole foods- a term that comes from the vegan and raw foods culture. As an American I can honestly say that I watched these elders in Okinawa and I felt a little envy. We definitely don't have the respect and responsibility that they have toward our elders. In a world driven by social media I think this is a very welcome series. Do I have any criticism of the series itself? Not really, I mean yes but not enough that it needs to be put in text here. I highly recommend the series to watch with your family, to remind yourself of what is truly healthy, or to learn what longevity would look like and try to understand how we can Implement some of these things into our lives. It does mention the irony of the United States becoming so health conscious and yet being more and more unhealthy. But also in the beginning of this series it mentions that we are kind of looking at it the cart before the horse where we're looking to cure our problems instead of prevent them. Nine solid Stars. There can never be too many of this type of documentary. I'm not clear on why this review was declined 3x , it doesn't go against any policy. Maybe the people declining need to be reminded the reviews are just personal opinion and don't require a medical disclaimer or your personal approval.