Como Viver até os 100: Os Segredos das Zonas Azuis

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.

To be honest, one thing that quite annoyed me is the pretentious of being a scientifical documentary, there are few flaws for instance correlation does not equal to casualties, in addition the city that he uses as examples plenty of them that are really small bellow (50 thousands persons), and this is a problem due to the size of the sample. But disregarding this, it is impressive the amount of work that the author has done and how he seeks to connect these hypotheses on something practical, such as the project of "blue zones" that seeks to improve the life expectancy in a specific city.

Overral, the documentary is quite interesting the only caveat it isn't rigorous on being a scientific study.

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.

This is what happens when good intentions get distracted by a large ego. Facts are bundled together after which subjective conclusions are stretched way too far - all while falsely implying "a scientific seal of approval".

It's a shame. If kept on the "rhetorical straight and narrow" - "Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones" - would have presented some interesting hypotheses alongside the possibility to believe there is a viable way forward, "believe" being the operative word. Dan Buettner's use of over-rhetoric throughout, likely, undermines most critical viewers ability to engage in his theories.

NetFlix' initial disclaimer "The following series is designed to entertain and inform - not to provide medical or health advice." is foreboding of what is about to follow. That sentence, pretty much indicates "the issues with this series"; it presents beliefs in a way that deceptively resemble facts. Beliefs are fine, if you want to adhere to them - but that should be by free choice not by implying factuality. If the disclaimer didn't give it away, the introduction provides further hints; "They all follow roughly the exact same formula".

The use of "roughly" and "exactly" as descriptive in the same sentence is fine example of what unfolds as a whole - blurryness. The "trick" that is being pulled is by means of an "old and proven recipe"; put forth a mulitude of facts, draw some uncorroborated conclusion and then wrap them up together, and present them as "sort of scientific".

Dan Buettner appears earnest in his beliefs - his attempts to package said beliefs in "an air of science" less so. He definitely comes across more as a preacher than a scientist. The frequently used over rhetoric doesn't naturally peg him in any part of the scientific community.

It's a shame... the subject being addressed is, arguably, important and the effort put in seemingly great. Much good work (and some bad) is done on a belief basis - it's a shame Buttner doesn't show it for what it is.