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If you want to live to be a vibrant, healthy 100-year-old, a great place to start is to look to the people who’ve achieved this feat themselves — what do they eat? How do they live? What are their secrets? Today’s podcast guest, Dan Buettner, has the answers. 

An award-winning author and researcher, Dan Buettner has spent his career traveling the world to find and study the planet’s longest-lived people. These longevity ‘hotspots’ he helped discover, known as ‘Blue Zones’, contain an abnormally high concentration of fit, healthy, independent centenarians. They also hold vast secrets for how to live the longest, healthiest, most fulfilling life that’s humanly possible, and in this episode, Dan is spilling the (lima) beans on exactly how we can put these principles into practice in our own life.

Dan Buettner is an explorer, National Geographic Fellow, award-winning journalist and producer, and New York Times bestselling author. His articles about the Blue Zones in The New York Times Magazine and National Geographic are two of the most popular articles ever written for both publications. His books (including The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People, and The Blue Zones of Happiness) were all national bestsellers, and he has appeared on The Today Show, Oprah, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, and more. 

Dan now works in partnership with governments, large employers, and health insurance companies to implement Blue Zones Projects in communities, workplaces, and universities. These programs have dramatically improved the health of more than 5 million Americans to date, and counting.

I have been waiting for YEARS to bring you this conversation. Dan’s books have been so influential in my life, and I admire his work so much, that he’s been at the top of my ‘dream interview’ list since the very start of this podcast. I’m thrilled to say that this conversation exceeded my wildest expectations. If you care even the *tiniest* bit about extending your ‘good years’ on this planet, then you’re going to absolutely love the knowledge-bombs that he drops in this conversation. And if you’re already a raving fan of Dan’s work (like me!) then prepare to have your mind truly blown.

So if you want to learn how to transform your home into a miniature blue zone; how to radically extend your life- and healthspan, and how to eat, move, play and pray like the world’s healthiest people, then pop in those earbuds… this one’s for you.

In this episode we chat about:

• How the “Blue Zones” were discovered, and the incredible health implications of these extraordinarily long-lived communities (06:52)
• The 9 secrets for longevity, backed by science, that can help you add a decade or more of vibrant, healthy living to your lifespan (11:26)
• Why having a strong sense of purpose is crucial to your longevity (and how to discover and strengthen your own life purpose) (17:15)
• The simple but genius stress-relieving routines of Blue Zones inhabitants, and how they can add years to your life (19:32)
• The life-changing “Hara hachi bu” rule, that will let you engineer calories out of your diet, and radically improve your health (22:01)
• What does the data reveal about the relationship between drinking alcohol and longevity? (24:00)
• Add four to 14 years to your lifespan with this one simple spiritual strategy (27:51)
• Why you should keep your aging parents nearby and invest in your spouse and children TODAY (29:50) 
• This one emotion can be as bad as smoking for your health. Here’s how to avoid it, overcome it, and live way longer (31:44) 

Episode resources: 

• Blue Zones (website)
• The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner (amazon)
• The Blue Zones Solution by Dan Buettner (amazon)
• The Blue Zones of Happiness by Dan Buettner (amazon)
• The Blue Zones Kitchen by Dan Buettner (book)
• Journey to the East by Herman Hesse and Hilda Rosner (book)
• Waking Up with Sam Harris (website)

Thank you so much for listening. I’m so honored that you’re here and would be SO grateful if you could leave me a review on Apple podcasts, that way we can inspire and educate even more people together.

P.S. Please seek advice from a qualified holistic practitioner before starting any new health practice.

This episode is brought to you by @boncharge. Head to www.boncharge.com now and enter the code MELISSA for 15% off your order.