The Blue Zones Quotes

“I found that when you are depressed, that’s when you do something for somebody else.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Scientific studies suggest that only about 25 percent of how long we live is dictated by genes, according to famous studies of Danish twins. The other 75 percent is determined by our lifestyles and the everyday choices we make.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Walking five miles a day or more provides the type of low-intensity exercise that yields all the cardiovascular benefits you might expect, but it also has a positive effect on muscles and bones - without the joint-pounding damage caused by running marathons or triathlons.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“I used to be very beautiful,” Kamada replied. “I had hair that came down to my waist. It took me a long time to realize that beauty is within. It comes from not worrying so much about your own problems. Sometimes you can best take care of yourself by taking care of others.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Eat your vegetables, have a positive outlook, be kind to people, and smile.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Before each meal she takes a moment to say hara hachi bu, and that keeps her from eating too much.” “Hara hachi bu?” I repeated. “It’s a Confucian-inspired adage,” Craig chimed in. “All of the old folks say it before they eat. It means ‘Eat until you are 80 percent full.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Begin by answering this question in a single, memorable sentence: Why do you get up in the morning?”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“HARA HACHI BU”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Finally, exasperated, I asked her if after 107 years she had any advice for younger people. She looked up at me, eyes flashing. “Yes,” she shot back. “Life is short. Don’t run so fast you miss it.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“The average American, however, by living a fast and furious lifestyle, pushes that accelerator too hard and too much.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“A stranger is a friend i haven't met yet.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“And as we shall see in forthcoming chapters, purpose and love are essential ingredients in all Blue Zone recipes for longevity.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Many age-related diseases are caused by an immune system out of balance. Excessive or unnecessary inflammation accelerates heart disease, bone loss,”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zone: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest: Lessons for Living Longer, Better

“study done in rural Poland showing that every daughter increases a man’s life expectancy by 75 weeks.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Cannonau”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“But meat remained a consistent contributor to heart disease, which isn’t that surprising, because it has a high level of saturated fat.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Scientific studies suggest that only about 25 percent of how long we live is dictated by genes, according to famous studies of Danish twins. The other 75 percent is determined by our lifestyles and the everyday choices we make. It follows that if we optimize our lifestyles, we can maximize our life expectancies within our biological limits.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Beans, whole grains, and garden vegetables are the cornerstones of all these longevity diets. Sardinian shepherds take semolina flatbread into the pastures with them. Nicoyans eat corn tortillas at every meal. And whole grain is part of the Adventist diet. Whole grains deliver fiber, antioxidants, potential anti-cancer agents (insoluble fiber), cholesterol reducers, and clot blockers, plus essential minerals. Beans (legumes) also provide a cornerstone to Blue Zone meals. Diets”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. He defines flow as a Zen-like state of total oneness with the activity at hand in which you feel fully immersed in what you’re doing. It’s characterized by a sense of freedom, enjoyment, fulfillment, and skill, and while you’re in it, temporal concerns (time, food, ego/self, etc.) are typically ignored. If you can identify the activity that gives you this sense of flow and make it the focus of your job or hobby, it can also become your sense of purpose.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Obesity is certainly a risk factor,” Greg replied. “But eating junk food also creates chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The inflammatory response is good if we have an infection, but triggering it all the time by eating bad foods causes the body to produce chemicals that wreak havoc on our organs and arteries. People think that our skin is the main way our bodies interact with the outside world, but it is actually through our digestive tract—our stomach, large intestines, and small intestines. It has a surface area about the size of”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“If you’re an older man, you should not have a supplement with iron because iron accumulates in the heart and can lead to a condition called hemosiderosis. Look on the market for vitamin supplements that do not have iron that are designed specifically for men.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“Furat chie benit dae su mare”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“the author of Why We Age: What Science Is Discovering About the Body’s Journey Through Life.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“How long can each of us expect to live? What really happens to our bodies when we age? Why can’t we just take a pill to extend our lives? How can we live longer? How can we live better? And why does changing our lifestyles add more good years?”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest

“WHAT CAN ADD ON MORE GOOD YEARS? Robert Kane: Rather than exercising for the sake of exercising, try to make changes to your lifestyle. Ride a bicycle instead of driving. Walk to the store instead of driving. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. Build that into your lifestyle. The chances are that you will sustain that behavior for a much longer time. And the name of the game here is sustaining. These things that we try—usually after some cataclysmic event has occurred, and we now want to ward off what seems to be the more perceptible threat of dying—don’t hold up over the long haul. We find all sorts of reasons not to do it. The second thing I’d tell you is don’t take up smoking. The biggest threat to improving our lifestyles has been cigarette smoking. That trumps everything else. Once you’re a nonsmoker, I would try to get you to learn to develop a moderate lifestyle in regard to your weight to build into your daily routine enough exercise to keep you going.”
― Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest