1 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:08,842 [birds chirping] 2 00:00:13,346 --> 00:00:16,266 [bells tolling] 3 00:00:19,686 --> 00:00:22,063 [lively music playing] 4 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,693 [indistinct chatter] 5 00:00:27,569 --> 00:00:29,821 [Dan] Eleni, you were telling me about the dough here. 6 00:00:29,904 --> 00:00:32,991 It's not just plain old bread dough, is it? 7 00:00:33,074 --> 00:00:35,785 I put a little bit, um, sourdough. 8 00:00:35,869 --> 00:00:37,787 Inside is a pie. 9 00:00:37,871 --> 00:00:40,999 Onions, leeks, fresh onions, 10 00:00:41,082 --> 00:00:41,916 and herbs. 11 00:00:42,709 --> 00:00:44,878 -A lot of herbs. -Oh my God. 12 00:00:47,422 --> 00:00:49,507 [Dan] It's not gonna shock people 13 00:00:49,591 --> 00:00:53,303 to learn that there's a longevity hotspot in Greece. 14 00:00:55,430 --> 00:00:58,933 After all, Greece is one of the homes of the Mediterranean diet. 15 00:00:59,601 --> 00:01:02,395 Everybody knows the Mediterranean diet is good for you, 16 00:01:03,021 --> 00:01:06,983 with its greens and olive oil instead of butter 17 00:01:07,067 --> 00:01:08,276 and sparing use of meat. 18 00:01:09,694 --> 00:01:12,155 [lively music continues] 19 00:01:13,114 --> 00:01:17,327 [Dan] We know that produces healthier populations. 20 00:01:18,495 --> 00:01:21,081 But here's this one special Island 21 00:01:21,164 --> 00:01:25,001 that is producing outsized numbers when it comes to longevity, 22 00:01:25,668 --> 00:01:27,003 and that is Ikaria. 23 00:01:29,130 --> 00:01:32,175 Here's a population living about seven years longer than Americans 24 00:01:32,258 --> 00:01:35,053 with about half the rate of cardiovascular disease. 25 00:01:36,513 --> 00:01:38,640 [Dan] And what was really interesting is, 26 00:01:38,723 --> 00:01:41,935 as I was meeting people over 60 or 70 or 100, 27 00:01:42,018 --> 00:01:45,063 I couldn't find any cases of dementia. 28 00:01:45,563 --> 00:01:47,190 [speaking Greek] 29 00:01:47,273 --> 00:01:48,441 [laughing] 30 00:01:48,525 --> 00:01:50,985 [Dan] So I knew 31 00:01:51,069 --> 00:01:54,155 I had to find how this island is different than all the rest. 32 00:01:54,239 --> 00:01:56,449 [dramatic music playing] 33 00:02:28,022 --> 00:02:29,315 [peaceful music playing] 34 00:02:29,399 --> 00:02:31,860 [Dan] So when I find a place with outsized longevity, 35 00:02:31,943 --> 00:02:34,112 I want to understand how it's different. 36 00:02:35,864 --> 00:02:37,699 And a good place to look 37 00:02:37,782 --> 00:02:39,784 is history and geography. 38 00:02:44,122 --> 00:02:47,500 Ikaria has this very unique culture 39 00:02:47,584 --> 00:02:50,336 because it had no natural ports. 40 00:02:53,464 --> 00:02:55,592 By the Middle Ages, 41 00:02:56,176 --> 00:02:59,679 Ikaria was almost completely isolated from the rest of the ancient world. 42 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:06,978 Ikarians couldn't depend on a boat arriving with a bunch of supplies, 43 00:03:07,061 --> 00:03:09,022 so they had to figure out 44 00:03:09,105 --> 00:03:12,775 how to eke a living out of this really rough, rocky soil. 45 00:03:13,735 --> 00:03:18,656 And it pushed a resilience that you did not see in other places. 46 00:03:19,490 --> 00:03:22,368 They had to develop an ability to live off the land, 47 00:03:22,452 --> 00:03:26,247 an ability to identify plants and harness bees 48 00:03:26,331 --> 00:03:30,835 and cooperate against really difficult situations. 49 00:03:32,337 --> 00:03:35,381 And it's actually through that difficulty and hardship 50 00:03:35,465 --> 00:03:36,466 that they emerge 51 00:03:36,549 --> 00:03:39,552 as one of the healthiest populations on the planet. 52 00:03:39,636 --> 00:03:41,763 [peaceful music continues] 53 00:03:53,399 --> 00:03:55,068 [Dan] Thank you for the almonds. 54 00:03:55,151 --> 00:03:57,487 All right. Okay, we have a few questions for you. 55 00:03:57,570 --> 00:04:00,323 [Thea in Greek] He wants to ask you some questions now. 56 00:04:00,406 --> 00:04:03,159 [Dan in English] When it comes to what life was like… 57 00:04:03,243 --> 00:04:04,744 We heard before 1980 58 00:04:04,827 --> 00:04:07,789 that Ikaria was completely self-sufficient. 59 00:04:08,289 --> 00:04:10,083 What does she remember about that time? 60 00:04:10,667 --> 00:04:13,544 [in Greek] You can find whatever you want in stores now. 61 00:04:14,128 --> 00:04:15,672 But back then, 62 00:04:16,381 --> 00:04:21,678 we only had flour because we grew it ourselves. 63 00:04:21,761 --> 00:04:24,931 We had to mill our own wheat. 64 00:04:25,014 --> 00:04:30,186 You know what our coffee was back then? 65 00:04:30,687 --> 00:04:32,897 It was barley and chickpeas, 66 00:04:33,773 --> 00:04:36,234 which we roasted and brewed. 67 00:04:36,317 --> 00:04:38,820 [in English] So they literally bought nothing? 68 00:04:39,445 --> 00:04:41,447 [gentle guitar music playing] 69 00:04:45,201 --> 00:04:48,288 [Dan] So Ikarians had to learn how to survive on their own. 70 00:04:49,914 --> 00:04:55,169 What emerges is a very different sort of Greek way of living. 71 00:04:55,253 --> 00:04:56,337 [bees buzzing] 72 00:04:57,463 --> 00:05:01,134 [Dan] They had to learn how to identify plants 73 00:05:01,217 --> 00:05:04,387 to use for food, for greens, 74 00:05:04,470 --> 00:05:07,223 for herbs, for spices, for medicines. 75 00:05:07,307 --> 00:05:13,104 And so the Ikarians developed a habit of drinking these local herbal teas. 76 00:05:21,612 --> 00:05:23,865 What kind of herbal teas do you drink? 77 00:05:23,948 --> 00:05:30,288 [in Greek] Sage tea, rosemary tea, common mallow tea. 78 00:05:30,955 --> 00:05:33,708 [Dan in English] What's the best tea to drink on a daily basis? 79 00:05:33,791 --> 00:05:35,293 -[speaking Greek] -[in English] Wine. 80 00:05:35,376 --> 00:05:36,794 [all laughing] 81 00:05:36,878 --> 00:05:37,712 [Dan] Grape tea! 82 00:05:37,795 --> 00:05:39,172 [laughing] 83 00:05:39,255 --> 00:05:41,716 [Dan] I like the way you roll. [laughs] 84 00:05:43,634 --> 00:05:47,055 Drinking herbal teas, especially when you're doing it for decades, 85 00:05:47,138 --> 00:05:48,765 has a litany of health benefits, 86 00:05:48,848 --> 00:05:52,226 and one of them actually might be lower rates of dementia. 87 00:05:53,061 --> 00:05:57,273 They're all anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, 88 00:05:57,357 --> 00:06:01,527 and they contain often diuretics, which lower blood pressure. 89 00:06:04,489 --> 00:06:08,034 Herbal tea is something that persists to this day 90 00:06:08,117 --> 00:06:10,203 and has a very strong tie 91 00:06:10,286 --> 00:06:12,455 to the extraordinary longevity on the island. 92 00:06:28,262 --> 00:06:29,138 [in Greek] Honey? 93 00:06:29,764 --> 00:06:31,224 [Dan in English] Yeah, a little bit. 94 00:06:32,392 --> 00:06:34,310 Is this homemade honey as well? 95 00:06:34,394 --> 00:06:36,604 -[Thea] This is from Ikaria. -[Dan] Perfect. 96 00:06:36,687 --> 00:06:40,983 It's so easy to put tablespoon after tablespoon of sugar in our tea. 97 00:06:41,067 --> 00:06:42,652 In America, the go-to sweetener 98 00:06:42,735 --> 00:06:45,446 is either sugar or high fructose corn syrup. 99 00:06:46,114 --> 00:06:48,658 But in Ikaria, for millennia, 100 00:06:48,741 --> 00:06:49,992 it's been honey. 101 00:06:50,076 --> 00:06:52,078 [bees buzzing] 102 00:07:01,546 --> 00:07:04,715 [Dan] There are several interesting dimensions of Ikarian honey. 103 00:07:08,094 --> 00:07:11,431 The beekeepers actually move their hives 104 00:07:12,306 --> 00:07:14,058 as the season progresses. 105 00:07:15,143 --> 00:07:19,272 So, at the beginning, it might be with the wildflowers near the coast, 106 00:07:19,355 --> 00:07:22,775 but then eventually, they end up in these pine forests near the top. 107 00:07:24,569 --> 00:07:29,657 So these bees are gathering the nectar from different types of plants. 108 00:07:29,740 --> 00:07:34,454 With that nectar are other micronutrients or other bioactive compounds. 109 00:07:34,537 --> 00:07:38,499 We know that honey has shown to inhibit cancer. 110 00:07:40,293 --> 00:07:43,963 It seems that Ikarian honey is contributing to longevity. 111 00:07:44,046 --> 00:07:47,592 What does that honey look like compared to honey in a grocery store, 112 00:07:47,675 --> 00:07:49,010 and is it healthier somehow? 113 00:07:49,093 --> 00:07:52,972 [in Greek] The problem with some store-bought honey is it's been boiled. 114 00:07:53,055 --> 00:07:56,476 As a result, they destroy the pollen grains, 115 00:07:56,559 --> 00:07:58,019 and it turns into sugar. 116 00:07:58,102 --> 00:08:00,605 [in English] You never boil the honey or warm it a lot. 117 00:08:00,688 --> 00:08:04,317 Even if you use it in the tea as a sweetener, 118 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,069 just leave the tea until the point that you can drink it. 119 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,742 [Dan] Because the honey in Ikaria is not pasteurized, 120 00:08:12,825 --> 00:08:14,410 it's not boiled, 121 00:08:14,494 --> 00:08:20,208 the nutrients and the bioactive compounds aren't destroyed in the processing of it. 122 00:08:20,291 --> 00:08:25,379 That means Ikarian honey is basically from the bee to your tea, 123 00:08:25,463 --> 00:08:28,007 and that seems to have an extra added benefit. 124 00:08:33,346 --> 00:08:36,682 So for me, when I start thinking of the sweetener I'm gonna go to, 125 00:08:36,766 --> 00:08:38,100 it's gonna be a raw honey, 126 00:08:38,184 --> 00:08:41,270 and ideally a honey like the one we see in Ikaria. 127 00:08:53,908 --> 00:08:57,203 [mellow music playing] 128 00:08:59,330 --> 00:09:00,831 [Dan] In Ikaria this time, 129 00:09:01,624 --> 00:09:04,252 I had a really big epiphany around love. 130 00:09:05,378 --> 00:09:06,504 [woman in Greek] Taki, 131 00:09:06,587 --> 00:09:10,174 I brought green onions for our salad. 132 00:09:10,883 --> 00:09:13,261 You sharpened the knife to cut the lettuce, right? 133 00:09:13,344 --> 00:09:14,512 [woman] For you. 134 00:09:15,012 --> 00:09:18,307 I sharpened it to cut the salad nicely so you enjoy it. 135 00:09:20,309 --> 00:09:24,105 [Dan in English] We know that when a spouse dies 136 00:09:24,188 --> 00:09:25,856 from a long-term relationship, 137 00:09:25,940 --> 00:09:28,317 your chances of dying in the next three months 138 00:09:28,401 --> 00:09:30,403 go up by something like two-thirds. 139 00:09:31,654 --> 00:09:35,950 But here we have the reverse happening with Aleka and Panagiotis. 140 00:09:36,033 --> 00:09:39,078 These two came to true love late in life. 141 00:09:39,912 --> 00:09:43,916 [in Greek] When my first wife passed away, I had lost my appetite to live. 142 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,211 I wouldn't talk. I wouldn't laugh. I wouldn't eat. 143 00:09:47,795 --> 00:09:49,672 I fell into pieces, 144 00:09:49,755 --> 00:09:51,173 and she brought me back. 145 00:09:52,925 --> 00:09:54,760 I must have been 73. 146 00:09:54,844 --> 00:09:57,847 I was sitting on a bench at church with my best friend. 147 00:09:57,930 --> 00:10:00,558 I was looking at the women that were coming in. 148 00:10:00,641 --> 00:10:02,810 More than 40 women had entered. 149 00:10:02,893 --> 00:10:06,314 As soon as she stepped in, an electric wave struck me. 150 00:10:07,815 --> 00:10:09,900 [Aleka] I don't remember who called who, 151 00:10:10,943 --> 00:10:12,695 and we met at Pezi Lake. 152 00:10:12,778 --> 00:10:16,657 He had prepared a meal for me. 153 00:10:16,741 --> 00:10:17,825 A picnic. 154 00:10:19,577 --> 00:10:24,290 And he played a tape and sang "I love you because you're beautiful." 155 00:10:25,625 --> 00:10:29,545 When I was looking at him, something was tickling my soul! 156 00:10:30,296 --> 00:10:34,258 I married my first husband at 16 and had a gloomy life, 157 00:10:34,342 --> 00:10:38,929 but you have made me complete, and I have forgotten the past. 158 00:10:39,013 --> 00:10:41,974 I feel as if I have lived all my years with you. 159 00:10:42,642 --> 00:10:46,812 [Dan in English] The power of happy, committed partnerships may seem obvious, 160 00:10:46,896 --> 00:10:49,565 but we can't underestimate how this type of connection 161 00:10:49,649 --> 00:10:52,943 can lead to a longer, more fulfilled life. 162 00:10:53,778 --> 00:10:57,073 People in the Blue Zones make their partners a priority, 163 00:10:57,156 --> 00:10:58,741 nurture their relationships 164 00:10:58,824 --> 00:11:00,242 and invest in them. 165 00:11:24,850 --> 00:11:28,813 [Dan] I believe that wine has been playing a surprisingly powerful role 166 00:11:28,896 --> 00:11:32,400 in Ikaria's longevity culture throughout history. 167 00:11:32,900 --> 00:11:36,404 Greek myth actually says the god of wine was born here. 168 00:11:36,487 --> 00:11:39,198 They've been using the same grapes for centuries, 169 00:11:39,281 --> 00:11:42,785 and, not only that, the same ancient process. 170 00:11:43,327 --> 00:11:44,245 Oh my God! 171 00:11:44,787 --> 00:11:47,164 It tastes like Ikaria on a spring day. 172 00:11:47,248 --> 00:11:51,210 -Yeah, that's a good wine. -Not overly sweet. It's amazing. 173 00:11:52,253 --> 00:11:55,756 [man] So the Ikarians, we have a winemaking method. 174 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:57,967 Under this, there's an amphora and the-- 175 00:11:58,050 --> 00:12:00,469 -[Dan] Which is a big clay vessel, right? -[man] Yes. 176 00:12:00,553 --> 00:12:04,682 The temperature on the top might be what the sun… 177 00:12:04,765 --> 00:12:06,267 -[Dan] Yeah. -Uh, sunlight. 178 00:12:06,350 --> 00:12:09,353 But five centimeters under it, 179 00:12:09,437 --> 00:12:10,688 it's humid and cool. 180 00:12:12,356 --> 00:12:14,358 We collect the grapes manually. 181 00:12:14,442 --> 00:12:16,444 There's no machines. 182 00:12:16,527 --> 00:12:19,071 It's a very long process but gives very good quality. 183 00:12:19,155 --> 00:12:21,991 -[Dan] Only the good grapes go in here. -[Konstantinos] Yeah, exactly. 184 00:12:22,616 --> 00:12:25,786 [Dan] And here, instead of an oak barrel, it's stored the way 185 00:12:25,870 --> 00:12:28,706 that people before the time of Christ were storing wine. 186 00:12:28,789 --> 00:12:30,458 -Yes, yes. -[Dan] It's amazing. 187 00:12:31,834 --> 00:12:35,880 We're all aware of the controversy around wine and alcohol. 188 00:12:36,756 --> 00:12:39,759 But when you look at the wine in Ikaria, 189 00:12:39,842 --> 00:12:42,178 something different is happening here. 190 00:12:43,304 --> 00:12:47,141 The wine is natural. There aren't any chemicals added to it. 191 00:12:48,350 --> 00:12:53,939 We also know that when drinking Ikarian wine with a Mediterranean meal, 192 00:12:54,023 --> 00:12:56,525 you increase the absorption of the antioxidants. 193 00:12:56,609 --> 00:12:59,195 You were telling me that minerals that come out of the-- 194 00:12:59,278 --> 00:13:00,696 [Konstantinos] Potassium. 195 00:13:00,780 --> 00:13:02,656 Phosphorus, boron, iron. 196 00:13:02,740 --> 00:13:05,201 Everything, like the microclimate, 197 00:13:05,284 --> 00:13:07,536 the quality of the grape, the quality of the island, 198 00:13:07,620 --> 00:13:09,121 gives these unique qualities 199 00:13:09,205 --> 00:13:12,208 that they were able to call it medicinal wine. 200 00:13:12,291 --> 00:13:15,294 This is nearly like drinking a supplement. 201 00:13:15,377 --> 00:13:16,295 [Konstantinos] Yes. 202 00:13:16,378 --> 00:13:17,755 [in Greek] To our health! 203 00:13:21,634 --> 00:13:25,179 [Dan] People in Ikaria have been drinking the same wine for over 100 generations, 204 00:13:25,262 --> 00:13:26,889 and they're living the longest. 205 00:13:26,972 --> 00:13:28,933 And for me, that's enough of a connection 206 00:13:29,016 --> 00:13:32,603 to allow me to enjoy my glass of wine at the end of the night. 207 00:13:56,669 --> 00:14:00,005 [playing a lively tune] 208 00:14:00,589 --> 00:14:04,718 [man singing in Greek] 209 00:14:04,802 --> 00:14:07,721 [Dan] So one of the bright spots in Ikaria were the young people 210 00:14:07,805 --> 00:14:10,558 and how they not only preserve these traditions, 211 00:14:10,641 --> 00:14:12,393 but they actually celebrate them. 212 00:14:13,435 --> 00:14:16,856 For me, where that most comes alive is for the panegyris, 213 00:14:16,939 --> 00:14:18,899 these great all-night parties 214 00:14:18,983 --> 00:14:22,069 where people from 14 to 94 are coming together 215 00:14:22,152 --> 00:14:24,780 and connecting socially and having fun. 216 00:14:29,201 --> 00:14:31,745 They are dancing all night long. 217 00:14:34,623 --> 00:14:38,669 And you look at it, and you might say, "Well, big deal. They're at a party." 218 00:14:39,253 --> 00:14:42,214 But actually, an hour of running or an hour of dancing 219 00:14:42,298 --> 00:14:44,842 are about equal when it comes to caloric burn. 220 00:14:44,925 --> 00:14:47,261 But an hour of dancing is a blast. 221 00:14:50,097 --> 00:14:54,310 We've tended to associate exercise with suffering. 222 00:14:54,393 --> 00:14:56,395 "If there's no pain, there's no gain." 223 00:14:56,478 --> 00:15:00,065 But in Ikaria, we're learning that, actually, 224 00:15:00,149 --> 00:15:02,276 physical activity can be joyful. 225 00:15:04,069 --> 00:15:06,614 They are laughing the whole time. 226 00:15:08,032 --> 00:15:11,327 Laughter is good for our arteries. It's good for heart disease. 227 00:15:11,911 --> 00:15:13,495 The happiness is palpable. 228 00:15:16,665 --> 00:15:21,629 I think what Blue Zones teach us is that longevity can be joyous. 229 00:15:21,712 --> 00:15:23,714 It doesn't have to be a chore. 230 00:15:23,797 --> 00:15:26,175 And community, connection 231 00:15:26,258 --> 00:15:29,553 is the prescriptive to longevity. 232 00:15:29,637 --> 00:15:32,306 [whimsical music playing] 233 00:15:42,650 --> 00:15:46,487 It wasn't surprising that you'd find extraordinary longevity here. 234 00:15:47,154 --> 00:15:50,407 But after marinating in the beauty and the culture of Ikaria, 235 00:15:50,491 --> 00:15:54,078 it wasn't until I traveled back to the Americas that I found 236 00:15:54,161 --> 00:15:57,873 the most extraordinary centenarians on the planet. 237 00:16:02,962 --> 00:16:05,547 I remember the first time I came to Nicoya. 238 00:16:05,631 --> 00:16:08,384 I met up with my local guide, Jorge Vindas. 239 00:16:08,467 --> 00:16:09,802 Welcome to Nicoya. 240 00:16:11,428 --> 00:16:12,346 [Dan] He introduced me 241 00:16:12,429 --> 00:16:15,975 to one of the first centenarians I was to meet in Costa Rica, 242 00:16:16,058 --> 00:16:17,810 a lady named Ponchita. 243 00:16:17,893 --> 00:16:19,937 [both speaking Spanish] 244 00:16:20,020 --> 00:16:24,984 [Dan in English] One hundred and five years old, and she was absolutely amazing. 245 00:16:27,695 --> 00:16:32,491 If there was one person that embodied the promise of Blue Zones 246 00:16:32,574 --> 00:16:34,994 and what it offers the rest of us, 247 00:16:35,077 --> 00:16:36,161 it was Ponchita. 248 00:16:36,245 --> 00:16:37,162 [laughs] 249 00:16:37,246 --> 00:16:39,415 [in Spanish] You see? It's a good machete. 250 00:16:45,170 --> 00:16:49,216 [Dan in English] Nicoya is a rural, remote region in northern Costa Rica, 251 00:16:49,299 --> 00:16:51,301 isolated from the rest of the country, 252 00:16:52,302 --> 00:16:53,804 an 80-mile peninsula, 253 00:16:53,887 --> 00:16:56,432 just south of the Nicaraguan border. 254 00:16:57,516 --> 00:17:00,644 In this Blue Zone, I found that the proportion of centenarians 255 00:17:00,728 --> 00:17:04,732 is close to three and a half times the global average. 256 00:17:04,815 --> 00:17:07,568 And, incredibly, from what I saw, 257 00:17:07,651 --> 00:17:11,238 many of them live without medication or disability. 258 00:17:11,321 --> 00:17:13,949 In most of the world, the data is clear. 259 00:17:14,033 --> 00:17:17,244 You need to be wealthy to afford to be healthy. 260 00:17:17,327 --> 00:17:19,872 As income goes up, so does life expectancy. 261 00:17:21,290 --> 00:17:22,583 But Costa Rica's income 262 00:17:22,666 --> 00:17:25,669 is only about one-sixth that of the United States, 263 00:17:25,753 --> 00:17:30,132 and yet they actually exceed our average life expectancy. 264 00:17:30,215 --> 00:17:32,176 In fact, the Blue Zone here 265 00:17:32,259 --> 00:17:34,803 is among the poorest regions in the country. 266 00:17:35,512 --> 00:17:38,348 People living in Nicaragua, just 20 miles to the north, 267 00:17:38,432 --> 00:17:40,142 they're not living a long time, 268 00:17:40,225 --> 00:17:42,936 nor the people to the south living in Panama. 269 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:45,981 But here, there seems to be a sweet spot. 270 00:17:46,565 --> 00:17:51,153 People in Nicoya, Costa Rica, are living among the longest in the world. 271 00:17:51,779 --> 00:17:52,654 Why is that? 272 00:18:09,129 --> 00:18:11,924 Ever meet somebody who, when you find out how old they are, 273 00:18:12,007 --> 00:18:13,300 it just doesn't seem to match? 274 00:18:16,136 --> 00:18:19,139 So let me tell you a story about a guy named Ramiro. 275 00:18:19,223 --> 00:18:22,309 So my colleague Jorge shows up at a ranch in Costa Rica 276 00:18:22,392 --> 00:18:24,019 expecting to meet this centenarian. 277 00:18:24,103 --> 00:18:28,690 Instead, he meets this cowboy who's got, you know, smooth skin and perfect teeth, 278 00:18:28,774 --> 00:18:32,861 and he's jumping on a horse and lassoing cows and riding around. 279 00:18:32,945 --> 00:18:34,947 [Ramiro speaking Spanish] 280 00:18:41,453 --> 00:18:43,622 [Dan in English] And after a while, he asked this Ramiro, 281 00:18:43,705 --> 00:18:46,375 you know, "I was supposed to meet a centenarian," 282 00:18:46,458 --> 00:18:48,544 and Ramiro says, "Well, that's me." 283 00:18:53,298 --> 00:18:55,676 And Jorge says, "Well, can I see your ID?" 284 00:18:55,759 --> 00:18:57,886 And, sure enough, on his national identity, 285 00:18:57,970 --> 00:19:01,640 it says born August 1921, 100 years old. 286 00:19:02,307 --> 00:19:03,892 And Jorge still doesn't believe it. 287 00:19:03,976 --> 00:19:07,020 He travels to the capital city a couple weeks later, 288 00:19:07,104 --> 00:19:08,814 looks up the national records, 289 00:19:08,897 --> 00:19:11,733 and, sure enough, in these sequentially listed IDs, 290 00:19:11,817 --> 00:19:15,028 there is Ramiro, confirmed 100-year-old. 291 00:19:17,281 --> 00:19:19,408 This guy looks like he's 70 years old. 292 00:19:19,992 --> 00:19:25,247 Easily the most vital centenarian I've met on any continent over the past 20 years. 293 00:19:29,418 --> 00:19:32,087 A scientist by the name of David Rehkopf, from Stanford, 294 00:19:32,171 --> 00:19:36,466 measured the biological age of Costa Ricans in Nicoya. 295 00:19:36,550 --> 00:19:39,720 That was one of the most fascinating findings to me 296 00:19:39,803 --> 00:19:41,638 in our telomere work. 297 00:19:41,722 --> 00:19:44,099 And that was that people in Nicoya… 298 00:19:44,183 --> 00:19:47,853 [Dan] And he found that, in this part of Costa Rica, 299 00:19:47,936 --> 00:19:52,858 Nicoyans actually have a biological age about ten years younger 300 00:19:52,941 --> 00:19:55,277 than their chronological age would suggest. 301 00:19:56,069 --> 00:20:00,532 So, what's going on here that explains this young biological age? 302 00:20:02,284 --> 00:20:03,452 [Dan in Spanish] Hello! 303 00:20:03,535 --> 00:20:04,494 [man] Dan Buettner. 304 00:20:04,578 --> 00:20:06,288 [Dan] Pleasure. 305 00:20:06,371 --> 00:20:07,456 [speaking Spanish] 306 00:20:08,498 --> 00:20:11,168 -Sit down, friend. -[Dan] Did you work today? 307 00:20:11,251 --> 00:20:12,252 Some. 308 00:20:12,336 --> 00:20:13,629 -[Dan] Did you? -Yes. 309 00:20:13,712 --> 00:20:15,297 [Dan] What time did you get up? 310 00:20:15,380 --> 00:20:16,298 At 4:00. 311 00:20:16,381 --> 00:20:17,424 -[Dan] At 4:00? -Yes. 312 00:20:17,507 --> 00:20:22,095 It's ten o'clock. You've already been working for almost six hours. 313 00:20:22,679 --> 00:20:24,181 And why do you work so much? 314 00:20:24,264 --> 00:20:25,682 You don't have to work so hard. 315 00:20:25,766 --> 00:20:28,185 That's what they say, but I can't. 316 00:20:29,478 --> 00:20:31,563 Because that's my life. 317 00:20:33,607 --> 00:20:36,318 [Dan in English] Costa Ricans have this very clear sense of purpose 318 00:20:36,401 --> 00:20:38,320 they call plan de vida. 319 00:20:39,154 --> 00:20:40,822 They know where they're heading in life. 320 00:20:40,906 --> 00:20:43,325 They know why they're waking up in the morning. 321 00:20:43,408 --> 00:20:46,328 That's what propels them through difficulties, 322 00:20:46,411 --> 00:20:47,788 keeps them doing the work. 323 00:20:47,871 --> 00:20:49,122 And for me, 324 00:20:49,206 --> 00:20:51,500 this was an aha moment. 325 00:20:51,583 --> 00:20:55,420 It's very similar to the ikigai we saw in Okinawa. 326 00:20:56,046 --> 00:21:00,592 So now we've seen this same idea in two different Blue Zones, 327 00:21:00,676 --> 00:21:04,179 and that tells me this is important. 328 00:21:18,402 --> 00:21:21,363 Yes! [laughing] 329 00:21:21,446 --> 00:21:22,698 [man speaking Spanish] 330 00:21:23,407 --> 00:21:25,200 [Dan in English] You see the way Nicoyans live, 331 00:21:25,284 --> 00:21:28,495 and you can't help but notice they do everything by hand. 332 00:21:28,578 --> 00:21:30,664 They don't have the mechanical conveniences 333 00:21:30,747 --> 00:21:32,916 to do their housework and their yard work. 334 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,086 For instance, they use a machete to cut their grass. 335 00:21:36,169 --> 00:21:39,047 And the activities around keeping the house clean, 336 00:21:39,131 --> 00:21:40,465 gathering and preparing food, 337 00:21:40,549 --> 00:21:44,344 involve unconscious movement, which, at the end of the day, 338 00:21:44,428 --> 00:21:49,349 amounts to more physical activity than, quote, unquote, "exercise." 339 00:21:49,433 --> 00:21:50,559 [ethereal music playing] 340 00:21:50,642 --> 00:21:55,063 You watch a woman making tortillas. The corn had to be ground by this crank. 341 00:21:55,981 --> 00:21:58,317 And, you know, they end up with, like, Popeye arms 342 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,820 trying to get that to the right consistency. It's a workout. 343 00:22:01,903 --> 00:22:05,073 And it happened effortlessly, too, 'cause they're so used to it. 344 00:22:05,157 --> 00:22:08,285 They didn't even realize that they were burning calories. 345 00:22:11,121 --> 00:22:13,999 For most of human history, we've had to work all the time, 346 00:22:14,082 --> 00:22:18,003 so it's only natural that we would come up with conveniences and mechanical helpers 347 00:22:18,086 --> 00:22:19,921 to do a lot of our work. 348 00:22:23,884 --> 00:22:27,054 But now we've engineered most physical activity out of our life. 349 00:22:28,430 --> 00:22:31,600 But when you look at Costa Ricans, they're still chopping wood, 350 00:22:31,683 --> 00:22:35,812 and they're still grinding corn by hand and growing their own food. 351 00:22:37,022 --> 00:22:39,941 And it makes you wonder if they're getting more exercise 352 00:22:40,025 --> 00:22:43,236 by doing everyday chores than we are by going to the gym. 353 00:22:44,154 --> 00:22:47,532 These things might seem small, but they add up over time, 354 00:22:47,616 --> 00:22:51,495 and they could not only burn more calories than, say, going to the gym, 355 00:22:51,578 --> 00:22:55,374 but they may also keep your metabolism burning higher. 356 00:22:56,083 --> 00:22:57,084 [man in Spanish] Come on! 357 00:22:57,167 --> 00:22:58,919 [Dan laughing] 358 00:23:02,756 --> 00:23:03,965 [man] This is dangerous. 359 00:23:04,049 --> 00:23:05,175 [Dan] Yes, I imagine. 360 00:23:05,258 --> 00:23:06,218 [man] Can't you see? 361 00:23:06,301 --> 00:23:08,053 [Dan] You still use an ax at 86?! 362 00:23:08,762 --> 00:23:13,517 I started with the ax when I was 14 years old. 363 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:15,769 [Dan] And what other work do you do? 364 00:23:15,852 --> 00:23:17,229 [man] I cut with a machete, 365 00:23:17,312 --> 00:23:19,606 and I fix fences. 366 00:23:20,273 --> 00:23:22,609 [Dan] And how many hours do you work daily? 367 00:23:22,692 --> 00:23:26,488 I work from 6:00 to 10:00. 368 00:23:26,571 --> 00:23:30,617 Now, with my old age, I think that you have to rest. 369 00:23:32,661 --> 00:23:34,788 [Dan in English] You think about the way Americans work. 370 00:23:34,871 --> 00:23:36,998 We work 40, 50 hours a week. 371 00:23:37,499 --> 00:23:39,626 In Nicoya, they also work very hard, 372 00:23:39,709 --> 00:23:43,130 but it tends to be in an abbreviated time. 373 00:23:43,213 --> 00:23:45,674 So work very hard, usually in the morning, 374 00:23:45,757 --> 00:23:48,176 and then they sort of take the afternoon off. 375 00:23:49,302 --> 00:23:52,514 [Dan in Spanish] Do you have money in the bank? 376 00:23:52,597 --> 00:23:54,850 -No. -[Dan] You don't have any? 377 00:23:54,933 --> 00:23:56,935 -You don't have any security? -No, sir. 378 00:23:57,018 --> 00:23:57,936 [Dan speaking Spanish] 379 00:23:58,019 --> 00:24:00,063 You have to rely on your own… 380 00:24:00,147 --> 00:24:02,983 -That's right. -[Dan] And if you get sick, what happens? 381 00:24:04,234 --> 00:24:07,821 [Juan] Let's say, when I have money, 382 00:24:07,904 --> 00:24:09,906 I like to go out and treat myself. 383 00:24:11,450 --> 00:24:14,202 -[man] To a long life! -That's right! 384 00:24:14,286 --> 00:24:15,662 [both laughing] 385 00:24:16,288 --> 00:24:17,497 [Juan] I do not complain. 386 00:24:17,998 --> 00:24:21,042 I'm poor and ugly, 387 00:24:21,126 --> 00:24:24,337 but I have enjoyed as much as one should enjoy. 388 00:24:24,421 --> 00:24:26,256 [Dan] You said poor and ugly? 389 00:24:27,090 --> 00:24:29,342 You are not ugly. You are macho. 390 00:24:29,426 --> 00:24:30,385 [both laughing] 391 00:24:30,469 --> 00:24:32,471 [Juan] How could I explain? 392 00:24:32,554 --> 00:24:35,724 It would have to be thanks to the Lord 393 00:24:35,807 --> 00:24:39,769 because I ask him that if, at this age that I am, already 86, 394 00:24:39,853 --> 00:24:44,065 but I still move around alone, I do my jobs… 395 00:24:44,149 --> 00:24:47,903 If he's going to give me more years, let it always be like this. 396 00:24:49,362 --> 00:24:53,283 I ask him when I go to bed, when I get up, 397 00:24:53,909 --> 00:24:55,660 "Give me strength." 398 00:24:58,330 --> 00:25:00,999 [Dan in English] While I wasn't able to measure their leisure time, 399 00:25:01,082 --> 00:25:03,126 in Nicoya, just like all the other Blue Zones, 400 00:25:03,210 --> 00:25:06,588 people would never do a couple extra hours of work 401 00:25:06,671 --> 00:25:08,882 when they could be enjoying their family 402 00:25:08,965 --> 00:25:12,552 or taking a siesta or interacting with their friends. 403 00:25:13,345 --> 00:25:15,055 So, in other words, they slow down 404 00:25:15,138 --> 00:25:17,849 to make time for things that really matter to them. 405 00:25:38,161 --> 00:25:39,329 [man in Spanish] Good morning. 406 00:25:39,829 --> 00:25:43,416 José Benerando, I'm here for this year's visit. 407 00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:45,043 -How are you? -Good. 408 00:25:45,126 --> 00:25:46,836 [Dan in English] Here's a country that spends 409 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,798 about one-fifteenth the amount we do on healthcare. 410 00:25:49,881 --> 00:25:52,968 Yet they came up with this genius approach 411 00:25:53,051 --> 00:25:57,430 that actually helps people avoid diseases before they're a big problem, 412 00:25:57,514 --> 00:26:01,726 something that we've completely missed in most other countries around the world. 413 00:26:03,436 --> 00:26:07,023 Costa Rica has a longer life expectancy than the United States does, 414 00:26:07,107 --> 00:26:09,150 much lower rates of middle-aged mortality, 415 00:26:09,234 --> 00:26:12,737 and they achieve that spending about one-tenth per capita 416 00:26:12,821 --> 00:26:14,614 than we do in the United States. 417 00:26:14,698 --> 00:26:16,116 How do you achieve that? 418 00:26:16,825 --> 00:26:20,328 [in English] So it's reinforcing water. 419 00:26:20,412 --> 00:26:25,709 It's moving forward with very strong nutrition programs, 420 00:26:25,792 --> 00:26:28,461 making sure, especially children, 421 00:26:28,545 --> 00:26:31,840 get the proteins that they need to develop their brains 422 00:26:31,923 --> 00:26:34,718 during the first 12, 24 months of their life. 423 00:26:34,801 --> 00:26:38,972 It is creating a tremendous amount of new infrastructure 424 00:26:39,055 --> 00:26:41,308 in what we have called los puestos de salud, 425 00:26:41,391 --> 00:26:42,809 small clinics. 426 00:26:42,892 --> 00:26:45,687 They begin to populate the geography 427 00:26:45,770 --> 00:26:50,483 with the idea of bringing health to communities 428 00:26:50,567 --> 00:26:52,402 and to where people are living. 429 00:26:55,488 --> 00:26:58,867 [Dan] Since the mid-'90s, every man, woman, and child in Costa Rica 430 00:26:58,950 --> 00:27:00,785 has had the right to a visit 431 00:27:00,869 --> 00:27:02,787 from a healthcare ambassador. 432 00:27:02,871 --> 00:27:06,583 Each team serves about 4,000 people, 433 00:27:06,666 --> 00:27:10,211 and they go door-to-door over the course of the year. 434 00:27:10,295 --> 00:27:11,546 They know their names. 435 00:27:11,630 --> 00:27:13,048 They're almost always invited in. 436 00:27:13,131 --> 00:27:16,843 They sit down with 80, 90, 100-year-olds, and they ask, "How are you doing?" 437 00:27:16,926 --> 00:27:20,138 [Wesly in Spanish] Does someone dress you? Do they help you with your clothes? 438 00:27:20,221 --> 00:27:23,350 I put them on by myself and everything. 439 00:27:23,433 --> 00:27:26,436 I put on my clothes and underwear. I wash myself. 440 00:27:26,519 --> 00:27:28,647 I do everything by myself. 441 00:27:28,730 --> 00:27:31,149 [Wesly] Mr. José Benerando, what date is it today? 442 00:27:31,232 --> 00:27:33,443 Today is the 8th, right? 443 00:27:33,526 --> 00:27:36,946 [Wesly] Eighth of what month, Mr. José Benerando? Eighth of what month? 444 00:27:37,030 --> 00:27:38,365 March? 445 00:27:38,448 --> 00:27:39,491 [Wesly] What year? 446 00:27:40,283 --> 00:27:45,205 Well, I'm not very sure of the year, 447 00:27:45,288 --> 00:27:48,625 but I do know it's March 8th. 448 00:27:49,626 --> 00:27:51,628 [José in English] Public policy in Costa Rica 449 00:27:52,128 --> 00:27:53,672 has become a culture. 450 00:27:54,172 --> 00:27:56,174 It has become a way of life. 451 00:27:56,257 --> 00:27:58,593 It has become something that we feel proud of. 452 00:27:59,761 --> 00:28:02,263 [Dan] In the United States, we hope for health, 453 00:28:02,347 --> 00:28:05,183 but we really incent for sickness. 454 00:28:05,266 --> 00:28:09,938 All of the money lies in waiting for you to get sick 455 00:28:10,021 --> 00:28:12,107 and then getting paid to heal you. 456 00:28:13,108 --> 00:28:17,779 And it's both incredibly expensive and ineffective, 457 00:28:17,862 --> 00:28:21,574 but here's a country that spends a fraction the amount we do on healthcare, 458 00:28:21,658 --> 00:28:23,952 and they're still getting better results. 459 00:28:26,121 --> 00:28:29,457 How is it that such a poor country 460 00:28:29,541 --> 00:28:32,919 is able to offer such an efficient healthcare system? 461 00:28:34,045 --> 00:28:37,507 This just might be contributing to Nicoya longevity. 462 00:28:45,473 --> 00:28:49,185 [woman in Spanish] I started making rosquillos as a child. 463 00:28:49,269 --> 00:28:53,815 I used to go to a neighbor's house to help her make rosquillos. 464 00:28:53,898 --> 00:28:55,817 [Dan] How old were you then? 465 00:28:55,900 --> 00:28:57,277 [woman] About ten, maybe. 466 00:28:57,360 --> 00:28:59,571 [Dan] How old is this grinding stone? 467 00:28:59,654 --> 00:29:03,283 [woman] Oh, no, that stone, I can't tell you 468 00:29:03,366 --> 00:29:06,119 because my mother used to grind on that stone. 469 00:29:06,202 --> 00:29:07,120 [in English] Wow. 470 00:29:07,203 --> 00:29:11,040 [woman in Spanish] Yes, my mother used to grind with it, then she gave it to me. 471 00:29:11,124 --> 00:29:13,376 -[Dan] Yeah. -[woman] She'd done a lot of grinding. 472 00:29:14,252 --> 00:29:16,212 -It has more than 100 years. -[Dan] Yes. 473 00:29:18,339 --> 00:29:21,760 [Zayda] Everything she learned to do, she taught me, too, 474 00:29:21,843 --> 00:29:23,928 so I do everything like that. 475 00:29:24,012 --> 00:29:27,599 And I have passed this on to my daughter. 476 00:29:27,682 --> 00:29:29,934 [whimsical music playing] 477 00:29:38,067 --> 00:29:39,527 [people chatting in Spanish] 478 00:29:48,411 --> 00:29:51,122 [in English] Without a doubt, one of the reasons people in Nicoya 479 00:29:51,206 --> 00:29:56,753 are living a long time is because they are eating this diet 480 00:29:56,836 --> 00:30:00,965 of beans, squash, and corn. 481 00:30:01,049 --> 00:30:04,177 They call it "the three sisters." It's the Mesoamerica trifecta 482 00:30:04,260 --> 00:30:09,557 that's been consumed by people in that region for at least 6,000 years. 483 00:30:12,352 --> 00:30:15,021 Corn, often prepared in the form of tortillas, 484 00:30:15,104 --> 00:30:17,857 is a traditional staple of the diet. 485 00:30:18,608 --> 00:30:21,778 The kernels are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, 486 00:30:21,861 --> 00:30:24,823 rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. 487 00:30:25,448 --> 00:30:29,494 Their traditional processing of corn boosts the nutritional value, 488 00:30:29,577 --> 00:30:34,123 starting with the wood ash that women add when they soak the corn. 489 00:30:34,207 --> 00:30:36,835 This breaks down the cell walls of the kernels 490 00:30:36,918 --> 00:30:40,880 and releases niacin, which helps control cholesterol. 491 00:30:42,173 --> 00:30:43,758 And black beans contain 492 00:30:43,842 --> 00:30:48,388 the same pigment-based antioxidants found in blueberries. 493 00:30:48,471 --> 00:30:51,516 They're also rich in fiber, which helps cleanse the colon. 494 00:30:52,433 --> 00:30:56,437 Squash is a good source of vitamins A, B, and C 495 00:30:56,521 --> 00:31:00,316 and is rich in minerals, such as potassium and magnesium. 496 00:31:03,778 --> 00:31:07,657 Now, we know from the Adventists that a vegetarian diet is good for us, 497 00:31:07,740 --> 00:31:11,786 but most Americans' biggest concern with skipping out on meat 498 00:31:11,870 --> 00:31:14,289 is that they won't get enough protein. 499 00:31:16,124 --> 00:31:19,502 Richer countries have become fixated on the idea 500 00:31:19,586 --> 00:31:24,048 that we need protein from our meat or dairy products to build muscle. 501 00:31:25,300 --> 00:31:28,219 So, how are the Nicoyans out there splitting logs 502 00:31:28,303 --> 00:31:30,847 and herding cattle every day of their lives? 503 00:31:32,307 --> 00:31:38,313 Well, the real magic comes from pairing beans, squash, and corn together. 504 00:31:39,814 --> 00:31:41,816 Our bodies need nine amino acids, 505 00:31:41,900 --> 00:31:44,777 the building blocks of protein, to make muscle, 506 00:31:44,861 --> 00:31:48,781 and animal products such as meat, fish, and eggs provide all nine. 507 00:31:48,865 --> 00:31:52,118 But they also contain cholesterol and saturated fat. 508 00:31:52,201 --> 00:31:54,454 Together, this three sisters diet 509 00:31:54,537 --> 00:31:59,250 provides all the amino acids without cholesterol and saturated fat. 510 00:32:00,293 --> 00:32:03,963 So they're spending a fraction of what we do on meat and dairy, 511 00:32:04,047 --> 00:32:06,257 and they're getting all the protein they need, 512 00:32:06,341 --> 00:32:07,550 which just goes to show 513 00:32:07,634 --> 00:32:10,595 that you do not have to be wealthy to eat healthy. 514 00:32:17,936 --> 00:32:19,520 [woman in Spanish] Let's eat, Isaac. 515 00:32:19,604 --> 00:32:23,232 [in Spanish] If you were to tell Isaac 516 00:32:23,316 --> 00:32:25,610 how to get to 100 years old, 517 00:32:25,693 --> 00:32:27,946 what advice would you give him? 518 00:32:28,029 --> 00:32:30,365 [in Spanish] I hope that he eats what I eat. 519 00:32:30,448 --> 00:32:32,450 Do you think your son 520 00:32:32,533 --> 00:32:35,411 will eat the same diet as your grandfather? 521 00:32:35,495 --> 00:32:39,040 [woman] I don't think so because everything is different now. 522 00:32:39,123 --> 00:32:40,708 Lots of processed food. 523 00:32:40,792 --> 00:32:44,253 [Dan] With beans and rice, he has reached 100 years. 524 00:32:44,337 --> 00:32:45,797 Wouldn't it be better? 525 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,592 [woman] Well, yes, but kids aren't interested in rice and beans. 526 00:32:49,676 --> 00:32:52,845 They are into things like cereal 527 00:32:52,929 --> 00:32:59,310 that aren't as nutritious as rice and beans. 528 00:32:59,394 --> 00:33:01,062 You want some, Grandpa? 529 00:33:01,771 --> 00:33:03,064 Do you want some? 530 00:33:03,147 --> 00:33:04,899 -[woman] If you want. -[Ramiro] One. 531 00:33:08,027 --> 00:33:09,779 Just to try it. Thank you. 532 00:33:09,862 --> 00:33:14,367 He doesn't want rice and beans or eggs. He wants cookies. 533 00:33:18,955 --> 00:33:22,166 [Dan in English] It breaks my heart to see how Nicoya is changing. 534 00:33:22,250 --> 00:33:24,711 You drive into town, and the first thing you see 535 00:33:24,794 --> 00:33:26,170 are fast food restaurants. 536 00:33:26,254 --> 00:33:28,589 The vendors are selling chips 537 00:33:28,673 --> 00:33:31,134 and sodas and candy bars. 538 00:33:32,051 --> 00:33:34,721 And this is replacing this genius way of life, 539 00:33:34,804 --> 00:33:39,017 this diet that has produced the manifestly longest-lived people, 540 00:33:39,100 --> 00:33:42,520 and now it's going the way of modern societies everywhere. 541 00:33:44,355 --> 00:33:49,360 Since I found this Blue Zone, it has shrunk to one-fifth its original size, 542 00:33:49,444 --> 00:33:51,195 and by some estimations, 543 00:33:51,279 --> 00:33:55,116 the Blue Zone could completely be gone within a generation. 544 00:33:56,409 --> 00:33:58,536 And in Okinawa, it's even worse. 545 00:33:58,619 --> 00:34:01,080 When I first traveled there in 1999, 546 00:34:01,164 --> 00:34:02,707 it was known for producing 547 00:34:02,790 --> 00:34:06,711 the longest-lived, healthiest people in the history of humankind. 548 00:34:07,837 --> 00:34:11,424 But today, the longevity phenomena has almost completely disappeared. 549 00:34:11,507 --> 00:34:15,511 In fact, Okinawa now has the highest rate of obesity 550 00:34:15,595 --> 00:34:17,847 of any other area in Japan. 551 00:34:18,806 --> 00:34:20,933 [orchestral music playing] 552 00:34:21,017 --> 00:34:24,312 [Dan] But the good news is that we've captured the wisdom. 553 00:34:25,313 --> 00:34:29,901 We have the blueprint to reproduce longevity in our lives. 554 00:34:32,528 --> 00:34:34,906 And I became obsessed with that notion. 555 00:34:35,573 --> 00:34:37,075 I got to wondering, 556 00:34:38,367 --> 00:34:41,996 could I actually create a new Blue Zone? 557 00:34:46,501 --> 00:34:48,461 [acoustic string music playing]