Blue Zone - Zones

Zones

The five regions identified and discussed by Buettner in the book Blue Zones:

• Sardinia, Italy (specifically Nuoro province): One team of demographers found a hot spot of longevity in mountain villages where men reach the age of 100 years at an amazing rate.
• The islands of Okinawa, Japan: Another team examined a group that is among the longest lived on Earth.
• Loma Linda, California: Researchers studied a group of Seventh-day Adventists who rank among America's longevity all-stars.
• Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica: The Nicoya Peninsula was the subject of research on a Quest Network expedition which began on January 29, 2007.
• Icaria, Greece: The April '09 expedition to the island of Ikaria uncovered the location with the highest percentage of 90 year-olds on the planet - nearly 1 out of 3 people make it to their 90s. Furthermore, Ikarians "have about 20 percent lower rates of cancer, 50 percent lower rates of heart disease and almost no dementia".

Residents of the first three places produce a high rate of centenarians, suffer a fraction of the diseases that commonly kill people in other parts of the developed world, and enjoy more healthy years of life.