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Diet Secrets for Living Past 100 | Big Think

Big Think | January 2, 2026



Diet Secrets for Living Past 100
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Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones Solution has traveled the world, studying its many “blue zones”: regions where the local population enjoys exceptionally long average lifespans. He and his team have identified key aspects and common denominators between these populations’ diets, such as eating “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”
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DAN BUETTNER:
Dan Buettner is an American explorer, educator, author and public speaker. He also co-produced a documentary and holds three world records for endurance bicycling. He is the founder of the online Quest Network, Inc., which provides opportunities for students to interactively engage with explorers on expedition. During his bicycling trips, Buettner became interested in demographics and longevity and began his research into “blue zones,” a term for the regions on Earth with the longest life expectancy, disability-free life expectancy, or concentration of persons over 100. He began investigating these “blue zones” with physicians and demographers, and has authored several books on the topic. His latest is The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Dan Buettner: Blue Zones areas are populations around the world where people live longest. It began with a ten-year project with National Geographic to identify these pockets where people are either reaching age 100 at the highest rates, they have the highest life expectancy, or the lowest rate of middle-age mortality. They’re geographically defined and then demographically confirmed. And we found five Blue Zones.

We found our first Blue Zone in Sardinia, Italy, up in the highlands. The Nuoro and Ogliastra Provinces and there we see a population of about 42,000 people living in 14 villages. And there is where men live the longest. Normally in First World populations like the United States, for every one male centenarian there are five female centenarians. But up in the highlands of Sardinia, the proportion is one to one. Our second Blue Zone we found in Okinawa, Japan, the longest-living women in the world. Highest life expectancy of any other population on Earth. They’re women over 60. They live about eight years longer than American women. Largely devoid of heart disease and the cancers that kill us. One of the more extraordinary Blue Zones is Ikaria, Greece, off the coast of Turkey. Ninety-nine square miles. They live about seven years longer than the average American, but most interestingly they almost completely elude dementia. We found almost everybody over 70 on the island and found only three mild cases of dementia. In America, with a similar population, you’d expect to find somewhere around 20 to 40 percent of people who are suffering from dementia. Then in Latin America, the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. And then finally in the United States, the longest living population is among the Seventh Day Adventist in Loma Linda, California. And they live up to a decade longer than their North American counterparts.

So I spent 10 years traveling to these Blue Zones around the world trying to explain why they’re living so long. And I realized at about year six that none of these spry centenarians ever said to themselves at age 50, “Well gosh darn it I’m going to get on that longevity diet and live another 50 years.” They never bought treadmills. They never called an 800 number to buy a supplement. Longevity happened to them. In other words, it was something that ensued from their environment as opposed to something they tried for. First of all, they were eating a high-carbohydrate diet. About 65 percent of their dietary intake came from carbs. Most of those, of course, are whole grains or beans. Beans is the cornerstone of every longevity diet in the world, about a cup of beans a day. About 20 percent of their dietary intake was fats and most of those were vegetable fats. And about 15 percent were proteins. They did eat meat on average about five times per month, so not a lot of meat. It’s mostly a plant-based diet. About 90 percent overall of their calories came from plants. They tended to eat a huge breakfast. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper…..

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Comments

This post currently has 47 comments.

  4. @60-Is-The-New-30

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    This is absurd. He is spreading misinformation. Maylasia is the country that breeds the most centenarians. And they eat plenty of meat, milk, sweet foods, fatty foods, etc.

  5. @Anthonyinkz

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    They love eating lots of meat ,lamb got pork, very little vegetables and lots of dairy cheese yogurt milk, a low stress life environment and genes play a part to.

  6. @Ruktiet

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    This guy is an absolute scam. Go to Icaria and Sardinia. Meat only 5 times a month?!?! BULLSH*T!! They ADORE pork, mutton, veal and above all, cheese in Sardinia. The situation is similar for Icaria. This guy knowns NOTHING about their traditional diets in the mediterranean or is intentionally spreading false information to push the plant-based radical left agenda. It’s disgusting.

  10. @fuhgetabatit1051

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    These people have like no stress in their lives. The rest of us have a go go go do do do lifestyle. If you’re not running you are falling behind. I would love to live like these people. No depression, no anxiety disorders, none of that. I have IBS, so eating beans for my protein, while delicious, is not an option for me. I’m trying you guys, I’m trying.

  12. @racking4507

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    Diet, activity level, genetics, lifestyle, living with purpose, and social life. Compared to sedentary lifestyle, junk food, high stress all the time, sleep deprived, which equals lucky if you make 72.

  14. @changchen09

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    He's right! Diet is the secret of lifespan 🌱✌🏻 eat fresh, eat from primary sources, and eat ethically and moderately without regrets 🤘🏻

  20. @YaBetterCallBabu07

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    Sounds like these “blue zones” youve identified eat mostly plants and less meat, which is a diet low in saturated fat. But what about countries eating higher fat and living longer, like the “french paradox” and why arent they included? It is odd they were not included. They’re living longer than average on a diet high in saturated fat. I guess it goes against the advice here.

  24. @hadracks

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    As I remember it from similar research on these populations, two keys were really tight social networks and lots of walking. No sports for adults, just lots of walking.

  31. @Vibestr

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    So to clarify by carbs, he was referring to natural one's found in beans, legumes and the like, not your refined rice, breads and pastas.

  33. @andthisisbeckenlive

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    Lol you people clearly have a hearing problem. Learn how to LISTEN. High carb diets. Pretty much to opposite of what science tells us these days. Which is Interesting to say the least. These people prove science wrong. By eating a high carb diet, Vegetable fats and they DO eat meat. They just don't eat a TON of meat. They drink Tea, coffee and wine. In other Words they are clearly NOT vegan. I repeat NOT vegan. In Ikaria for example they eat eggs, they drink goat milk, they eat greek yoghurt. Now IF you somehow think that's being vegan I've got some bad news for you. It's NOT being vegan. Period. Yet these people will most likely outlive you vegans. What does that tell you? They're clearly doing something right that the rest of us aren't. Including you vegans. That's the facts. By the way 2 out of 3 Ikarians will live well past their 90s and I for one am very impressed.

  34. @FrankieZG

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    sorry vegans, but 100% vegan societies doesn't exist because they are not sustainable.. for example, on Okinawa people eat a lot of fish and on Sardinia a lot of good cheese..

  35. @schoolofhot

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    It's not that simple… Obviously, for example the coffee we drink is different to the coffee they may be drinking etc we have added preservatives and mould issues with our foods. But this is a great start!

  40. @Ophiuchus123456789

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    I'm pretty sure genetics plays a big part too.  I'm rather healthy, but whether I like it or not, I'm already going grey (and have been going grey for the last few years) and I'm only 30 years old.

  41. @brandonhowarth2402

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    maybe this could work mixing lemons oranges and apples in a blender and making a fruit smoothy out of it and eating almonds could make you live longer- working out from in example 0-0-0-1-1-0-1-1-0- that's just example off orders you can eat them in. like eat lemons with lemons- apples with apples then tick it off your list and see if that does improve, in order you can eat that at i think of ways that i can make myself live longer as well.

  42. @brandonhowarth2402

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    has anyone heard of this? mixing resin with metal- and mixing- plastic resin and glass together. to make new elements that haven't been existed yet by putting them together like a jig saw puzzle for new things in the future working them out by numbers and order for which the are in.

  43. @brandonhowarth2402

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    like they have in movies- where a human can live longer by machines and DNA- and eating healthy a jellyfish can live well i heard 100 yrs+ maybe longer if they mix that with human DNA we could live to 200 yrs of age- but that's just science fiction maybe for now or forever. as far as we know it.

  44. @lemonadecupcakes

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    I think this has a lot of merit, but genetics was completely left out of this. I would have felt better if it had been approached with an acknowledgement of the limitations of the magical lifestyle.  It's not going to cure you of Alzheimers.  It won't stave off Multiple Sclerosis.  It will probably add health and years to your life, though, so it's not a waste in any sense, I'm just saying…

  46. @squamish4244

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    Modern longevity research could drastically alter these demographics.  In 50 years, 100 may be as common an age to reach as 70 is today.  In 100 years, there may be a lot of 150-year-olds walking around.

  47. @dionisus24

    January 2, 2026 at 7:11 pm

    I didn't see the research saying that meat is bad. They eat meat 5 times a month. There is an enormous difference between some meat and no meat at all. I already eat like that and I am not a vegan. I guess I will outlive any vegan who eats no meat at all and prefers their protein from  cancerous supplements, as I will outlive anyone who says "I only eat protein, wheat is for sissies and fatties". ^_^
    Have a magnificent day!

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