Say it with me, "Association does not imply causation". That Buettner is a journalist, not a scientist, is painfully evident in the conviction with which he makes his statements and declarations. The series begins rather well with episode 1 looking at Okinawans, falters with episode 2 when the attention is turned unconvincingly towards Loma Linda, and finally crashes and burns in episode 4 where it becomes a propaganda piece for the authoritarian Singapore government.
For a program investigating centenarians, there are precious few of them featured here; I can recall only two, Giulia in Sardinia and Dora in Ikaria. Buettner revealed his ignorance of complex carbohydrates vs simple sugars when he called bread and pasta simple carbohydrates. His summary of the common factors across the five blue zones is also problematic - eating well, moving naturally, faith, purpose and connection. It disregards the benefits of structured exercise and things like yoga. People with an excess of faith sometimes reduce their life expectancy when they turn away from modern medicine.
Longevity comes down to two things: good physical health and good mental health. Contributors to good physical health include eating natural food and avoiding processed food, ample hydration, adequate sleep, regular physical activity and minimising stress. Contributors to good mental health include love and belonging, self-esteem, self-actualisation, regular physical activity and minimising stress. Modern urban life typically gets in the way of these, something that the centenarians did not have to contend with.
Life expectancy in Singapore increased due to a higher standard of living and modern medicine, like in many other nations. Australia has a similar environment to the United States - high reliance on automobiles and modern diet high in processed food - yet their overall life expectancy is still comparable to Singapore's and routinely in the world's top 10. Due to Singapore's highest cost of living in the world, its younger citizens are generally too stressed and overworked to ever have time for connection, play and spending with their parents. As a former Singaporean who moved to Australia to discover his identity and ikigai, I doubt Singapore will ever truly be a blue zone.
For a program investigating centenarians, there are precious few of them featured here; I can recall only two, Giulia in Sardinia and Dora in Ikaria. Buettner revealed his ignorance of complex carbohydrates vs simple sugars when he called bread and pasta simple carbohydrates. His summary of the common factors across the five blue zones is also problematic - eating well, moving naturally, faith, purpose and connection. It disregards the benefits of structured exercise and things like yoga. People with an excess of faith sometimes reduce their life expectancy when they turn away from modern medicine.
Longevity comes down to two things: good physical health and good mental health. Contributors to good physical health include eating natural food and avoiding processed food, ample hydration, adequate sleep, regular physical activity and minimising stress. Contributors to good mental health include love and belonging, self-esteem, self-actualisation, regular physical activity and minimising stress. Modern urban life typically gets in the way of these, something that the centenarians did not have to contend with.
Life expectancy in Singapore increased due to a higher standard of living and modern medicine, like in many other nations. Australia has a similar environment to the United States - high reliance on automobiles and modern diet high in processed food - yet their overall life expectancy is still comparable to Singapore's and routinely in the world's top 10. Due to Singapore's highest cost of living in the world, its younger citizens are generally too stressed and overworked to ever have time for connection, play and spending with their parents. As a former Singaporean who moved to Australia to discover his identity and ikigai, I doubt Singapore will ever truly be a blue zone.