1 00:00:15,476 --> 00:00:24,436 Speaker 1: Pushkin, the standard American diet is killing us. 2 00:00:24,836 --> 00:00:26,516 Speaker 2: That's a stark line from the book I want to 3 00:00:26,556 --> 00:00:28,996 Speaker 2: tell you about in this episode, which is a bit 4 00:00:29,036 --> 00:00:30,876 Speaker 2: different from the other works I'll be sharing in this 5 00:00:30,956 --> 00:00:33,516 Speaker 2: season on my favorite books of twenty twenty five. My 6 00:00:33,596 --> 00:00:36,476 Speaker 2: other choices are mostly science y type books related to 7 00:00:36,516 --> 00:00:39,196 Speaker 2: the study of happiness, but today's pick is a bit different. 8 00:00:39,436 --> 00:00:43,396 Speaker 2: It's a cookbook entitled One Pot Meals, one hundred Recipes 9 00:00:43,476 --> 00:00:45,636 Speaker 2: to Live Till one hundred and the author of One 10 00:00:45,676 --> 00:00:48,196 Speaker 2: Pot Meals is someone you may remember if you're a 11 00:00:48,196 --> 00:00:49,316 Speaker 2: fan of the Happiness Lab. 12 00:00:49,556 --> 00:00:51,996 Speaker 3: My name is Dan Buttener. I am a New York 13 00:00:52,036 --> 00:00:57,276 Speaker 3: Times bestselling writer, a national geographic explorer, and most significantly, 14 00:00:57,316 --> 00:01:01,236 Speaker 3: I'm a guest of Lori Santos, which is my proudest accolade. 15 00:01:01,396 --> 00:01:03,236 Speaker 2: He's most well known for his work on what are 16 00:01:03,316 --> 00:01:06,196 Speaker 2: called blue zones, the places around the world where people 17 00:01:06,236 --> 00:01:09,596 Speaker 2: live the longest and happiest lives. Dan's research has shown 18 00:01:09,596 --> 00:01:11,836 Speaker 2: that there are lots of cultural factors that promote health 19 00:01:11,836 --> 00:01:14,716 Speaker 2: and happiness, but he's also found that food seems to 20 00:01:14,756 --> 00:01:15,996 Speaker 2: be an important factor. 21 00:01:15,716 --> 00:01:18,956 Speaker 1: Too, Hence a cookbook. The premise behind One. 22 00:01:18,836 --> 00:01:21,876 Speaker 2: Pot Meals is that America is definitely not a blue 23 00:01:21,916 --> 00:01:24,036 Speaker 2: zone when it comes to what we eat. As Dan 24 00:01:24,076 --> 00:01:27,476 Speaker 2: explains in his book, Americans are suffering from chronic illnesses 25 00:01:27,516 --> 00:01:30,196 Speaker 2: like diabetes and heart disease at higher rates than ever. 26 00:01:30,396 --> 00:01:33,556 Speaker 2: He also shared the scary statistic that Americans are dying 27 00:01:33,596 --> 00:01:36,596 Speaker 2: on average, about twelve years earlier than we should be. 28 00:01:37,116 --> 00:01:37,516 Speaker 1: Yikes. 29 00:01:37,876 --> 00:01:40,436 Speaker 2: But in One Pot Meals, Dan shares a whole host 30 00:01:40,436 --> 00:01:43,116 Speaker 2: of tasty recipes that use the kinds of ingredients that 31 00:01:43,116 --> 00:01:45,996 Speaker 2: people eat in blue zones across the globe. The dishes 32 00:01:46,036 --> 00:01:48,876 Speaker 2: that result are low in sugar, salt, and other processed stuff, 33 00:01:49,116 --> 00:01:50,876 Speaker 2: and high and whole grains and plants. 34 00:01:51,236 --> 00:01:52,396 Speaker 1: Plus they're really cheap. 35 00:01:52,716 --> 00:01:54,756 Speaker 2: I really love Dan's Blue zone work, so I was 36 00:01:54,796 --> 00:01:56,756 Speaker 2: excited to get my hands on One Pot Meals. 37 00:01:57,196 --> 00:01:59,276 Speaker 1: But there was another reason I was excited to talk 38 00:01:59,276 --> 00:01:59,636 Speaker 1: to Dan. 39 00:02:00,036 --> 00:02:02,836 Speaker 2: You see, I recently celebrated one of those big birthdays 40 00:02:02,876 --> 00:02:03,476 Speaker 2: with a zero. 41 00:02:03,836 --> 00:02:04,836 Speaker 1: I just turned fifty. 42 00:02:05,356 --> 00:02:06,796 Speaker 3: Join the half a century club. 43 00:02:06,956 --> 00:02:09,036 Speaker 4: It is a time when you start thinking about longevity 44 00:02:09,156 --> 00:02:11,316 Speaker 4: a really different way. Forty was like, oh, yeah, I'm 45 00:02:11,356 --> 00:02:15,316 Speaker 4: getting old, but fifty's like, hey, you know this this matters. 46 00:02:15,716 --> 00:02:18,636 Speaker 3: Yeah. I just saw a study from the World Bank 47 00:02:19,036 --> 00:02:23,756 Speaker 3: that showed that fifty four year olds in two thousand 48 00:02:23,876 --> 00:02:26,636 Speaker 3: have the same cognitive level as a seventy one year 49 00:02:26,636 --> 00:02:30,596 Speaker 3: old today. So in this world of bad news, seventy 50 00:02:30,636 --> 00:02:33,756 Speaker 3: one is the new fifty four, you know, so turning fifty, 51 00:02:33,796 --> 00:02:35,436 Speaker 3: you're probably about thirty eight. 52 00:02:36,796 --> 00:02:37,276 Speaker 1: I'll take it. 53 00:02:37,396 --> 00:02:39,916 Speaker 4: I'll take whatever I can get. Even if fifty is 54 00:02:39,956 --> 00:02:40,756 Speaker 4: the new thirty eight. 55 00:02:40,876 --> 00:02:43,196 Speaker 2: Dan still thinks I could benefit from trying to emulate 56 00:02:43,236 --> 00:02:45,876 Speaker 2: what people do differently in blue zones. So I asked 57 00:02:45,956 --> 00:02:48,356 Speaker 2: Dan to start at the beginning. What sparked his blue 58 00:02:48,396 --> 00:02:49,796 Speaker 2: zone research in the first place. 59 00:02:50,916 --> 00:02:54,036 Speaker 3: Graduating from university at a time when most people are 60 00:02:54,116 --> 00:02:57,516 Speaker 3: launching into careers of productive and useful things, I went 61 00:02:57,556 --> 00:03:01,036 Speaker 3: and rode my bike. I bike from Alaska, Argentina, top 62 00:03:01,076 --> 00:03:03,156 Speaker 3: to bottom of Africa and around the world. That took 63 00:03:03,196 --> 00:03:06,396 Speaker 3: eight years, set three world records. But it sure did 64 00:03:06,556 --> 00:03:09,596 Speaker 3: help me understand the world in a way. You know, 65 00:03:09,676 --> 00:03:13,156 Speaker 3: somebody taken a Delta one flight doesn't absorb. And then 66 00:03:13,356 --> 00:03:15,516 Speaker 3: I've been wanting to work for National Geographic for a 67 00:03:15,556 --> 00:03:17,636 Speaker 3: long time, and I had a very clever editor there 68 00:03:17,676 --> 00:03:21,236 Speaker 3: who said, you know, my expeditions were interesting, but the 69 00:03:21,316 --> 00:03:24,836 Speaker 3: expeditions they're looking for at the National Geographic Society are 70 00:03:24,876 --> 00:03:27,436 Speaker 3: ones that add to the body of knowledge. You know, 71 00:03:27,476 --> 00:03:30,236 Speaker 3: we've been to the top of Everest four thousand times, 72 00:03:30,276 --> 00:03:33,036 Speaker 3: and those are sort of stunts these days. So it 73 00:03:33,076 --> 00:03:38,316 Speaker 3: got me thinking, could I devise a strategy for exploration 74 00:03:38,436 --> 00:03:40,356 Speaker 3: that actually added to the body of knowledge? And I 75 00:03:40,396 --> 00:03:43,356 Speaker 3: came up with these quests that let an online audience 76 00:03:43,476 --> 00:03:47,756 Speaker 3: direct a team of experts to solve mystery, thereby harnessing 77 00:03:47,796 --> 00:03:51,196 Speaker 3: the wisdom of the crowd and letting the audience actually 78 00:03:51,276 --> 00:03:55,156 Speaker 3: vote to decide where our expedition team went to gather clues, 79 00:03:55,236 --> 00:03:58,436 Speaker 3: and we did five expeditions to help solve why the 80 00:03:58,476 --> 00:04:03,676 Speaker 3: Maya civilization collapse. We did an expedition to illuminate human origins, 81 00:04:03,716 --> 00:04:07,156 Speaker 3: the origins of Western civilization. Many people think that's Greece, 82 00:04:07,276 --> 00:04:11,236 Speaker 3: but actually it's probably more Turkey. And got very good 83 00:04:11,236 --> 00:04:16,836 Speaker 3: at networking with top scientists and reading academic papers. As 84 00:04:16,836 --> 00:04:19,876 Speaker 3: you well know, reading academic papers is like learning a 85 00:04:19,916 --> 00:04:22,636 Speaker 3: second language. But once you get good at it, it 86 00:04:22,676 --> 00:04:26,596 Speaker 3: opens up this whole world of insights you don't have 87 00:04:26,636 --> 00:04:31,476 Speaker 3: when you're reading secondhand interpretations of those papers. And then 88 00:04:31,556 --> 00:04:33,276 Speaker 3: that led me eventually to Blue zones. 89 00:04:33,356 --> 00:04:35,156 Speaker 1: You just use that term blue zone. So what is 90 00:04:35,196 --> 00:04:36,236 Speaker 1: a blue zone? What does that mean? 91 00:04:36,276 --> 00:04:42,356 Speaker 3: A blue zone is a demographically confirmed, geographically confined area 92 00:04:42,356 --> 00:04:46,556 Speaker 3: where people live the longest. But now it's grown into 93 00:04:46,556 --> 00:04:49,236 Speaker 3: a movement. It's sort of a way of life that 94 00:04:49,516 --> 00:04:53,516 Speaker 3: focuses on setting up your surroundings so you're more likely 95 00:04:53,676 --> 00:04:55,916 Speaker 3: to live longer in a happier life. 96 00:04:55,996 --> 00:04:57,476 Speaker 4: And so what was the mystery you were trying to 97 00:04:57,476 --> 00:04:59,516 Speaker 4: solve with the blue zone work? What's the big puzzle? 98 00:04:59,956 --> 00:05:04,436 Speaker 3: So it's quite literally reverse engineering longevity. And there's a 99 00:05:04,476 --> 00:05:07,796 Speaker 3: few generally accepted assumptions that we work on. Number One, 100 00:05:08,036 --> 00:05:11,356 Speaker 3: the Danish twins to established that only about twenty percent 101 00:05:11,436 --> 00:05:14,636 Speaker 3: of how long we live is dictated by our genes. 102 00:05:15,276 --> 00:05:17,276 Speaker 3: The other eighty percent is something else, and that's not 103 00:05:17,316 --> 00:05:21,316 Speaker 3: an individual, that's for a population. You understand that. And 104 00:05:21,356 --> 00:05:24,716 Speaker 3: then the second thing is a small team of demographers 105 00:05:24,756 --> 00:05:29,876 Speaker 3: were just figured out how to authenticate ages and identify 106 00:05:29,996 --> 00:05:33,516 Speaker 3: spots where people are living verifyly the longest. So I 107 00:05:33,596 --> 00:05:36,516 Speaker 3: reason if we could find the longest of hot spots 108 00:05:36,556 --> 00:05:39,476 Speaker 3: around the world and then look for their common denominators, 109 00:05:39,636 --> 00:05:42,996 Speaker 3: that those common denominators would explain eighty percent of longevity, 110 00:05:43,236 --> 00:05:45,476 Speaker 3: and that's the foundation of Blue zones. 111 00:05:45,516 --> 00:05:48,156 Speaker 4: I mean, the Blue Zone work has started now a 112 00:05:48,196 --> 00:05:51,356 Speaker 4: while ago, honestly, but you're hitting on something that folks 113 00:05:51,356 --> 00:05:53,596 Speaker 4: are talking about a lot these days, this idea of 114 00:05:53,596 --> 00:05:56,476 Speaker 4: what's called health span. So lifespan is kind of how 115 00:05:56,556 --> 00:05:58,796 Speaker 4: long we live, but health span is this notion of 116 00:05:59,036 --> 00:06:01,316 Speaker 4: how long do you live a kind of healthy life. 117 00:06:01,636 --> 00:06:03,596 Speaker 4: The Blue Zones really focus on that. Why is health 118 00:06:03,596 --> 00:06:04,556 Speaker 4: span so important? 119 00:06:05,156 --> 00:06:10,316 Speaker 3: Well, okay, I actually after three more years, I'm just 120 00:06:10,476 --> 00:06:13,396 Speaker 3: finishing a book on health span and just to give 121 00:06:13,396 --> 00:06:15,876 Speaker 3: you a little bit of background on that. So the 122 00:06:16,356 --> 00:06:20,516 Speaker 3: official term is health adjustedt life expectancy, which goes under 123 00:06:20,556 --> 00:06:23,476 Speaker 3: the acronym HAIL. And that didn't exist when I was 124 00:06:23,516 --> 00:06:26,636 Speaker 3: first doing my original Blue Zone work. But now there's 125 00:06:26,676 --> 00:06:30,436 Speaker 3: an enormous body of scientists called the Global Burden of 126 00:06:30,516 --> 00:06:35,316 Speaker 3: Disease Project, about ten thousand scientists who are trying to 127 00:06:35,396 --> 00:06:38,396 Speaker 3: figure out this big problem we have on Earth, which 128 00:06:38,436 --> 00:06:43,116 Speaker 3: is life expectancy is going up, but us having more 129 00:06:43,236 --> 00:06:46,196 Speaker 3: old people who are sicker for longer, so it's not 130 00:06:46,316 --> 00:06:48,876 Speaker 3: getting us what we really want, which is more years 131 00:06:48,916 --> 00:06:52,476 Speaker 3: of good life. So health adjust that life expectancy measures 132 00:06:52,716 --> 00:06:56,596 Speaker 3: life expectancy minus years loss due to chronic disease like 133 00:06:56,676 --> 00:07:00,756 Speaker 3: heart disease and type two diabetes minus years of full 134 00:07:00,796 --> 00:07:04,956 Speaker 3: health loss to disability. So it's a big cluster of things. 135 00:07:05,196 --> 00:07:08,156 Speaker 3: And for this project, I found the four areas where 136 00:07:08,196 --> 00:07:12,236 Speaker 3: people live the longest healthy lives and look for their 137 00:07:12,436 --> 00:07:16,076 Speaker 3: common denominators. In the United States, an average person can 138 00:07:16,116 --> 00:07:19,796 Speaker 3: only expect to live at age sixty four before a 139 00:07:19,876 --> 00:07:24,036 Speaker 3: major disability or disease comes on board. Only sixty four 140 00:07:24,196 --> 00:07:27,036 Speaker 3: good years. In the United States, I found places where 141 00:07:27,036 --> 00:07:30,076 Speaker 3: people are enjoyed seventy seven years of full life. So 142 00:07:30,236 --> 00:07:35,156 Speaker 3: I'm really interested in the cluster of characteristics, the policies 143 00:07:35,316 --> 00:07:39,116 Speaker 3: and the individual interventions and really the designs that are 144 00:07:39,156 --> 00:07:43,356 Speaker 3: producing genetically average people who are living an extra twelve 145 00:07:43,476 --> 00:07:44,876 Speaker 3: years more than Americans do. 146 00:07:45,076 --> 00:07:46,516 Speaker 4: And so where were some of the places where you 147 00:07:46,596 --> 00:07:48,996 Speaker 4: found that, because that was what you first identified in 148 00:07:49,036 --> 00:07:52,316 Speaker 4: the original Blue Zone book, where these like literal location 149 00:07:52,516 --> 00:07:55,396 Speaker 4: cities where people are living longer and more healthfully. 150 00:07:55,556 --> 00:07:58,956 Speaker 3: Yes, the original Blue Zones, the longest lived men were 151 00:07:59,156 --> 00:08:02,556 Speaker 3: in Sardinia, Italy, just one area called the Neural Province. 152 00:08:02,996 --> 00:08:06,876 Speaker 3: Longest lived women in Okinawa, Japan, the Nicoya Peninsula is 153 00:08:06,876 --> 00:08:09,916 Speaker 3: the area with the lowest rate of middle age mortality, 154 00:08:09,996 --> 00:08:13,636 Speaker 3: which means people your age LORI have the best chance 155 00:08:13,676 --> 00:08:17,316 Speaker 3: of reaching a healthy age ninety five. Ninety five is 156 00:08:17,396 --> 00:08:21,676 Speaker 3: kind of the ceiling for the average human being. People say, 157 00:08:21,756 --> 00:08:23,956 Speaker 3: promising you to live to one hundred, they probably have 158 00:08:24,036 --> 00:08:26,276 Speaker 3: their hand in your pocket. But we're all kind of 159 00:08:26,596 --> 00:08:29,236 Speaker 3: designed to make it to our mid nineties. Women like 160 00:08:29,316 --> 00:08:31,676 Speaker 3: you maybe a little bit more, men like me a 161 00:08:31,676 --> 00:08:35,196 Speaker 3: little bit less. But in Nicoya they enjoy the best 162 00:08:35,276 --> 00:08:37,596 Speaker 3: chance of reaching that age ninety five. It kindi a 163 00:08:37,636 --> 00:08:41,436 Speaker 3: Greece virtually without dementia, living eight years longer than Americans. 164 00:08:41,516 --> 00:08:45,236 Speaker 3: And then among the Seventh Day Adventists in Lomalina, California, 165 00:08:45,396 --> 00:08:48,716 Speaker 3: we have a population who live about eight years longer 166 00:08:48,756 --> 00:08:52,596 Speaker 3: than their California counterparts. So that's interesting because it's right 167 00:08:52,636 --> 00:08:53,516 Speaker 3: here in the US. 168 00:08:53,876 --> 00:08:55,676 Speaker 4: And so one of the things I've heard you say 169 00:08:55,676 --> 00:08:58,516 Speaker 4: in other interviews is that you learn so much from travel, 170 00:08:58,556 --> 00:09:00,996 Speaker 4: because I think you're meeting people and stuff. I'm just 171 00:09:01,116 --> 00:09:03,276 Speaker 4: I mean, you're always a healthy guy, but I'm curious 172 00:09:03,276 --> 00:09:05,236 Speaker 4: when you first started going to the blue zones and 173 00:09:05,276 --> 00:09:08,516 Speaker 4: meeting people, like any experiences that struck you like, oh 174 00:09:08,516 --> 00:09:11,036 Speaker 4: my gosh, this is so different than my life in 175 00:09:11,076 --> 00:09:11,876 Speaker 4: the US. 176 00:09:12,156 --> 00:09:16,316 Speaker 3: So I've had the privilege of interviewing almost five hundred 177 00:09:16,356 --> 00:09:19,676 Speaker 3: one hundred year old with five hundred centenarians. And I 178 00:09:19,756 --> 00:09:23,756 Speaker 3: didn't much care for old people, and I feared getting 179 00:09:23,836 --> 00:09:28,236 Speaker 3: older before I started, and I really fell in love 180 00:09:28,276 --> 00:09:30,716 Speaker 3: with these people. People are making it to one hundred, 181 00:09:31,076 --> 00:09:35,636 Speaker 3: I've noticed tend to be interested and interesting. The grump 182 00:09:35,716 --> 00:09:38,596 Speaker 3: seemed to be selected out of the gene pools, out 183 00:09:38,596 --> 00:09:41,236 Speaker 3: of the pool anyway, and it is done for me. 184 00:09:41,436 --> 00:09:44,916 Speaker 3: It's given me this appreciation for older people, but also 185 00:09:44,996 --> 00:09:49,836 Speaker 3: an appreciation for getting older. This Becca Levy from Yale 186 00:09:49,956 --> 00:09:52,996 Speaker 3: has found that people with a poor attitude towards aging 187 00:09:53,116 --> 00:09:57,036 Speaker 3: actually live shorter lives. And this work has given me 188 00:09:57,196 --> 00:10:01,796 Speaker 3: the gift of appreciating older people and even old age. 189 00:10:01,836 --> 00:10:04,036 Speaker 3: You know, you actually get happier as you get older. 190 00:10:04,436 --> 00:10:10,996 Speaker 3: And I realized that spending time with family, really curating 191 00:10:11,076 --> 00:10:15,956 Speaker 3: my immediate social network, and living in a walkable community 192 00:10:15,996 --> 00:10:18,156 Speaker 3: are the biggest things I can do for not only 193 00:10:18,796 --> 00:10:22,916 Speaker 3: quantity but quality of life. And I've really been conscious 194 00:10:22,916 --> 00:10:24,516 Speaker 3: about setting up my life like that. 195 00:10:24,836 --> 00:10:26,436 Speaker 4: And so when a lot of people these days talk 196 00:10:26,476 --> 00:10:29,396 Speaker 4: about kind of longevity and health span or what is 197 00:10:29,436 --> 00:10:31,636 Speaker 4: it health adjusted years for life. 198 00:10:31,676 --> 00:10:34,876 Speaker 3: Yeah, I already forgot that health adjusted life expected. 199 00:10:34,636 --> 00:10:35,956 Speaker 1: Health adjusted life expectancy. 200 00:10:36,036 --> 00:10:40,156 Speaker 4: So when folks are talking about that, sometimes they kind 201 00:10:40,156 --> 00:10:43,116 Speaker 4: of have their hand in your pocket. As you said, right, Like, 202 00:10:43,196 --> 00:10:45,436 Speaker 4: if you talked a lot of influencers and you talk 203 00:10:45,476 --> 00:10:48,916 Speaker 4: about increasing your lifespan, you'll hear lots of things about 204 00:10:48,996 --> 00:10:53,396 Speaker 4: supplements and individual fixes and workout plans and things like that. 205 00:10:53,756 --> 00:10:55,036 Speaker 4: And one of the reasons I love your work so 206 00:10:55,116 --> 00:10:57,676 Speaker 4: much is you've kind of pushed back against this. You've 207 00:10:57,756 --> 00:10:59,796 Speaker 4: argued that these kind of quick fixes don't work as 208 00:10:59,836 --> 00:11:00,676 Speaker 4: well as we assume. 209 00:11:01,036 --> 00:11:03,276 Speaker 3: What do you mean there, Well, there's an eighty four 210 00:11:03,436 --> 00:11:07,476 Speaker 3: billion dollar anti aging industry out there that has failed 211 00:11:07,516 --> 00:11:11,196 Speaker 3: to produce even one hill or supplement or hormone or 212 00:11:11,236 --> 00:11:14,796 Speaker 3: stem cell that is shown to reverse, stop or even 213 00:11:14,876 --> 00:11:18,196 Speaker 3: slow aging in humans. You know, there's some theoretical base, 214 00:11:18,316 --> 00:11:22,396 Speaker 3: but when you take these things, you're usually being promised 215 00:11:22,396 --> 00:11:25,636 Speaker 3: something that can't deliver, and you're performing an experiment on 216 00:11:25,676 --> 00:11:27,956 Speaker 3: your own body. You know. I like to point out 217 00:11:27,996 --> 00:11:31,676 Speaker 3: stem cells there's no regulation of where they come from 218 00:11:31,956 --> 00:11:34,276 Speaker 3: the medium they're delivered in that there could be a 219 00:11:34,276 --> 00:11:37,076 Speaker 3: medium that delivers infection as well as stem cells. I 220 00:11:37,076 --> 00:11:39,756 Speaker 3: have a neighbor in Miami who went down to Central 221 00:11:39,796 --> 00:11:42,516 Speaker 3: America for stem cell treatment and he never came back. 222 00:11:42,596 --> 00:11:45,036 Speaker 3: He embolized and died. So I'm not a big fan 223 00:11:45,076 --> 00:11:49,156 Speaker 3: of those. You know, I always defy anybody to show 224 00:11:49,276 --> 00:11:55,396 Speaker 3: me one behavioral modification intervention, say a diet or an 225 00:11:55,436 --> 00:11:59,836 Speaker 3: exercise program or supplement regimen that works for more than 226 00:11:59,996 --> 00:12:03,676 Speaker 3: single digit percentage of people over two years. You can't 227 00:12:03,716 --> 00:12:07,236 Speaker 3: find it. So you know, it's a great business plan 228 00:12:07,316 --> 00:12:09,636 Speaker 3: because every year or two and you know, we promise 229 00:12:09,756 --> 00:12:13,276 Speaker 3: better health, they're less weight or you know, more muscle, 230 00:12:13,436 --> 00:12:16,036 Speaker 3: and it doesn't deliver. But people still want it and 231 00:12:16,076 --> 00:12:19,476 Speaker 3: they'll try the new thing. And that's not the way 232 00:12:19,876 --> 00:12:24,076 Speaker 3: populations who are enjoyed in extra twelve good years, that's 233 00:12:24,076 --> 00:12:25,916 Speaker 3: not the way they do it. So I try. I'm 234 00:12:25,956 --> 00:12:32,996 Speaker 3: trying to illuminate the real characteristics or secrets of longevity. 235 00:12:33,076 --> 00:12:34,956 Speaker 4: Some treees what's going on in these different zones. I 236 00:12:34,996 --> 00:12:37,356 Speaker 4: know you've identified four different things that they might be 237 00:12:37,436 --> 00:12:38,836 Speaker 4: doing that's helping them live longer. 238 00:12:38,836 --> 00:12:39,556 Speaker 1: What are those things? 239 00:12:39,636 --> 00:12:42,276 Speaker 3: Number one? If you want to know what a centenarian 240 00:12:42,356 --> 00:12:44,036 Speaker 3: or a hundred year old ate to live to be 241 00:12:44,076 --> 00:12:46,156 Speaker 3: one hundred, you have to know what she ate as 242 00:12:46,156 --> 00:12:49,356 Speaker 3: a little girl, in middle age and lately. And you 243 00:12:49,396 --> 00:12:51,516 Speaker 3: can't just ask them, you know, what are you eating 244 00:12:51,636 --> 00:12:55,076 Speaker 3: because most people can't remember what they had two weeks 245 00:12:55,076 --> 00:12:58,076 Speaker 3: ago Tuesday for line, so how they can remember what 246 00:12:58,076 --> 00:13:00,316 Speaker 3: they ate as a little kid. So to get at that, 247 00:13:00,916 --> 00:13:05,796 Speaker 3: we found about one hundred and fifty five dietary surveys 248 00:13:05,876 --> 00:13:09,916 Speaker 3: done in all five Blue zones over the past eighty years. 249 00:13:10,596 --> 00:13:13,676 Speaker 3: Harvard's Walter Willett, who used to run the school public 250 00:13:13,716 --> 00:13:16,076 Speaker 3: Health there, he helped me do something called a meta 251 00:13:16,156 --> 00:13:19,876 Speaker 3: analysis to see what people ate over time and sort 252 00:13:19,916 --> 00:13:22,636 Speaker 3: of average it out. And you see they're eating mostly 253 00:13:22,676 --> 00:13:25,716 Speaker 3: a whole food diet, and about ninety percent of what 254 00:13:25,796 --> 00:13:29,516 Speaker 3: they eat ninety to ninety five is plants. It's mostly 255 00:13:29,596 --> 00:13:34,516 Speaker 3: whole grains, greens, tubers like sweet potatoes, nuts, and the 256 00:13:34,596 --> 00:13:37,356 Speaker 3: cornerstone of every longevity diet in the world is beans. 257 00:13:37,596 --> 00:13:39,636 Speaker 3: People don't realize if you eat a couple of beans 258 00:13:39,636 --> 00:13:43,436 Speaker 3: of days predicts about four extra years of life expectancy. 259 00:13:43,876 --> 00:13:47,036 Speaker 3: So number one whole plant based diet. Number two, they 260 00:13:47,076 --> 00:13:50,996 Speaker 3: don't exercise. But they live in places where every time 261 00:13:50,996 --> 00:13:53,036 Speaker 3: they go to work or a friend's house, are out 262 00:13:53,036 --> 00:13:56,196 Speaker 3: to eat it occasions a walk. Their houses aren't full 263 00:13:56,236 --> 00:13:59,956 Speaker 3: of mechanical conveniences to do kitchen work and housework. In 264 00:14:00,076 --> 00:14:02,596 Speaker 3: yard work, they do it by hand. They have gardens 265 00:14:02,596 --> 00:14:06,476 Speaker 3: out back, so they're unconscious decisions when it comes to 266 00:14:06,596 --> 00:14:11,716 Speaker 3: movement nudges them into activity all day long, every day. 267 00:14:11,756 --> 00:14:15,236 Speaker 3: The equivalent we figured of about nine to eleven thousand 268 00:14:15,236 --> 00:14:18,676 Speaker 3: steps a day without thinking about it, average American gets 269 00:14:18,676 --> 00:14:21,516 Speaker 3: about four thousand steps a day. And then there's a 270 00:14:21,596 --> 00:14:24,156 Speaker 3: vocabulary for purpose in all these boo zones. And when 271 00:14:24,196 --> 00:14:26,676 Speaker 3: I first wrote the book in the mid two thousand 272 00:14:26,716 --> 00:14:29,156 Speaker 3: and two thousand and five, people looked at me and 273 00:14:29,196 --> 00:14:31,876 Speaker 3: said purpose, it was woo woo, airy, fiery. But we 274 00:14:31,996 --> 00:14:35,516 Speaker 3: now know from studies done by the National Institutes on 275 00:14:35,716 --> 00:14:39,276 Speaker 3: Aging that people who can articulate why they wake up 276 00:14:39,316 --> 00:14:42,276 Speaker 3: in the morning live about seven to eight years longer 277 00:14:42,316 --> 00:14:46,396 Speaker 3: than people who are rudderless in life. Maybe it's existential stress, 278 00:14:46,476 --> 00:14:48,796 Speaker 3: or maybe it's you're less likely to take your pills 279 00:14:48,876 --> 00:14:53,076 Speaker 3: or get exercise, and then the last one is socializing. 280 00:14:53,396 --> 00:14:56,436 Speaker 3: These people live in environments where they're bumping into friends 281 00:14:56,476 --> 00:14:59,756 Speaker 3: all day long, tend to live in extended families, so 282 00:14:59,796 --> 00:15:03,036 Speaker 3: this loneliness an epidemic here in the United States, is 283 00:15:03,036 --> 00:15:06,036 Speaker 3: not a problem in blue zones. They're just born into 284 00:15:06,156 --> 00:15:10,436 Speaker 3: society where they're richly socially connected from birth on. 285 00:15:11,676 --> 00:15:13,596 Speaker 2: It's time for a quick break, but I'll be back 286 00:15:13,596 --> 00:15:15,556 Speaker 2: in just a moment to ask Dan how we can 287 00:15:15,596 --> 00:15:17,236 Speaker 2: bring the blue zone lifestyle into. 288 00:15:17,156 --> 00:15:20,396 Speaker 1: Our homes wherever we happen to live. The Happiness Lab 289 00:15:20,436 --> 00:15:21,476 Speaker 1: will be right back. 290 00:15:30,516 --> 00:15:34,636 Speaker 2: Explore. Researcher, podcaster, and now cookbook author Dan Butner has 291 00:15:34,636 --> 00:15:37,556 Speaker 2: spent years trying to unlock the secrets of blue zones, 292 00:15:37,876 --> 00:15:40,756 Speaker 2: those places around the world where locals live longer and 293 00:15:40,836 --> 00:15:43,556 Speaker 2: happier lives. One of the striking things Dan has learned 294 00:15:43,596 --> 00:15:46,196 Speaker 2: about blue zones is that the inhabitants there who live 295 00:15:46,236 --> 00:15:48,756 Speaker 2: well into their nineties don't seem to be making a 296 00:15:48,796 --> 00:15:50,676 Speaker 2: conscious effort to prolong their lives. 297 00:15:51,076 --> 00:15:54,116 Speaker 3: Remember, none of these places, these blue zones, are people 298 00:15:54,156 --> 00:15:56,836 Speaker 3: trying to live a long time. In America, we tend 299 00:15:56,876 --> 00:15:59,996 Speaker 3: to think the road to health and longevity is achieved 300 00:16:00,036 --> 00:16:03,516 Speaker 3: by finding a program, mustering the resources to buy it, 301 00:16:03,836 --> 00:16:06,476 Speaker 3: finding the discipline in the presence of mind to keep 302 00:16:06,556 --> 00:16:09,596 Speaker 3: at it. But that doesn't work in blue zones. They're 303 00:16:09,596 --> 00:16:13,996 Speaker 3: not pursuing health and longevity. It ensues they live in 304 00:16:14,116 --> 00:16:18,396 Speaker 3: environments where they're nudgs to move more, eat better, socialize 305 00:16:18,436 --> 00:16:22,196 Speaker 3: more without really thinking about it. So I got to thinking, well, 306 00:16:22,276 --> 00:16:25,116 Speaker 3: if the longest of the people in the world are doing 307 00:16:25,156 --> 00:16:27,876 Speaker 3: so because of their environment, how about the happiest people. 308 00:16:28,236 --> 00:16:31,956 Speaker 3: So I worked with the World Value Survey and the 309 00:16:32,236 --> 00:16:37,556 Speaker 3: World Poll by Gallup, and I looked at worldwide data 310 00:16:37,556 --> 00:16:41,076 Speaker 3: it covers about ninety five percent of the human population, 311 00:16:41,516 --> 00:16:44,756 Speaker 3: and convince them to first tell me where in the 312 00:16:44,796 --> 00:16:48,916 Speaker 3: world people are enjoying the most life satisfaction, the most 313 00:16:48,996 --> 00:16:52,716 Speaker 3: positive affect, which is moment to moment happiness, and the 314 00:16:52,756 --> 00:16:57,756 Speaker 3: most purpose. And they sent me in Asia anyway, highest 315 00:16:58,316 --> 00:17:03,116 Speaker 3: life satisfaction was in Singapore, not Bhutan, as many people 316 00:17:03,236 --> 00:17:06,996 Speaker 3: mistakenly believe. In the America, as it turns out, the 317 00:17:07,116 --> 00:17:10,556 Speaker 3: area with the most positive affect in other words, they 318 00:17:10,676 --> 00:17:12,636 Speaker 3: enjoy life most from day to day. And in fact, 319 00:17:12,876 --> 00:17:16,676 Speaker 3: the place that produces more happiness per GDP dollar than 320 00:17:16,716 --> 00:17:19,716 Speaker 3: any place else in the world is a place called Cartago, 321 00:17:19,916 --> 00:17:25,596 Speaker 3: Costa Rica. And then back to Scandinavia, a place called 322 00:17:25,716 --> 00:17:30,356 Speaker 3: Ohu's Denmark. We found that was the happiest region there. 323 00:17:30,436 --> 00:17:33,476 Speaker 3: I know lately Finland is sort of outperforming by a 324 00:17:33,556 --> 00:17:38,156 Speaker 3: tiny margin Denmark, but this region within Denmark is happier 325 00:17:38,196 --> 00:17:41,236 Speaker 3: than the country of Finland. So I actually went there 326 00:17:41,276 --> 00:17:44,756 Speaker 3: to try to find the common denominators and look for 327 00:17:45,036 --> 00:17:47,876 Speaker 3: why people aren't happier. And in no case, I hate 328 00:17:47,876 --> 00:17:52,036 Speaker 3: to tell you, LORI are they doing positive psychology exercises. 329 00:17:52,836 --> 00:17:55,076 Speaker 4: It's not just because they're listening to this podcast what 330 00:17:55,076 --> 00:17:55,676 Speaker 4: you're telling you. 331 00:17:56,516 --> 00:17:59,796 Speaker 3: Well, you know, I love positive psychology, but nobody in 332 00:17:59,996 --> 00:18:05,716 Speaker 3: mass is writing journalists, or they're practicing gratitude or savory 333 00:18:06,116 --> 00:18:08,876 Speaker 3: or you know, these things that are are good idea, 334 00:18:09,436 --> 00:18:13,276 Speaker 3: and I know they've been shown with small sample sizes 335 00:18:13,476 --> 00:18:16,236 Speaker 3: to work in the short run, but as a long term, 336 00:18:16,236 --> 00:18:18,556 Speaker 3: you know, we want to be happy for a long time, 337 00:18:18,796 --> 00:18:21,156 Speaker 3: not just for as long as we think about it. 338 00:18:21,276 --> 00:18:24,516 Speaker 3: So you know, I tend to pay attention to the systems, 339 00:18:24,716 --> 00:18:29,276 Speaker 3: the elements of their surroundings that are coinciding or I 340 00:18:29,276 --> 00:18:31,436 Speaker 3: would argue producing happiness. 341 00:18:31,716 --> 00:18:32,556 Speaker 1: And so what did you find? 342 00:18:32,596 --> 00:18:34,716 Speaker 4: What are these systems doing differently when it comes to 343 00:18:34,716 --> 00:18:35,676 Speaker 4: producing happiness. 344 00:18:35,756 --> 00:18:40,716 Speaker 3: Well, we'll start with policies. So the World Happiness Report, 345 00:18:40,916 --> 00:18:43,716 Speaker 3: when they suck in all of this worldwide data, they 346 00:18:43,716 --> 00:18:47,876 Speaker 3: tell you the biggest driver of happiness on a national level, 347 00:18:48,116 --> 00:18:53,716 Speaker 3: GDP is important. You know, we need enough money for food, shelter, healthcare, 348 00:18:53,876 --> 00:18:56,396 Speaker 3: and mobility. We also need to be able to treat 349 00:18:56,396 --> 00:18:58,716 Speaker 3: ourselves once in a while when it comes to happiness. 350 00:18:59,236 --> 00:19:02,196 Speaker 3: But after too much money, then money doesn't really bring 351 00:19:02,276 --> 00:19:07,596 Speaker 3: much happiness. But equality very highly associated with happiness. Trust. 352 00:19:07,796 --> 00:19:10,676 Speaker 3: Can I trust my neighbor? Can I trust the police? 353 00:19:10,716 --> 00:19:13,996 Speaker 3: Can I trust politicians? It turns out that healthy life 354 00:19:14,076 --> 00:19:17,276 Speaker 3: expectancy is a big predictor of happiness. So you look 355 00:19:17,276 --> 00:19:22,396 Speaker 3: at places like Denmark where there's not necessarily really high 356 00:19:23,316 --> 00:19:26,716 Speaker 3: highs or you know, a sstasy or something that. But 357 00:19:26,756 --> 00:19:29,356 Speaker 3: people don't have to worry about what happens if I 358 00:19:29,356 --> 00:19:32,676 Speaker 3: get sick. Their healthcare system takes care of them from 359 00:19:33,076 --> 00:19:35,756 Speaker 3: creator to greve. They don't have to worry about do 360 00:19:35,836 --> 00:19:38,636 Speaker 3: I have enough money to send my kids to school 361 00:19:38,796 --> 00:19:41,836 Speaker 3: to college. Everybody's covered. They don't have to worry about 362 00:19:41,876 --> 00:19:44,356 Speaker 3: what happens when I get old and retire. So a 363 00:19:44,396 --> 00:19:47,516 Speaker 3: lot of the things that Americans worry about at least, 364 00:19:47,636 --> 00:19:50,836 Speaker 3: you know, the lower twenty five percent income are completely 365 00:19:50,876 --> 00:19:52,076 Speaker 3: absent in that culture. 366 00:19:52,076 --> 00:19:53,916 Speaker 4: It also seems like those cultures have a lot of 367 00:19:53,956 --> 00:19:57,556 Speaker 4: ways to get in social connection. Naturally, that social connection 368 00:19:57,676 --> 00:20:00,396 Speaker 4: kind of ensues like less hours at work in the 369 00:20:00,436 --> 00:20:04,196 Speaker 4: Scandinavian countries, more public spaces for people to kind of 370 00:20:04,196 --> 00:20:05,116 Speaker 4: go out and connect. 371 00:20:05,356 --> 00:20:06,436 Speaker 1: Do we know how much that. 372 00:20:06,676 --> 00:20:09,236 Speaker 4: Is affecting people's happiness in different places. 373 00:20:09,316 --> 00:20:12,316 Speaker 3: It's possible to sort of slice it out somewhat, But 374 00:20:13,236 --> 00:20:16,756 Speaker 3: in rank order, I would say in Singapore and Denmark, 375 00:20:16,796 --> 00:20:20,196 Speaker 3: I would say it's trust as number one. Number two, 376 00:20:20,276 --> 00:20:23,756 Speaker 3: it's safety. Safety is more important than freedom. I know 377 00:20:23,796 --> 00:20:26,676 Speaker 3: we're a country obsessed with freedom, but actually when it 378 00:20:26,716 --> 00:20:29,916 Speaker 3: comes to happiness, it's more important than our kids can 379 00:20:29,996 --> 00:20:31,756 Speaker 3: go out and play and we can feel like we 380 00:20:31,796 --> 00:20:34,276 Speaker 3: can walk on the street, we're not nervous that our 381 00:20:34,276 --> 00:20:36,156 Speaker 3: house is going to get broken into, and both of 382 00:20:36,196 --> 00:20:42,156 Speaker 3: those places they're very safe. Universal healthcare reduces a lot 383 00:20:42,196 --> 00:20:44,356 Speaker 3: of the worry about what happens if I'm going to 384 00:20:44,356 --> 00:20:48,316 Speaker 3: get sick. But to your point, so, in nineteen seventy five, 385 00:20:48,476 --> 00:20:53,996 Speaker 3: Denmark or Copenhagen was a traffic clog city, a high stress, 386 00:20:54,276 --> 00:20:57,916 Speaker 3: more dangerous to make your way through bad air. By 387 00:20:57,916 --> 00:21:00,516 Speaker 3: the way, the quality of air is associated with happiness too, 388 00:21:00,636 --> 00:21:04,076 Speaker 3: so bad air less happiness. So in Copenhagen, a guy 389 00:21:04,116 --> 00:21:08,036 Speaker 3: named Yan Gel, a designer, an environment designer, did the 390 00:21:08,156 --> 00:21:11,716 Speaker 3: first walk bikable city, and now about fifty five percent 391 00:21:11,756 --> 00:21:14,996 Speaker 3: of all trips taken across Copenhagen are done on foot 392 00:21:15,476 --> 00:21:20,156 Speaker 3: or done by bicycle. So gone is the danger, is 393 00:21:20,316 --> 00:21:23,276 Speaker 3: the stress? Gone is the long commute. We know from 394 00:21:23,516 --> 00:21:26,396 Speaker 3: Daniel Kahneman the least happy thing we do on a 395 00:21:26,476 --> 00:21:30,396 Speaker 3: day to day basis is our commute. And what you 396 00:21:30,476 --> 00:21:33,156 Speaker 3: get out of the deal is people are getting the 397 00:21:33,156 --> 00:21:36,836 Speaker 3: equivalent of about nine thousand steps a day without thinking 398 00:21:36,836 --> 00:21:38,956 Speaker 3: about it because it's just easier to walk to work 399 00:21:39,116 --> 00:21:41,836 Speaker 3: or it's easier to bike to the grocery store. So 400 00:21:41,876 --> 00:21:46,236 Speaker 3: it's this environment where people are mindlessly doing the things 401 00:21:46,236 --> 00:21:47,196 Speaker 3: that yield happiness. 402 00:21:47,236 --> 00:21:48,956 Speaker 4: So it seems like one way that you can get 403 00:21:48,996 --> 00:21:51,436 Speaker 4: these benefits is to move to these places. 404 00:21:51,516 --> 00:21:51,636 Speaker 3: Right. 405 00:21:51,676 --> 00:21:54,116 Speaker 4: You know, if I move to Scandinavia, you know I'm 406 00:21:54,156 --> 00:21:56,956 Speaker 4: going to get access to all these walkable cities. Right 407 00:21:57,316 --> 00:21:59,716 Speaker 4: if I move to Singapore, maybe I'll kind of have 408 00:21:59,956 --> 00:22:03,236 Speaker 4: my life satisfaction sort of end zue. It's much easier 409 00:22:03,236 --> 00:22:05,116 Speaker 4: if your whole culture is doing it. But we're not 410 00:22:05,276 --> 00:22:08,716 Speaker 4: totally screwed. If you're unable to move to a new city. 411 00:22:08,596 --> 00:22:11,356 Speaker 3: Well first, you know, just to drive home the point. 412 00:22:11,396 --> 00:22:14,276 Speaker 3: There's been a few studies that have fouled immigrants that 413 00:22:14,396 --> 00:22:17,996 Speaker 3: moved from unhappy places in Southeast Asia and Africa to Canada, 414 00:22:18,076 --> 00:22:20,796 Speaker 3: which is a happy place, or move from Soviet Bloc 415 00:22:20,876 --> 00:22:25,236 Speaker 3: countries to Denmark. Those people they don't change sex, they 416 00:22:25,236 --> 00:22:28,556 Speaker 3: don't change age very much, they don't change education level 417 00:22:28,716 --> 00:22:32,116 Speaker 3: very much, they don't change religious or sexual orientation. But 418 00:22:32,196 --> 00:22:36,276 Speaker 3: within one year they are reporting the happiness level of 419 00:22:36,316 --> 00:22:40,436 Speaker 3: their adoptive home, which often represents a doubling of their happiness. 420 00:22:40,436 --> 00:22:43,916 Speaker 3: And I'm not aware of anything in the academic literature 421 00:22:43,996 --> 00:22:47,156 Speaker 3: that can produce a doubling of happiness. And here all 422 00:22:47,156 --> 00:22:50,476 Speaker 3: they're doing is moving environments. So you say to yourself, well, 423 00:22:50,916 --> 00:22:53,716 Speaker 3: I can't move. And if you look at census data, 424 00:22:53,716 --> 00:22:57,076 Speaker 3: it shows that the average American moves over ten times 425 00:22:57,076 --> 00:23:00,316 Speaker 3: in their life, and that gives us ten opportunities to 426 00:23:00,356 --> 00:23:03,716 Speaker 3: move to a place where happiness will ensue. And there's 427 00:23:03,716 --> 00:23:07,356 Speaker 3: something called the Gallop Well Being Index, which tells us 428 00:23:07,396 --> 00:23:10,876 Speaker 3: where in America people are happy, and the walk score 429 00:23:10,916 --> 00:23:13,596 Speaker 3: where people are walking to work more and where air 430 00:23:13,676 --> 00:23:16,676 Speaker 3: quality is better and even within cities. I'm right now 431 00:23:16,716 --> 00:23:19,196 Speaker 3: coming to you from Minneapolis, and we have zip codes 432 00:23:19,236 --> 00:23:22,916 Speaker 3: with a life expectancy is thirteen years higher than in 433 00:23:22,956 --> 00:23:26,396 Speaker 3: the worst neighborhood. You don't want to dismiss the idea 434 00:23:26,476 --> 00:23:29,476 Speaker 3: of moving out of hand because it's so powerful. So 435 00:23:29,636 --> 00:23:33,436 Speaker 3: my daytime job. Since two thousand and nine, my company 436 00:23:33,476 --> 00:23:37,156 Speaker 3: and I have worked with about seventy different cities to 437 00:23:37,316 --> 00:23:40,676 Speaker 3: help them change their environment to set people up for 438 00:23:40,756 --> 00:23:43,716 Speaker 3: success or design for life I like to think of. 439 00:23:43,876 --> 00:23:47,436 Speaker 3: So we help these cities change their policies to favor 440 00:23:47,476 --> 00:23:50,436 Speaker 3: healthy food over junk food, and junk food marketing, to 441 00:23:50,636 --> 00:23:53,996 Speaker 3: favor the pedestrian and cyclist over the motorists, and favor 442 00:23:54,036 --> 00:23:56,476 Speaker 3: the non smoker over the smoker. By the way, non 443 00:23:56,476 --> 00:24:00,756 Speaker 3: smokers are happier. And then we have a certification process 444 00:24:00,876 --> 00:24:05,036 Speaker 3: or program for all the restaurants, grocery stores, workplaces, schools, 445 00:24:05,036 --> 00:24:09,556 Speaker 3: and churches so that they can optimize their designs and 446 00:24:09,596 --> 00:24:13,036 Speaker 3: their policies and ways that we know are likely to 447 00:24:13,116 --> 00:24:15,916 Speaker 3: produce higher happiness and better health. And then we have 448 00:24:16,196 --> 00:24:19,796 Speaker 3: also a program for individuals which gives them checklists to 449 00:24:19,796 --> 00:24:21,876 Speaker 3: go into their home and set up their homes to 450 00:24:22,036 --> 00:24:25,356 Speaker 3: nudge them into better behaviors. We help them find like 451 00:24:25,436 --> 00:24:29,236 Speaker 3: minded people who are healthy. We know that who you 452 00:24:29,276 --> 00:24:33,036 Speaker 3: hang out with measurably influences how you're going to eat, 453 00:24:33,196 --> 00:24:35,596 Speaker 3: how happy you feel, how lonely you feel, how much 454 00:24:35,596 --> 00:24:37,876 Speaker 3: you smoke, how much you drink, et cetera. So we 455 00:24:37,916 --> 00:24:41,236 Speaker 3: want to upgrade your social circle. And finally we give 456 00:24:41,236 --> 00:24:46,076 Speaker 3: people a purpose workshop so they know what their values 457 00:24:46,196 --> 00:24:48,676 Speaker 3: and what they like to do and what they can contribute, 458 00:24:48,756 --> 00:24:50,756 Speaker 3: and then we make sure there's an outlet for that. 459 00:24:50,956 --> 00:24:54,556 Speaker 3: We've shown that if we can do the policy people 460 00:24:55,076 --> 00:24:59,476 Speaker 3: and then places the certification for five years that according 461 00:24:59,516 --> 00:25:03,356 Speaker 3: to Gallup, this is a third party, life expectancy goes up, 462 00:25:03,636 --> 00:25:08,756 Speaker 3: obesity goes down, healthcare costs go down, happiness goes up, 463 00:25:09,116 --> 00:25:13,516 Speaker 3: and everybody's satisfied, so to speak. This actually works not 464 00:25:13,676 --> 00:25:18,356 Speaker 3: by hounding people to change their diet or you know, 465 00:25:18,436 --> 00:25:21,236 Speaker 3: go run a marathon or run down to Central America, 466 00:25:21,276 --> 00:25:25,196 Speaker 3: and takes stem cells simply setting up their environments so 467 00:25:25,236 --> 00:25:31,236 Speaker 3: their unconscious decisions are slightly better every day for months, years, 468 00:25:31,556 --> 00:25:33,636 Speaker 3: in at least one case now decades. 469 00:25:33,836 --> 00:25:35,436 Speaker 4: And so let's give me an example of a city 470 00:25:35,436 --> 00:25:37,356 Speaker 4: where you've done this, and like some of the specific 471 00:25:37,436 --> 00:25:39,156 Speaker 4: changes they've made, because I find the fact that you 472 00:25:39,196 --> 00:25:41,796 Speaker 4: can make these changes so quickly quite fascinating. 473 00:25:41,876 --> 00:25:44,516 Speaker 3: Well quick is I mean relative, and everybody wants to 474 00:25:44,516 --> 00:25:47,276 Speaker 3: see it in months it takes five years. So our 475 00:25:47,316 --> 00:25:50,276 Speaker 3: biggest city was Fort Worth, Texas. There's about a million 476 00:25:50,316 --> 00:25:54,876 Speaker 3: people there. They became largely more walkable and bikeable. They 477 00:25:55,396 --> 00:25:58,756 Speaker 3: certified about five hundred restaurants that so we made sure 478 00:25:58,796 --> 00:26:01,076 Speaker 3: that there were places for people to go get whole 479 00:26:01,116 --> 00:26:04,796 Speaker 3: plant based options and not just steak. About two thirds 480 00:26:04,836 --> 00:26:07,996 Speaker 3: of the schools became Blue Zone certified. We got the 481 00:26:08,036 --> 00:26:11,796 Speaker 3: soda pops out of their vending machines, and we changed 482 00:26:11,796 --> 00:26:15,116 Speaker 3: the default so elementary school kids are not eating in 483 00:26:15,236 --> 00:26:20,036 Speaker 3: hallways and classrooms in the inner city. We raised money 484 00:26:20,076 --> 00:26:24,076 Speaker 3: to put coolers in these convenience stores, and what was 485 00:26:24,116 --> 00:26:26,756 Speaker 3: otherwise a food desert now all of a sudden there 486 00:26:26,836 --> 00:26:30,236 Speaker 3: was a way for people to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. 487 00:26:30,236 --> 00:26:32,836 Speaker 3: And it turns out that was a huge bonanza for 488 00:26:32,916 --> 00:26:36,356 Speaker 3: both the convenience store owner and the local people so 489 00:26:36,436 --> 00:26:38,356 Speaker 3: we don't rely on I could go on. There were 490 00:26:38,356 --> 00:26:42,436 Speaker 3: about forty different interventions. We made smoking harder. We got 491 00:26:42,476 --> 00:26:45,476 Speaker 3: them to change the default so there was no smoking 492 00:26:45,676 --> 00:26:51,556 Speaker 3: indoors or outdoors. So this all produced a three percent 493 00:26:51,636 --> 00:26:56,236 Speaker 3: drop in BMI, and the city itself, working with Gallop, 494 00:26:56,276 --> 00:26:59,276 Speaker 3: figured we saved them a quarter of a billion dollars 495 00:26:59,676 --> 00:27:03,796 Speaker 3: in projected healthcare costs every year because of these little 496 00:27:03,876 --> 00:27:04,756 Speaker 3: micro changes. 497 00:27:05,396 --> 00:27:07,836 Speaker 2: I always love chatting with Dan, but we haven't gotten 498 00:27:07,836 --> 00:27:09,636 Speaker 2: to the main reason. I wanted to bring him on 499 00:27:09,676 --> 00:27:12,436 Speaker 2: the show today to explain how he's extended his blue 500 00:27:12,516 --> 00:27:15,356 Speaker 2: zone thinking into his new cookbook, so we'll turn to 501 00:27:15,396 --> 00:27:25,676 Speaker 2: that right after the break. Dan Butener has written lots 502 00:27:25,716 --> 00:27:28,476 Speaker 2: of books chronicling what people do better in blue zones, 503 00:27:28,836 --> 00:27:33,116 Speaker 2: those special geographic locations where people statistically live longer. 504 00:27:32,916 --> 00:27:33,796 Speaker 1: Happier lives. 505 00:27:34,116 --> 00:27:36,116 Speaker 2: But the book I picked up over the summer, One 506 00:27:36,196 --> 00:27:39,236 Speaker 2: Pot Meals, didn't just list what folks in Okinawa or 507 00:27:39,276 --> 00:27:42,116 Speaker 2: Sardinia were doing better. It explained how we can cook 508 00:27:42,196 --> 00:27:44,636 Speaker 2: our own meals more like they do in blue zones. 509 00:27:45,076 --> 00:27:47,196 Speaker 1: I asked Dan to explain this new direction. 510 00:27:47,596 --> 00:27:50,236 Speaker 3: Yes, it's a bit of a shift, you know. So 511 00:27:50,596 --> 00:27:54,156 Speaker 3: I'm trying to articulate the blue zone diet of people 512 00:27:54,156 --> 00:27:57,716 Speaker 3: in places like Fort Worth and Naples and Jacksonville, Florida, 513 00:27:57,716 --> 00:28:01,116 Speaker 3: et cetera. So I started writing these cookbooks and working 514 00:28:01,276 --> 00:28:03,956 Speaker 3: with others to write these cookbooks. First of all, you 515 00:28:04,036 --> 00:28:06,076 Speaker 3: have to realize that every time you go out to eat, 516 00:28:06,116 --> 00:28:11,076 Speaker 3: you consume about three hundred extra calorieslessly. Those calories tend 517 00:28:11,076 --> 00:28:15,396 Speaker 3: to be laden with sodium, ultra processed foods, and sugars. 518 00:28:15,636 --> 00:28:18,316 Speaker 3: So the only real way you're gonna eat healthy or 519 00:28:18,356 --> 00:28:20,956 Speaker 3: eat for longevity is to cook at home. So when 520 00:28:20,996 --> 00:28:23,156 Speaker 3: you tell people you got to cook at home right away, 521 00:28:23,156 --> 00:28:24,916 Speaker 3: a lot of people I don't have time, I don't 522 00:28:24,916 --> 00:28:28,556 Speaker 3: know how, or I can't afford fresh fruits and vegetables. 523 00:28:28,636 --> 00:28:32,956 Speaker 3: But wait, it turns out the healthiest longevity foods in 524 00:28:32,996 --> 00:28:37,116 Speaker 3: the world are peasant foods. Beans. Last I check and 525 00:28:37,156 --> 00:28:40,196 Speaker 3: get a pound of beans for two bucks. Whole grains. 526 00:28:40,396 --> 00:28:42,676 Speaker 3: There are bins of them. You can fill up bags 527 00:28:42,676 --> 00:28:46,436 Speaker 3: of them, root vegetables, potatoes, sweet potato. They're old, dirt sheap. 528 00:28:46,756 --> 00:28:49,036 Speaker 3: What people in blue zones teach us is how to 529 00:28:49,076 --> 00:28:52,956 Speaker 3: take those very simple ingredients and make them taste delicious. 530 00:28:53,156 --> 00:28:56,116 Speaker 3: You know, I was a meat eater before I started 531 00:28:56,156 --> 00:28:58,356 Speaker 3: on this, and now I don't eat meat anymore. It's 532 00:28:58,356 --> 00:29:00,916 Speaker 3: not worth it for me health wise. And you know 533 00:29:00,956 --> 00:29:04,356 Speaker 3: there's other facets that don't make sense to me. But 534 00:29:04,476 --> 00:29:07,196 Speaker 3: for this new book, I wanted to take another step. 535 00:29:07,636 --> 00:29:10,836 Speaker 3: I've learned the most in important and I'm going to 536 00:29:10,916 --> 00:29:13,436 Speaker 3: actually quiz you on this, LORI, what do you think 537 00:29:13,556 --> 00:29:17,036 Speaker 3: is the most important ingredient for longevity? 538 00:29:17,156 --> 00:29:19,076 Speaker 1: The most important ingredient like a food. 539 00:29:18,956 --> 00:29:21,836 Speaker 3: Ingredient, yes, or a characteristic I. 540 00:29:21,796 --> 00:29:27,196 Speaker 4: Would say plant based, social connection, time, having free time. 541 00:29:27,316 --> 00:29:30,356 Speaker 3: Those are all important. But number one is taste. 542 00:29:30,516 --> 00:29:32,276 Speaker 1: Taste right, because if it doesn't taste good, I'm not 543 00:29:32,276 --> 00:29:32,756 Speaker 1: gonna eat. 544 00:29:32,676 --> 00:29:35,356 Speaker 3: It, that's right. And if it does taste good, you 545 00:29:35,356 --> 00:29:37,276 Speaker 3: don't much care what it is. If it's good for 546 00:29:37,396 --> 00:29:39,156 Speaker 3: you or bad for it, you're gonna eat it for 547 00:29:39,196 --> 00:29:41,756 Speaker 3: the long run. So to make sure that people like 548 00:29:41,836 --> 00:29:44,116 Speaker 3: this one, this new book is called The Blue Zone 549 00:29:44,196 --> 00:29:47,956 Speaker 3: Kitchen One Pot Meals. So I worked with Stanford in 550 00:29:48,076 --> 00:29:52,556 Speaker 3: AI Lab and we scraped six hundred and fifty thousand 551 00:29:52,836 --> 00:29:55,996 Speaker 3: recipes from the most popular sites on the internet. We 552 00:29:56,156 --> 00:30:00,396 Speaker 3: isolated all of the recipes with one hundred or more 553 00:30:00,556 --> 00:30:03,436 Speaker 3: five star reviews, and then we analyzed it and we 554 00:30:03,476 --> 00:30:07,716 Speaker 3: saw seven very clear flavor patterns, and then I gave 555 00:30:08,076 --> 00:30:11,836 Speaker 3: the Blue Zones Food Guidelines these seven patterns to the 556 00:30:11,836 --> 00:30:15,476 Speaker 3: Most Gifted Recipe Developer Guide from the New York Times, 557 00:30:15,676 --> 00:30:18,156 Speaker 3: and he helped me create one hundred recipes to live to, 558 00:30:18,196 --> 00:30:22,236 Speaker 3: one hundred that are maniacally delicious and formulated for longevity. 559 00:30:22,356 --> 00:30:24,916 Speaker 3: And you can make them in one pot, and they 560 00:30:24,956 --> 00:30:29,676 Speaker 3: cost less than three dollars of serving, and you can 561 00:30:29,716 --> 00:30:33,076 Speaker 3: make most of them less than twenty minutes. So overclaim 562 00:30:33,316 --> 00:30:37,996 Speaker 3: every single objection somebody might have and lead with deliciousness. 563 00:30:37,996 --> 00:30:40,116 Speaker 4: And I love that you're doing this with an eye 564 00:30:40,156 --> 00:30:43,476 Speaker 4: for saving people time, because I think there's the you know, 565 00:30:43,556 --> 00:30:45,596 Speaker 4: there's the finance thing, there's the people don't know how 566 00:30:45,636 --> 00:30:47,436 Speaker 4: to do it thing, But I think the time thing 567 00:30:48,276 --> 00:30:50,276 Speaker 4: is real. And I think one of the big hits 568 00:30:50,276 --> 00:30:52,116 Speaker 4: on happiness that we see in the US right now 569 00:30:52,156 --> 00:30:54,956 Speaker 4: is that people self report being really time famished. Right 570 00:30:55,156 --> 00:30:57,836 Speaker 4: they don't have time to cook a whole meal, and 571 00:30:57,876 --> 00:31:01,156 Speaker 4: so I think kind of adding to that, adding to 572 00:31:01,196 --> 00:31:03,156 Speaker 4: the time bamin by having them cook, you know, a 573 00:31:03,156 --> 00:31:05,236 Speaker 4: plant based meal. It's going to take hours and hours 574 00:31:05,276 --> 00:31:07,876 Speaker 4: to make it delicious. Like that just doesn't really help. 575 00:31:07,916 --> 00:31:09,676 Speaker 4: But all your meals were the reason I'm so excited 576 00:31:09,716 --> 00:31:11,596 Speaker 4: about this cookbook. It seems like all the meals are 577 00:31:12,036 --> 00:31:14,556 Speaker 4: are quick, like they're frugal like monetarily, but they're also 578 00:31:14,596 --> 00:31:15,716 Speaker 4: frugal for our time too. 579 00:31:15,876 --> 00:31:18,916 Speaker 3: Yeah, there's several in there where you can just take 580 00:31:18,996 --> 00:31:21,396 Speaker 3: you fifteen minutes to assemble in the morning. You put 581 00:31:21,396 --> 00:31:24,156 Speaker 3: it an insta pot. I have no connection to instapot, 582 00:31:24,196 --> 00:31:27,876 Speaker 3: but it's it's a basically electric pressure cooker and you 583 00:31:27,916 --> 00:31:29,956 Speaker 3: push a butt and you come home from work, dinner 584 00:31:29,956 --> 00:31:34,396 Speaker 3: for eight people's done. But I also want to make 585 00:31:34,436 --> 00:31:38,676 Speaker 3: a very important point. So if you're eating the standard 586 00:31:38,716 --> 00:31:41,276 Speaker 3: American diet, which means you're not paying a hell of 587 00:31:41,316 --> 00:31:43,796 Speaker 3: a lot of attention to what you're eating, and you're 588 00:31:43,796 --> 00:31:47,036 Speaker 3: a twenty year old, you're losing about ten years of 589 00:31:47,076 --> 00:31:51,596 Speaker 3: life expectancy. For a male it's twelve years. And if 590 00:31:51,636 --> 00:31:55,556 Speaker 3: you're sixty, you're still losing six years over eating a 591 00:31:55,596 --> 00:31:58,636 Speaker 3: whole food, largely plant based diet. So people say, I 592 00:31:58,636 --> 00:32:01,516 Speaker 3: don't have time to make healthy food. But if you 593 00:32:01,596 --> 00:32:04,956 Speaker 3: take those let's just say those six years of extra 594 00:32:05,036 --> 00:32:07,956 Speaker 3: life expectancy and average and back through your life. It's 595 00:32:07,956 --> 00:32:10,636 Speaker 3: an extra two hours a day. We got to afford 596 00:32:10,876 --> 00:32:11,996 Speaker 3: to not eat healthy. 597 00:32:12,156 --> 00:32:14,476 Speaker 4: I do. I do love that framing that, like by eating, 598 00:32:14,556 --> 00:32:16,676 Speaker 4: by spending this, you know, twenty minutes half hour to 599 00:32:16,716 --> 00:32:18,876 Speaker 4: cook the healthy meal, I'm actually getting two hours a 600 00:32:18,996 --> 00:32:20,396 Speaker 4: day over my whole lifetime. 601 00:32:20,676 --> 00:32:23,756 Speaker 3: What do I know that? It's a cognitive trap, right 602 00:32:23,836 --> 00:32:25,196 Speaker 3: to think, oh, I don't have time. 603 00:32:25,396 --> 00:32:27,556 Speaker 4: Yeahs such a cognitive trap, right, because we're not thinking 604 00:32:27,596 --> 00:32:30,356 Speaker 4: over the long term. We're thinking this Thursday at five o'clock, 605 00:32:30,476 --> 00:32:31,876 Speaker 4: like what am I doing for my time? 606 00:32:31,916 --> 00:32:33,756 Speaker 1: We're not kind of thinking for the right term. 607 00:32:33,836 --> 00:32:36,756 Speaker 3: The cookbook is called The Blue Zones Kitchen, One Pot, 608 00:32:36,956 --> 00:32:39,116 Speaker 3: and to test it out, you know, I live in 609 00:32:39,156 --> 00:32:41,796 Speaker 3: Miami these days, and I went to something called the 610 00:32:41,916 --> 00:32:45,556 Speaker 3: Overtown Center and this is a place where inner city 611 00:32:45,636 --> 00:32:47,876 Speaker 3: moms who don't have a lot of money, you know, 612 00:32:47,916 --> 00:32:50,956 Speaker 3: bring their kids. And I invited twenty moms to spend 613 00:32:50,996 --> 00:32:54,316 Speaker 3: ten weeks with me. And every week we got together 614 00:32:54,516 --> 00:32:57,196 Speaker 3: and I put them in what we call mo eyes, 615 00:32:57,276 --> 00:33:00,076 Speaker 3: which are these sort of committed social circles, and we 616 00:33:00,196 --> 00:33:03,076 Speaker 3: spend some time making sure they get to know each other. 617 00:33:03,476 --> 00:33:06,876 Speaker 3: Then I brought my cookbook and I said, pays through 618 00:33:06,916 --> 00:33:10,676 Speaker 3: this and identify a recipe you'd like to cook with. 619 00:33:10,796 --> 00:33:12,636 Speaker 3: You know, it's actually for next week. But then I 620 00:33:12,716 --> 00:33:16,836 Speaker 3: hired a chef to help me, and we brought cutting boards. 621 00:33:16,996 --> 00:33:21,236 Speaker 3: I gave them all instapots, and every Wednesday at from 622 00:33:21,276 --> 00:33:24,036 Speaker 3: eleven to one, we all cooked together. It was simple 623 00:33:24,076 --> 00:33:25,956 Speaker 3: and it was fun and it was just chopped and 624 00:33:25,956 --> 00:33:28,076 Speaker 3: we put it in the instapot. We put the lid on, 625 00:33:28,396 --> 00:33:31,276 Speaker 3: and then and a lot of these ladies are eating, 626 00:33:31,396 --> 00:33:35,196 Speaker 3: you know, popeyes and frozen pizza and junk food from 627 00:33:35,236 --> 00:33:38,516 Speaker 3: the convenience store. And once they realized that A they 628 00:33:38,516 --> 00:33:41,756 Speaker 3: could afford it, B they could make it. And see 629 00:33:41,796 --> 00:33:44,276 Speaker 3: now they have an instapot, they have the hardware to 630 00:33:44,316 --> 00:33:47,756 Speaker 3: cook it. And then the closer was they tasted it 631 00:33:47,796 --> 00:33:51,436 Speaker 3: and oh my god, this is delicious. My job is done. 632 00:33:51,556 --> 00:33:54,516 Speaker 3: I send them home and we captured their blood pressure 633 00:33:54,556 --> 00:33:57,276 Speaker 3: and their weight, and every one of them lost weight. 634 00:33:57,476 --> 00:34:00,076 Speaker 3: Every one of them had a little too a lot 635 00:34:00,236 --> 00:34:03,676 Speaker 3: dropping blood pressure in just ten weeks. So, you know, 636 00:34:03,756 --> 00:34:06,956 Speaker 3: I just think it's the killer app to get people 637 00:34:06,996 --> 00:34:08,836 Speaker 3: cooking at home again. You don't have to buy my 638 00:34:08,836 --> 00:34:12,396 Speaker 3: book books, but the idea of eating whole plant based 639 00:34:12,396 --> 00:34:14,516 Speaker 3: food is the biggest gift you can give to your 640 00:34:14,556 --> 00:34:16,756 Speaker 3: family when it comes to longevity. 641 00:34:16,836 --> 00:34:19,036 Speaker 4: I also love that you've mentioned this idea of like 642 00:34:19,436 --> 00:34:22,516 Speaker 4: getting the moeyes together, or that you're making dinner for eight, 643 00:34:22,596 --> 00:34:24,756 Speaker 4: because another thing that we know about the power of 644 00:34:24,756 --> 00:34:27,356 Speaker 4: home cooked meals is that oftentime, our home cooked meals 645 00:34:27,356 --> 00:34:30,076 Speaker 4: are eating with the family together. And one of the 646 00:34:30,116 --> 00:34:34,276 Speaker 4: most recent World Happiness reports talked about the power of shared. 647 00:34:33,916 --> 00:34:35,196 Speaker 1: Meals and eating together. 648 00:34:35,436 --> 00:34:35,596 Speaker 2: Right. 649 00:34:35,956 --> 00:34:37,556 Speaker 4: I think another thing we do when we're kind of 650 00:34:37,596 --> 00:34:40,076 Speaker 4: getting our standard American diet fast food is that we 651 00:34:40,476 --> 00:34:42,476 Speaker 4: run over to fast food. We eat in our car 652 00:34:42,636 --> 00:34:45,156 Speaker 4: by ourselves, but you know, the instapot meal that we're 653 00:34:45,156 --> 00:34:46,916 Speaker 4: making for multiple people. It means we can get the 654 00:34:46,916 --> 00:34:49,676 Speaker 4: benefit of social connection while we're enjoying that meal as well. 655 00:34:49,756 --> 00:34:53,436 Speaker 3: There's two other things besides social connection. Number one, you know, 656 00:34:53,436 --> 00:34:55,716 Speaker 3: if you're eating with one hand on the spearing wheel 657 00:34:56,196 --> 00:34:59,756 Speaker 3: or standing up, you tend to eat much faster, and 658 00:34:59,796 --> 00:35:02,516 Speaker 3: it takes about twenty minutes for that full feeling to 659 00:35:02,556 --> 00:35:06,596 Speaker 3: travel from your belly to your brain. And if you're 660 00:35:06,636 --> 00:35:09,916 Speaker 3: eating on the run, you're much more likely to overeat 661 00:35:09,956 --> 00:35:12,556 Speaker 3: than if you're sitting with your family or even with 662 00:35:12,676 --> 00:35:16,436 Speaker 3: friends and punctuating the meal with a conversation. The other 663 00:35:16,516 --> 00:35:21,956 Speaker 3: thing is if you eat when you're stressed, Cortisol interrupts 664 00:35:21,996 --> 00:35:25,876 Speaker 3: the digestion process. It makes it less complete, makes it 665 00:35:25,916 --> 00:35:29,556 Speaker 3: more like you're going to get indigestion, creates an inflammatory 666 00:35:29,636 --> 00:35:33,036 Speaker 3: situation in your body, so you really want to slow down. 667 00:35:33,236 --> 00:35:35,676 Speaker 3: And it's other thing you see in blue zones. You 668 00:35:35,716 --> 00:35:39,756 Speaker 3: know in the Christian countries, they're always saying grace before 669 00:35:39,756 --> 00:35:42,356 Speaker 3: a meal or in a okay now it's hot, a 670 00:35:42,516 --> 00:35:46,316 Speaker 3: hotchy boo, a confusion adage. It reminds them to stop 671 00:35:46,316 --> 00:35:48,596 Speaker 3: eating when their stomach is eighty percent full. But they're 672 00:35:48,636 --> 00:35:52,516 Speaker 3: putting some punctuation between their busy life and okay, now 673 00:35:53,076 --> 00:35:57,876 Speaker 3: we're eating, thank you Higher Power for this food, honoring 674 00:35:57,876 --> 00:36:00,676 Speaker 3: the food, so it's not just stuffing stuff in their mouth. 675 00:36:00,996 --> 00:36:04,876 Speaker 3: And now this is a social activity. We're gonna eat 676 00:36:04,916 --> 00:36:07,916 Speaker 3: with our family or friends. Makes a big difference over time. 677 00:36:08,196 --> 00:36:10,876 Speaker 4: As I mentioned, I just turned fifty and so I 678 00:36:10,876 --> 00:36:13,276 Speaker 4: feel like I'm looking forward to the next fifty years 679 00:36:13,316 --> 00:36:16,276 Speaker 4: so I can become a centenarian as well. Any advice 680 00:36:16,316 --> 00:36:18,436 Speaker 4: for me to live longer and better during my next 681 00:36:18,476 --> 00:36:19,276 Speaker 4: fifty years. 682 00:36:19,516 --> 00:36:23,556 Speaker 3: Well, number one, think about who you're spending time with. 683 00:36:24,196 --> 00:36:25,916 Speaker 3: I don't know your social so first of all, you 684 00:36:25,956 --> 00:36:28,476 Speaker 3: look pretty happy and healthy to me, so maybe nothing. 685 00:36:28,556 --> 00:36:32,156 Speaker 3: But if I'm to an average person, I would say, 686 00:36:32,836 --> 00:36:35,676 Speaker 3: who are my three best friends? Who are the people 687 00:36:35,716 --> 00:36:37,596 Speaker 3: I spend the most time with. We know, if your 688 00:36:37,596 --> 00:36:40,716 Speaker 3: three best friends are obese or unhealthy, there's about one 689 00:36:40,836 --> 00:36:43,596 Speaker 3: hundred and fifty percent better chance you'll be overweight. So 690 00:36:43,636 --> 00:36:46,676 Speaker 3: I'm wont tight to dump your you know, your old, unhappy, 691 00:36:46,796 --> 00:36:49,796 Speaker 3: unhealthy friends, because they might need you. But I would 692 00:36:49,836 --> 00:36:53,636 Speaker 3: say that adding happy and healthy friends probably one of 693 00:36:53,676 --> 00:36:56,076 Speaker 3: the most powerful things you can do to add yours, 694 00:36:56,116 --> 00:36:59,876 Speaker 3: because friends have a long term impact on your health 695 00:36:59,876 --> 00:37:02,956 Speaker 3: behaviors without you even thinking about it. I'd also think 696 00:37:03,036 --> 00:37:05,156 Speaker 3: about where I'm living. You know, if you live in 697 00:37:05,196 --> 00:37:08,876 Speaker 3: a place with too much stress or traffic or not 698 00:37:08,916 --> 00:37:12,316 Speaker 3: access to good food, I would think about moving. And 699 00:37:12,356 --> 00:37:15,556 Speaker 3: then the last thing, take it a few moments to 700 00:37:16,116 --> 00:37:20,356 Speaker 3: write down what your values are. I care about women's issues. 701 00:37:20,636 --> 00:37:23,476 Speaker 3: I'm a Christian, I'm a Republican, I'm a Democrat, whatever 702 00:37:23,516 --> 00:37:26,396 Speaker 3: it is, write them down. Then in a separate column, 703 00:37:26,436 --> 00:37:29,836 Speaker 3: Write down what you love to do. Oh, I love 704 00:37:30,196 --> 00:37:33,716 Speaker 3: I love writing, or I love teaching, or I love 705 00:37:34,076 --> 00:37:37,756 Speaker 3: I love to fix things. I'm really good at resolving 706 00:37:37,796 --> 00:37:40,916 Speaker 3: conflicts whatever, boom boom boom LISTA. And then a third column. 707 00:37:40,996 --> 00:37:44,796 Speaker 3: What am I good at? Well, I'm really good at 708 00:37:45,196 --> 00:37:48,396 Speaker 3: taking care of people. I'm really good at inspiring the 709 00:37:48,436 --> 00:37:50,876 Speaker 3: next generation, whatever it is. Get that out in front 710 00:37:50,916 --> 00:37:53,156 Speaker 3: of you, and then make sure you have an outlet 711 00:37:53,236 --> 00:37:57,076 Speaker 3: for those things. You know, the main values, passions and 712 00:37:57,356 --> 00:37:59,596 Speaker 3: what you're good at. And if you're not getting it 713 00:37:59,636 --> 00:38:02,716 Speaker 3: at work. And by the way, according to Gal, about 714 00:38:02,756 --> 00:38:05,396 Speaker 3: seventy percent of Americans don't get it at work. They 715 00:38:05,396 --> 00:38:09,276 Speaker 3: don't have purpose at work. Make sure you're deploying it 716 00:38:09,316 --> 00:38:13,796 Speaker 3: at home or volunteering. Seems like such a cuiche to volunteer, 717 00:38:13,836 --> 00:38:17,956 Speaker 3: but it is so powerful for both longevity and happiness. 718 00:38:18,116 --> 00:38:18,556 Speaker 1: I love it. 719 00:38:18,636 --> 00:38:22,196 Speaker 4: This is my Dan Butner proved recipe for living into 720 00:38:22,356 --> 00:38:25,636 Speaker 4: one hundred years private consultations. 721 00:38:26,316 --> 00:38:29,356 Speaker 3: And it's free, not as I can't sell you a supplement, 722 00:38:29,516 --> 00:38:32,556 Speaker 3: and I'm not selling you I'm or a hormone or 723 00:38:32,596 --> 00:38:35,956 Speaker 3: any of that other snake oil than on other influencers. 724 00:38:35,996 --> 00:38:39,156 Speaker 3: But this is these are I'm coming to you from 725 00:38:39,516 --> 00:38:45,636 Speaker 3: the populations who are manifestly living the longest, healthiest lives. 726 00:38:45,676 --> 00:38:48,476 Speaker 3: It's just a distillation. I'm just a medium here. 727 00:38:50,356 --> 00:38:52,916 Speaker 2: If this discussion has what your appetite, then you should 728 00:38:52,956 --> 00:38:55,836 Speaker 2: check out Dan's cookbook One Pot Meals, which is out now, 729 00:38:56,236 --> 00:38:58,716 Speaker 2: and for more tips I'm living happier and healthier, you 730 00:38:58,756 --> 00:39:01,476 Speaker 2: should check out dance new podcast, it's called the Dan 731 00:39:01,516 --> 00:39:04,556 Speaker 2: Buttner Podcast. In our next episode, I'll be leaving the 732 00:39:04,596 --> 00:39:08,276 Speaker 2: cookbooks behind to explore a classic text on behavioral science 733 00:39:08,436 --> 00:39:11,076 Speaker 2: with a brand new, an improved edition for twenty twenty five. 734 00:39:11,356 --> 00:39:13,276 Speaker 2: It's even written by a Nobel Laureate. 735 00:39:13,436 --> 00:39:16,476 Speaker 1: You don't, Mike drop the like en Nobel Laureate. 736 00:39:16,476 --> 00:39:16,876 Speaker 3: I don't. 737 00:39:17,156 --> 00:39:20,356 Speaker 2: I'll let you mention that all that next time on 738 00:39:20,436 --> 00:39:26,836 Speaker 2: the Happiness Lab with me Doctor Laurie Santos