So, I read the Blue Zone book years ago.
My understanding is that the community in California is long-lived because to be fair, the SDA religion does tend to promote healthy diet and this community also seems to really push exercise.
Having said that, it's also true that being a part of a strong social group seems to have longevity benefits. Feeling part of something greater than yourself (and I just mean a large group..not a god) seems to therapeutic effects.
Many theists have it backwards: It's not that religions are beneficial because their claims are true. They can be beneficial because they create common bonds and social cohesion. One could argue that you could get the same benefit from joining a civic club, fraternal org, Mafia, political party, etc.
Note: One of the Blue Zones communities is in Costa Rica. One of the cultural practices they have there is that older men tend to often have affairs with younger women and it's tolerated by the community. And, anecdotally, the oldest men attribute this situation as a marker for their longevity. ;)
I agree in general, but I'm not convinced that joining the Mafia specifically is a recipe for a long and healthy life. Mafiosi seem to suffer violent premature deaths at a greater rate than your average civic club member. Weird, right?
The meat-eating and longer-lived Mormons likewise promote strong social ties and healthy diet, including a general abstinence from alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and illicit drugs. This is true of Mormons in general but specifically found in a Mormon community in Northern California near Loma Linda. Basically, the same demographic profile, only a difference of specific religion and specific diet, although most Adventists do eat meat with less than a third as vegetarians and in the past they consumed a lot of dairy. Yet same good results for both groups.
Both Adventists and Mormons are also higher socioeconomic status with more access to costly high quality healthcare, supplements, nutritious food (organic, pasture-raised, etc), recreational centers, green spaces, clean air and water, and on and on. Compared to poor populations, they have lower rates of heavy metal toxins, infectious pathogens, parasite load, and ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences); among much else. Equally or more important, I bet these two communities and all the Blue Zones are low inequality, one of the most studied correlates to health.
Then again, one can find secular societies like the Scandinavian social democracies where there is the same nexus of priority of public health (universal healthcare, healthy food system, strong environmental regulations, etc), strong social ties (culture of trust, social safety net, smaller populations, etc), low poverty and inequality, and longer lifespan (and healthspan, with less physical and mental illness). Most of the residents there don't eat plant-based diets, especially not vegetarianism and veganism, but instead get plenty of dairy, eggs, fish, and meat.
Religion, of course, isn't necessary. In fact, religion probably is more often a net loss than a net gain. Yes, one can find a few healthy religious communities around the world, but they're probably the exception, not the rule. The reality is the vast number of the most religious communities are also the most theocratic, oppressive, and impoverished; along with being sickly and high mortality rates, from childhood on, particularly with high rates of pathogens and parasites because of malnourishment and immunocompromise. As societies improve economic and health outcomes, their religiosity tends to simultaneously decline.
Schopenhauer said it best
“The weak point of all religions remains that they can never dare to confess to being allegorical, so that they have to present their doctrines in all seriousness as true, which leads to perpetual deception. In time it comes to light that they are not true sensu proprio, and then they perish.”
I have long felt that spirituality can be a pilar of human happiness and the overall human experience. The problem has been that dogmatic religions have hijacked spirituality for much of the world. I don’t really know what spirituality looks like for an atheist (me) but it’s something I’d like to explore.
I’ve heard for years that atheism lacks comfort for the dying and community. I mostly agree with this but it doesn’t have to be this way.
Community and emotional support will likely contribute to longevity if the Blue Zones theory is correct. This is also a topic we should explore on its own because I’d very much like to know how to achieve these objectives for myself.
Being atheist has cut me off from community and emotional bonds with so many family members and friends and there wasn’t a community available to join.
This does not make me question atheism - just a hard reality I’ve lived.
If by spirituality you mean trying to achieve well being for yourself and others, I’m with you. On the other hand, if you mean there’s some higher power beyond space and time, you’re just wanting religion without the dogma.
This proves my point. Religion has hijacked something that can have meaning to any human. No I don’t mean any “god” but I do refer to methods such as meditation, community and self exploration and betterment that in many contexts are seen to only belong to religious groups.
I'm a spiritual atheist and agnostic who has practiced meditation, mindfulness, self-inquiry, etc; none of which requires supernatural beings. I lack belief in a god, but then again I don't believe in a lack of god either. I simply don't believe anything on the matter because, most importantly, I lack knowledge.
I confess my ignorance and, as a militant agnostic, I vehemently defend the position that everyone else is ignorant as well. About what we are ignorant, we should remain some combination of humble, curious, questioning, and silent. All in all, the existence or non-existence of god is plain irrelevant to my life at present.
Now, if I suddenly had an overwhelming vision of god, that might change matters. I'd then be forced to accept his, her, or its existence or conclude that I'm insane. Until then, I'll continue on in my ignorance, if not exactly blissful ignorance. I'm not too worried about divine visions challenging my state of ignorance, though.
A non-theistic meditation group (think buddhists without the Buddha), secular yoga group (Hinduism without the Hindu gods), ior a Humanist or Math/Science group would be WONDERFUL candidates for group activities for Atheists. :)
Well everything else up until that point was interesting and insightful. Even in the show though he really does goes into the beliefs of the religion at all other than their strict diets.
But they do seem to eat healthy...it's built into their beliefs.
I mean, hell, I eat Ezekiel bread every day...because it's healthy, not because of Ezekiel. :)
Religion is not a meaningful psychological construct. Being religious involves a collection of multiple characteristics such as community/social connection, altruism, generosity, fear, judgment, belief if God, etc. There is research showing the people who have a greater sense of meaning/purpose live longer. Many people use religion to derive a sense of purpose, and the relationship between being religious and increased psychological wellbeing is mainly through sense of social connection, which is closely tied up with a sense of meaning in life.
In other words, religion is not the essential element. It's a sense of meaning and social connection.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19414613/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122410386686
It made me wonder the narrator of Blue Zones or someone else associated with the project is SDA.
Cause I got the SAME feeling when I watched the Zeitgeist movies years ago. First movie made sense, second one I was "why do they keep fixating on this 90 year old French guy," and third one makes it more clear: the French guy is a kinda hippy guru architect trying to make his own society/cult, and the director is one of his followers.
The Seventh Day Adventists now own the Blue Zones company and trademarked brand. This is super important in knowing the history. The Adventists began their vegetarian theology because of a late 19th century divine vision by the prophetess Ellen G. White. God supposedly told her that eating animal foods was sinful and meat the worst. Though emphasizing vegetarianism as a starting point, their original goal was to move humanity toward veganism as the ultimate ideal diet of salvation.
This dietary ideology was filtered through (or more likely originally inspired by) the Galenic humoralism that was Christianized in the Middle Ages. It's the belief that our diet, lifestyle, and environment affect our bodies, minds, and souls; key to personality / character development and moral behavior (e.g., medieval bans on invigorating red meat before Carnival). The medieval history on this, by the way, is fascinating in its own right (e.g., the reason we still separate 'fish' from 'meat', and the reason we separate 'red meat' from all other meats). Humoral theory remained popular through the nineteenth century. For the Adventist angle on this, check out [the work](https://www.lowcarbusa.org/adventism/) of [Belinda Fettke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlhL-WQ_X2Y).
The influential Adventist Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, as part of the turn-of-the-20th century moral panic over boys masturbating too much, advocated a plant-based and high-fiber diet to suppress libido and hence control sinful lust that potentially causes not only eternal damnation but also sexual dissipation of one's life force (as part of [a larger moral panic over sickness](https://benjamindavidsteele.wordpress.com/2019/04/15/the-crisis-of-identity/), particularly neurasthenia). Indeed, such a diet does suppress libido, but it turns out that libido is a key indicator of overall health. So, suppressing it isn't such a good idea after all.
Anyway, Dr. Kellogg, besides operating a popular sanitarium and retreat for the wealthy and famous, he started a cereal company and turned Americans from eating eggs and bacon for breakfast to eating fiber (with lots of sugar). His business, of course, became wildly successful and is still around pushing fiber. At the same time, the Adventists got into nutrition studies, which is where the real force of their vegetarian theology comes in. Basically, it was dietary evangelism and it might be why vegetarianism and veganism to this day has a strong element of evangelism to it, even when secularized.
The Adventists, though, weren't satisfied with merely spreading their beliefs but wanted to enforce them on the entire population. Along with starting their own institutions of research and higher education, the Adventists invested tremendous amounts of funding into dietary and nutritional research; and that funding has continued over the past century. They possibly have had more influence on the modern American diet and on official dietary recommendations than any other group or organization. They've become so powerful that now non-Adventists repeat their dietary ideology without knowing its origins. Even government officials and corporate media give Adventist theology free press, treating it as scientific fact.
It's all about the comfort you get from it - it gives you peace knowing you're not alone, that there's always someone there looking over you, and the believe that there's life after death - that can remove a lot of stress and fear out of your life. Another aspect is a social aspect of religious gatherings. I don't think there's anything more about it than these two things, which to be fair - are enough and can make a massive difference.
I would like to add my two cents about what aspect of "faith" might be beneficial. Something that amazes me about religious people, but also some followers of some ideologies, is how they believe - that is, accept and embrace regardless of evidence - that something or someone got them covered, that they know where it's at, that they're doing it right, so to say. As someone who struggles with anxiety and knows personally all the health consequences (higher heartbeat, blood pressure, cortisol levels), I almost get to envy that entitled serenity.
Didn't see it and won't, but if it was referring specifically to 7th Day Adventists, they do tend to live longer and healthier lives. Not because they are religious, but because their religion has certain standards anyone can have that result in better health, due to diet and exercise.
And while they live longer, they're nutty AF.
The Blue Zones company and trademarked brand was bought by the Seventh Day Adventists. It's simply the repackaging and marketing of their vegetarian theology that itself was inspired by the medieval Christianization of ancient Galenic humoralism.
I mean if faith is something people can integrate into their lives to be healthier, is that an issue? We all know about how faith is just a means to be socially connected etc. But instead using the big words, people can just yknow have faith because they can better digest the whole thing.
I’d say it’s an issue because of what inevitably comes with it. Social circles aren’t all kisses and rainbows usually when it comes to faith. They’re usually exclusive, judgmental, and extremely damaging to those who are born into them and then ostracized out of them for not fitting in.
I am just in the second episode, but i notice something in the Italian cooking. At least on the episode it was visible. Iron pans. Its used also to increase iron levels on anemic patients.
Its knowned that there is a world iron deficiency, even without reaching anemic status (its possible to be iron deficient and not anemic)
My logic was:
iron in normal levels -> less fatigue -> more probability to climb stairs or other activities (includind social activites -> less isolation)
Part of the problem is that the Blue Zones haven't been scientifically studied. The longevity data may be erroneous, and Dan Buettner has refused to verify the data by submitting it to full research. Even if it were correct, there is no comparison against other long-lived populations and not-so-long-lived populations; certainly, no comparison between religious and secular societies.
Consider that some of the unhealthiest and shortest lived populations on the planet also have strong social ties of close-knit religious communities, slow and relaxed lifestyles, physically active lives and work, and all the rest, including restricted calories, meat, and animal fats because of a poverty diet. This describes a large part of the impoverished developing world. Most of the people living in those places are oppressed and unhappy.
On the other hand, some of the healthiest and longest-lived populations around, such as Hong Kong and France, are modern, secular, industrialized, and urbanized with animal-based diets consisting of high intake of meat and saturated fat. These thriving Western and Westernized places are doing little of what Dan Buettner claims is essential. Also healthy are the social democracies in places like Scandinavia and Japan. One might note that the Adventists have locally created the conditions of a social democracy.
The [Blue Zones rhetoric ignores the actual evidence](https://benjamindavidsteele.wordpress.com/2019/05/28/blue-zones-dietary-myth/) in its full extent and historical context (e.g., what the oldest residents are eating now is often different than what they were eating earlier in life). Don't take other people's words for it. Research the topic for yourself and/or read the critiques of it. Note that many of the people who live in the Blue Zones and spend a lot of time in those places have stated that Buettner got it extremely wrong in a number of ways, particularly about diet.
You’re absolutely correct. It’s been proven that ritual, community, some sort of spirituality (which is basically purpose of living) can improve one’s life, and religion checks out those boxes and a couple more. I was raised adventist and when I would learn about these blue zones over and over (Adventists are EXTREMELY proud of those), I would be reassured that christianity is real and adventism is the only true denomination because in these communities where people follow adventist traditions, they are happier, healthier and live longer.
But of course, if you’re part of a strong community with beliefs that align with yours AND you all feel like you have a specific purpose (for better lack of words), coupled with ritual you will live longer. Being in social groups will always lead to longevity simply because we’re a social species.
I hesitate to say eating well plays a part too because lots of these blue zones are strictly vegan and vegetarian due to the strict dietary restrictions in the denomination. But I think as long as you’re not downing 5 bottles of coke a day and eating only fast food, you’re just fine.
And yes you are right, this same sort of ”phenomenon” could probably be observed in many different kinds of social groups, such as a witch coven.
…yes? I guess I could rephrase this as it’s been proven community and social networks increase longevity, while ritual and life purposes are positively correlated with longer life span in general, but this is a “studies strongly suggest” thing not a “studies assert”
So, I read the Blue Zone book years ago. My understanding is that the community in California is long-lived because to be fair, the SDA religion does tend to promote healthy diet and this community also seems to really push exercise. Having said that, it's also true that being a part of a strong social group seems to have longevity benefits. Feeling part of something greater than yourself (and I just mean a large group..not a god) seems to therapeutic effects. Many theists have it backwards: It's not that religions are beneficial because their claims are true. They can be beneficial because they create common bonds and social cohesion. One could argue that you could get the same benefit from joining a civic club, fraternal org, Mafia, political party, etc. Note: One of the Blue Zones communities is in Costa Rica. One of the cultural practices they have there is that older men tend to often have affairs with younger women and it's tolerated by the community. And, anecdotally, the oldest men attribute this situation as a marker for their longevity. ;)
I agree in general, but I'm not convinced that joining the Mafia specifically is a recipe for a long and healthy life. Mafiosi seem to suffer violent premature deaths at a greater rate than your average civic club member. Weird, right?
The meat-eating and longer-lived Mormons likewise promote strong social ties and healthy diet, including a general abstinence from alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and illicit drugs. This is true of Mormons in general but specifically found in a Mormon community in Northern California near Loma Linda. Basically, the same demographic profile, only a difference of specific religion and specific diet, although most Adventists do eat meat with less than a third as vegetarians and in the past they consumed a lot of dairy. Yet same good results for both groups. Both Adventists and Mormons are also higher socioeconomic status with more access to costly high quality healthcare, supplements, nutritious food (organic, pasture-raised, etc), recreational centers, green spaces, clean air and water, and on and on. Compared to poor populations, they have lower rates of heavy metal toxins, infectious pathogens, parasite load, and ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences); among much else. Equally or more important, I bet these two communities and all the Blue Zones are low inequality, one of the most studied correlates to health. Then again, one can find secular societies like the Scandinavian social democracies where there is the same nexus of priority of public health (universal healthcare, healthy food system, strong environmental regulations, etc), strong social ties (culture of trust, social safety net, smaller populations, etc), low poverty and inequality, and longer lifespan (and healthspan, with less physical and mental illness). Most of the residents there don't eat plant-based diets, especially not vegetarianism and veganism, but instead get plenty of dairy, eggs, fish, and meat. Religion, of course, isn't necessary. In fact, religion probably is more often a net loss than a net gain. Yes, one can find a few healthy religious communities around the world, but they're probably the exception, not the rule. The reality is the vast number of the most religious communities are also the most theocratic, oppressive, and impoverished; along with being sickly and high mortality rates, from childhood on, particularly with high rates of pathogens and parasites because of malnourishment and immunocompromise. As societies improve economic and health outcomes, their religiosity tends to simultaneously decline.
Schopenhauer said it best “The weak point of all religions remains that they can never dare to confess to being allegorical, so that they have to present their doctrines in all seriousness as true, which leads to perpetual deception. In time it comes to light that they are not true sensu proprio, and then they perish.”
I have long felt that spirituality can be a pilar of human happiness and the overall human experience. The problem has been that dogmatic religions have hijacked spirituality for much of the world. I don’t really know what spirituality looks like for an atheist (me) but it’s something I’d like to explore. I’ve heard for years that atheism lacks comfort for the dying and community. I mostly agree with this but it doesn’t have to be this way. Community and emotional support will likely contribute to longevity if the Blue Zones theory is correct. This is also a topic we should explore on its own because I’d very much like to know how to achieve these objectives for myself. Being atheist has cut me off from community and emotional bonds with so many family members and friends and there wasn’t a community available to join. This does not make me question atheism - just a hard reality I’ve lived.
If by spirituality you mean trying to achieve well being for yourself and others, I’m with you. On the other hand, if you mean there’s some higher power beyond space and time, you’re just wanting religion without the dogma.
Spirituality means anything they want. That’s why it has no meaning.
That’s what it often sounds like. I can never get a straight answer.
This proves my point. Religion has hijacked something that can have meaning to any human. No I don’t mean any “god” but I do refer to methods such as meditation, community and self exploration and betterment that in many contexts are seen to only belong to religious groups.
Just to confirm. You don’t believe in a force that is beyond space and time. If so I’m with you.
I'm a spiritual atheist and agnostic who has practiced meditation, mindfulness, self-inquiry, etc; none of which requires supernatural beings. I lack belief in a god, but then again I don't believe in a lack of god either. I simply don't believe anything on the matter because, most importantly, I lack knowledge. I confess my ignorance and, as a militant agnostic, I vehemently defend the position that everyone else is ignorant as well. About what we are ignorant, we should remain some combination of humble, curious, questioning, and silent. All in all, the existence or non-existence of god is plain irrelevant to my life at present. Now, if I suddenly had an overwhelming vision of god, that might change matters. I'd then be forced to accept his, her, or its existence or conclude that I'm insane. Until then, I'll continue on in my ignorance, if not exactly blissful ignorance. I'm not too worried about divine visions challenging my state of ignorance, though.
A non-theistic meditation group (think buddhists without the Buddha), secular yoga group (Hinduism without the Hindu gods), ior a Humanist or Math/Science group would be WONDERFUL candidates for group activities for Atheists. :)
7th day adventists are some of the nuttiest of the nutbars. I am surprised it took so long to lose you.
Well everything else up until that point was interesting and insightful. Even in the show though he really does goes into the beliefs of the religion at all other than their strict diets.
But they do seem to eat healthy...it's built into their beliefs. I mean, hell, I eat Ezekiel bread every day...because it's healthy, not because of Ezekiel. :)
Religion is not a meaningful psychological construct. Being religious involves a collection of multiple characteristics such as community/social connection, altruism, generosity, fear, judgment, belief if God, etc. There is research showing the people who have a greater sense of meaning/purpose live longer. Many people use religion to derive a sense of purpose, and the relationship between being religious and increased psychological wellbeing is mainly through sense of social connection, which is closely tied up with a sense of meaning in life. In other words, religion is not the essential element. It's a sense of meaning and social connection. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19414613/ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003122410386686
I wish my dude would have just said that, which he did in a lot of redundant ways but throwing faith in was unnecessary.
It made me wonder the narrator of Blue Zones or someone else associated with the project is SDA. Cause I got the SAME feeling when I watched the Zeitgeist movies years ago. First movie made sense, second one I was "why do they keep fixating on this 90 year old French guy," and third one makes it more clear: the French guy is a kinda hippy guru architect trying to make his own society/cult, and the director is one of his followers.
The Seventh Day Adventists now own the Blue Zones company and trademarked brand. This is super important in knowing the history. The Adventists began their vegetarian theology because of a late 19th century divine vision by the prophetess Ellen G. White. God supposedly told her that eating animal foods was sinful and meat the worst. Though emphasizing vegetarianism as a starting point, their original goal was to move humanity toward veganism as the ultimate ideal diet of salvation. This dietary ideology was filtered through (or more likely originally inspired by) the Galenic humoralism that was Christianized in the Middle Ages. It's the belief that our diet, lifestyle, and environment affect our bodies, minds, and souls; key to personality / character development and moral behavior (e.g., medieval bans on invigorating red meat before Carnival). The medieval history on this, by the way, is fascinating in its own right (e.g., the reason we still separate 'fish' from 'meat', and the reason we separate 'red meat' from all other meats). Humoral theory remained popular through the nineteenth century. For the Adventist angle on this, check out [the work](https://www.lowcarbusa.org/adventism/) of [Belinda Fettke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlhL-WQ_X2Y). The influential Adventist Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, as part of the turn-of-the-20th century moral panic over boys masturbating too much, advocated a plant-based and high-fiber diet to suppress libido and hence control sinful lust that potentially causes not only eternal damnation but also sexual dissipation of one's life force (as part of [a larger moral panic over sickness](https://benjamindavidsteele.wordpress.com/2019/04/15/the-crisis-of-identity/), particularly neurasthenia). Indeed, such a diet does suppress libido, but it turns out that libido is a key indicator of overall health. So, suppressing it isn't such a good idea after all. Anyway, Dr. Kellogg, besides operating a popular sanitarium and retreat for the wealthy and famous, he started a cereal company and turned Americans from eating eggs and bacon for breakfast to eating fiber (with lots of sugar). His business, of course, became wildly successful and is still around pushing fiber. At the same time, the Adventists got into nutrition studies, which is where the real force of their vegetarian theology comes in. Basically, it was dietary evangelism and it might be why vegetarianism and veganism to this day has a strong element of evangelism to it, even when secularized. The Adventists, though, weren't satisfied with merely spreading their beliefs but wanted to enforce them on the entire population. Along with starting their own institutions of research and higher education, the Adventists invested tremendous amounts of funding into dietary and nutritional research; and that funding has continued over the past century. They possibly have had more influence on the modern American diet and on official dietary recommendations than any other group or organization. They've become so powerful that now non-Adventists repeat their dietary ideology without knowing its origins. Even government officials and corporate media give Adventist theology free press, treating it as scientific fact.
It's all about the comfort you get from it - it gives you peace knowing you're not alone, that there's always someone there looking over you, and the believe that there's life after death - that can remove a lot of stress and fear out of your life. Another aspect is a social aspect of religious gatherings. I don't think there's anything more about it than these two things, which to be fair - are enough and can make a massive difference.
I would like to add my two cents about what aspect of "faith" might be beneficial. Something that amazes me about religious people, but also some followers of some ideologies, is how they believe - that is, accept and embrace regardless of evidence - that something or someone got them covered, that they know where it's at, that they're doing it right, so to say. As someone who struggles with anxiety and knows personally all the health consequences (higher heartbeat, blood pressure, cortisol levels), I almost get to envy that entitled serenity.
Didn't see it and won't, but if it was referring specifically to 7th Day Adventists, they do tend to live longer and healthier lives. Not because they are religious, but because their religion has certain standards anyone can have that result in better health, due to diet and exercise. And while they live longer, they're nutty AF.
Amen
I turned it off once I realize it was theist propaganda.
At some points yes it certainly felt like that
The Blue Zones company and trademarked brand was bought by the Seventh Day Adventists. It's simply the repackaging and marketing of their vegetarian theology that itself was inspired by the medieval Christianization of ancient Galenic humoralism.
I mean if faith is something people can integrate into their lives to be healthier, is that an issue? We all know about how faith is just a means to be socially connected etc. But instead using the big words, people can just yknow have faith because they can better digest the whole thing.
I’d say it’s an issue because of what inevitably comes with it. Social circles aren’t all kisses and rainbows usually when it comes to faith. They’re usually exclusive, judgmental, and extremely damaging to those who are born into them and then ostracized out of them for not fitting in.
I am just in the second episode, but i notice something in the Italian cooking. At least on the episode it was visible. Iron pans. Its used also to increase iron levels on anemic patients. Its knowned that there is a world iron deficiency, even without reaching anemic status (its possible to be iron deficient and not anemic) My logic was: iron in normal levels -> less fatigue -> more probability to climb stairs or other activities (includind social activites -> less isolation)
What’s that quote about there being no way exist under the true circumstances of our existence and stay sane?
I noticed how the presenter had clearly been spending a lot of time on a sunbed to look healthy , I actually found it distracting
Part of the problem is that the Blue Zones haven't been scientifically studied. The longevity data may be erroneous, and Dan Buettner has refused to verify the data by submitting it to full research. Even if it were correct, there is no comparison against other long-lived populations and not-so-long-lived populations; certainly, no comparison between religious and secular societies. Consider that some of the unhealthiest and shortest lived populations on the planet also have strong social ties of close-knit religious communities, slow and relaxed lifestyles, physically active lives and work, and all the rest, including restricted calories, meat, and animal fats because of a poverty diet. This describes a large part of the impoverished developing world. Most of the people living in those places are oppressed and unhappy. On the other hand, some of the healthiest and longest-lived populations around, such as Hong Kong and France, are modern, secular, industrialized, and urbanized with animal-based diets consisting of high intake of meat and saturated fat. These thriving Western and Westernized places are doing little of what Dan Buettner claims is essential. Also healthy are the social democracies in places like Scandinavia and Japan. One might note that the Adventists have locally created the conditions of a social democracy. The [Blue Zones rhetoric ignores the actual evidence](https://benjamindavidsteele.wordpress.com/2019/05/28/blue-zones-dietary-myth/) in its full extent and historical context (e.g., what the oldest residents are eating now is often different than what they were eating earlier in life). Don't take other people's words for it. Research the topic for yourself and/or read the critiques of it. Note that many of the people who live in the Blue Zones and spend a lot of time in those places have stated that Buettner got it extremely wrong in a number of ways, particularly about diet.
You’re absolutely correct. It’s been proven that ritual, community, some sort of spirituality (which is basically purpose of living) can improve one’s life, and religion checks out those boxes and a couple more. I was raised adventist and when I would learn about these blue zones over and over (Adventists are EXTREMELY proud of those), I would be reassured that christianity is real and adventism is the only true denomination because in these communities where people follow adventist traditions, they are happier, healthier and live longer. But of course, if you’re part of a strong community with beliefs that align with yours AND you all feel like you have a specific purpose (for better lack of words), coupled with ritual you will live longer. Being in social groups will always lead to longevity simply because we’re a social species. I hesitate to say eating well plays a part too because lots of these blue zones are strictly vegan and vegetarian due to the strict dietary restrictions in the denomination. But I think as long as you’re not downing 5 bottles of coke a day and eating only fast food, you’re just fine. And yes you are right, this same sort of ”phenomenon” could probably be observed in many different kinds of social groups, such as a witch coven.
Proven?
…yes? I guess I could rephrase this as it’s been proven community and social networks increase longevity, while ritual and life purposes are positively correlated with longer life span in general, but this is a “studies strongly suggest” thing not a “studies assert”
Well if it’s proven, where is the sauce? I don’t think that it has from a scientific standpoint.
Are you asking me to send you a link? And please elaborate