Blue Zones Project Blog

According to a recent Harvard Chan School of Public Health recent seminar entitled Inside Costa Rica’s healthcare success story the “average life expectancy in Costa Rica has steadily increased from 55 years in 1950 to 81 years today—far outpacing the U.S. Even more notable: the country has achieved this success while spending far less than the U.S. as a share of income. What’s behind Costa Rica’s remarkable success? How has its progress in health care improved its resilience? And what lessons can we learn for other nations?”

Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific side of Costa Rica is one of the five original Blue Zones. Although I have been privileged to visit and work with many Blue Zones Projects in the U.S., this was my first experience with one of the earliest regions where more people live to be 100. During spring break my three generational family embraced surfing—two of us had modest previous experience but the rest of us were new to the challenging and enjoyable sport.

The American Cancer Society has excellent statistics showing the overall cancer death rate has decreased. Among males, age-adjusted cancer deaths per 100,000 population decreased from 210.9 in 2009 to 172.9 in 2019. Among females, age-adjusted cancer deaths per 100,000 population decreased from 147.4 in 2009 to 134.0 in 2016, and then decreased at a faster rate to 126.2 in 2019. This decrease is far better than an increase, but we have tremendous opportunity to continue this improvement.

On average, three of every ten Americans did not feel well-rested last night according to the CDC.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) continues to thrive as numerous physicians and very credible institutions—including the Mayo Clinic—embrace many of the therapies. A surprisingly large number of Americans, estimated as high as 70%, have tried CAM—acupuncture/acupressure, herb/vitamin therapy, hypnosis, chiropractic/massage, aromatherapy, magnetic therapy, and reflexology—to cure their ills. A relatively new term—integrative medicine—is now being employed as traditional evidence-based medicine is combined with CAM for better treatment outcomes.

Sadly, the incidence of fractured families seems to be more prevalent today than ever before. Too many family groups—children, adult children, siblings, parents, and grandparents—are not enjoying the natural bonds of love, support, or at least communication, which were so necessary in olden times but now appear more commonly to be broken.

A Copenhagen City Heart study reported that people who jog at least an hour per week live an average of six years longer—6.2 years for men and 5.6 years in women.

Medicine is changing dramatically! Since the dawn of the age of genetics—which officially started in 2001 with the unraveling of the human genome—recent advances have led to an explosion of new diseases. These illnesses and conditions are better defined by their molecular composition and, therefore, are more easily diagnosed and better treated.

Want to look “cut and trim?” Depend on exercise, good diet, and avoid shortcuts—they can have adverse effects on your body and overall health.

No one wants to consider their own mortality—their final chapter. Yet, as it’s been said, no one leaves this world alive. As we grow older, this subject becomes more and more relevant and has recently been highlighted, as medical care for the elderly becomes more efficacious and expensive.