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[birds chirping]

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[suspenseful music playing]

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[man] Most of us
don't even wanna think about dying,

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getting frail, losing vitality,

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closing our eyes for the last time.

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Wow, my friend.

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[man] But one thing's for sure.

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It's coming.

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The question is, when?

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How many years
will you get out of your body?

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And do we even have any say in the matter?

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I have found that most of what
people think leads to a long, healthy life

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is misguided or just plain wrong.

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[machine whirring]

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[Dan] It's not like
we don't care about this stuff.

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Every year, Americans spend
billions of dollars

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on diet plans,
gym memberships, and supplements.

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But it's clearly not working for us.

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The fact of the matter is that most of us
are leaving good years on the table.

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Worldwide, about two-thirds

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of the eight billion people on this planet

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will die prematurely
from an avoidable disease.

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And in America,
for the first time in a century,

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life expectancy is dropping.

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So, how do we fix this?

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I believe
it's not by trying to prevent death.

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It's by learning how to live.

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[mysterious music playing]

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[Dan] What if we could
reverse engineer longevity?

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Well, I spent the last 20 years

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trying to do just that.

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But instead of looking for answers
in petri dishes or test tubes,

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I found five places around the world

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where people are getting
the outcomes we want.

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Some of these places are islands.

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Other places are mountains.

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Some are impossibly remote,

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but some are surprisingly urban.

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And though they're vastly different
on the surface,

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remarkably, they all share
the same common denominators.

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They all follow roughly
the exact same formula

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that produces the longest-lived people
on the planet.

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These people live to 100
at the highest rates in the world.

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They're living vibrant,
active, happy lives,

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and perhaps the biggest takeaway
is they live longer without trying.

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And their secrets
could help every one of us

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to get every good year
we can get out of this body of ours.

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[uplifting music playing]

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[Dan] That is the promise of Blue Zones.

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[applause in background]

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[man over PA] Tonight's speaker
has spent the last 20 years

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finding the longest-living people
in the world and learning their wisdom.

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Dan Buettner is
a National Geographic Explorer

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and best-selling author.

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He's put that wisdom to work

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to raise the life expectancy
of dozens of communities across the US.

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Dan, welcome.

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[applause]

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[Dan speaks Spanish, laughs]

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[Dan] I never set out
to be a longevity guru

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or fix America's health care system.

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I got here in a very unexpected way.

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It began with my dad and his dad.

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My dad was a great father for instilling
this sense of adventure in me.

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His idea of fun, when we were kids,

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was to go into the wilderness
for weeks at a time,

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taking me and my brothers along.

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[playful music playing]

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[Dan] And my grandpa,
he always wanted me to be a great athlete,

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and I was always on the bench.

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But he gave me my first bike,

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and that became
my ticket to see the world.

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By the time I graduated from college

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in an age when most people
were doing useful

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and productive things with their lives,

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I struck off to set three world records
by bicycling across five continents.

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You know, we went through hurricanes
and earthquakes and floods,

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and we didn't think we were gonna make it.

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All right, now,
here we have a map of the entire world.

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Show us where you ended up.

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[Dan] The Soviet leg, um,

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got the Guinness World Record.

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-Congratulations.
-Thank you.

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Good to meet you, Dan.
Thank you for being here.

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[Dan] When you've biked around the globe
and broken all these records,

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where do you go from there?

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I needed to find adventure with purpose.

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And for me, that meant I needed to find
an expedition that solved a great mystery.

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And I remember one day,

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I came across
a World Health Organization study

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that found that Okinawa, Japan,

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produced the longest-lived people
in the history of the world,

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and I said, "That's a good mystery."

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At about 900 miles south of Tokyo,
you find a cluster of islands,

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which is sort of like the Hawaii to Japan.

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Sugar sand beaches,

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tropical jungles,

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turquoise waters.

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But more importantly,

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for hundreds of years,
this has been the Land of the Immortals.

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Okinawa, Japan, has produced

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the longest-lived population
in human history.

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They have a fraction the rate of diabetes.

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They have one-fifth
the rate of heart disease,

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very little dementia,

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and they are making it to 100

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at a rate far surpassing
the United States.

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And the numbers are
particularly extraordinary among women.

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[people chatting and laughing]

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[all exclaim]

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[all cheer and laugh]

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[woman in Japanese]
If only I'd got number one!

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-Fourteen points.
-That was so close.

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-[woman] Did you go?
-He did, yes.

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-[woman 2] Everyone's done?
-Yes.

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-Next up is Granny.
-Good luck!

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[chanting] You can do it!

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[all cheer]

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[woman 1] Oh, so close.

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[cheering]

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[woman 2] Amazing.

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[in English] So I'm wondering
how you are all related to Umeto-san.

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[speaking Japanese]

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[translator in English] Three of them
are my granddaughters.

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And this is my second son.

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[speaking Japanese]

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[translator] That is the first daughter
and the second daughter.

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[Dan] Okay, so we have
three generations here.

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I'm a young child of 61.

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[laughter]

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[Dan] If I want to live to be 101,
what's her recommendation?

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[Umeto in Japanese] You're still a kid!

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[all laugh]

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[in English] I'll take it.

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[Umeto in Japanese] Always have fun.

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Don't get angry.

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Have fun with everyone.
Make everyone happy.

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I don't get angry.

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[Dan in English]
So, the key is to be easygoing,

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to not let things upset you,
and to forgive quickly?

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[Umeto speaking Japanese]

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-[translating] So this…
-[speaking Japanese]

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[in English] This laughter
brings us longevity.

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[Dan] Oh, I love that. I feel it.

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-[shamisen music playing]
-[people clapping along]

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[in Japanese] ♪ Don't catch a cold ♪

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♪ Don't fall down ♪

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♪ Don't forget to laugh ♪

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♪ And talk often… ♪

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[singing continues]

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[Dan in English] 101 years old Umeto-san.

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She's vital, vigorous, funny, positive.

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And then she plays
this Okinawan sort of banjo instrument,

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with the plucking, with precision.

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Not missing a note.

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Singing this song.

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And to have that cognitive ability,

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that vitality,

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that positiveness all in one package.

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I look at her, and I say, "I want that."

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[mysterious music playing]

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[Dan] The first time I came to Okinawa
20 years ago,

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I didn't really know
how to research longevity.

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What could it be?

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What are these people doing
to produce so many hundred-year-olds

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and to produce a life
where they're living long

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and staying sharp to the very end?

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My mission was to find out.

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I pulled all the academic research
I could in Okinawa

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and buried myself in it.

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I found this map that showed

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the centenarian concentration of Japan.

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It was so clear there were
very few centenarians in the North,

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and the farther south you got,
the concentration of centenarians grew,

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with the highest concentration
being in Okinawa.

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You realize that the farther south you get
towards the equator here,

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it's gonna be warmer.

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So, what does warmer climate mean?

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They have more growing seasons.

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There must be something here

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that these people are taking,
consciously or unconsciously.

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Maybe an extract from a vegetable.

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Maybe it's an herb or a spice
that would be the secret of longevity.

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So I started
looking into these dietary surveys,

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and I found one
that compares the diet of Okinawa

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with the rest of Japan circa 1950.

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And you go down the chart
of what Okinawans are eating,

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things like meat, eggs, and fish,

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and it's only 1 to 2%
of their caloric intake.

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And then there's one food
where it's about 70%,

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and that one food is beni imo,

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purple sweet potatoes.

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In the rest of Japan,

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they were only eating 3%
of their calories from sweet potatoes.

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And perhaps the main reasons
Okinawans ate so much beni imo

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was because sweet potatoes
were typhoon-proof.

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The beni imo was safe underground.

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These sweet potatoes are
full of complex carbohydrates and fiber,

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and they even have about 150% more
of the active antioxidants

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than blueberries do.

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So then, of course, you start going,
"This has gotta be it!"

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So I've been traveling around the world
for 20 years,

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trying to understand
how people live a long time.

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What is the one Okinawan food
people should try

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if they want to live longer?

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[in Japanese] Well… Just one thing?

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[Dan in English] One.

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[Yukie in Japanese]
There is no one ingredient that is best.

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[in English] How about beni imo?
This purple sweet potato.

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[Yukie in Japanese] Well, Okinawa had
a period of food shortage,

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and we were saved by these potatoes.

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But all foods have
potent medicinal powers.

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Mulberry leaves are good for sore throats.

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Squid ink soup is for detox.

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Okinawa is very hot,

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and asa seaweed
releases heat from the body.

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[Dan in English] There's mugwort,
a well-known anti-inflammatory.

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And goya. It has some compounds
that actually lower blood sugar,

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which might explain
lower rates of diabetes here as well.

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And then there's tofu.

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Tofu is made from soybean curds

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and can offer several health benefits.

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It's been shown to lower cholesterol

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and therefore lower
the risk of heart disease.

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And, in some cases, it may even
slow the progression of some cancers.

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Okinawans eat an average of three ounces
of soy products per day, including tofu.

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And Okinawan tofu is special.

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It actually has a greater concentration
of protein and good fat

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compared to tofus produced elsewhere.

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So when it comes to diet,
there's no single ingredient

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or compound
responsible for Okinawan longevity.

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They're consuming an array of foods

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which all have
medicinal properties or health benefits.

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So it's actually the range of foods
that is likely fueling long lives here.

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And what Okinawans are eating is actually
just part of the longevity equation here.

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The other question is,
how much are they eating?

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In the United States, the FDA recommends
about 2,000 calories per person per day,

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but Americans are actually consuming

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3,600 calories per person per day
on average.

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In order to get to the bottom of this,

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the person I need to talk to
is Marion Nestle.

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You probably know
better than anybody else in America

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how we got to 73%
of America obese or overweight.

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Yeah, it's astonishing.

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In the early 1970s,
the secretary of agriculture said

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we need to produce more food
to feed the world.

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He got farmers growing more food.

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So, all of a sudden,

249
00:14:37,084 --> 00:14:42,214
from 1980 to the year 2000,
the number of calories in the food supply

250
00:14:42,298 --> 00:14:48,053
went up from 3,200
per person per day to 4,000.

251
00:14:48,137 --> 00:14:50,222
The food industry had to sell that.

252
00:14:50,723 --> 00:14:53,642
In an environment
in which there's 4,000 calories a day

253
00:14:53,726 --> 00:14:55,603
available for everybody

254
00:14:55,686 --> 00:14:58,731
means that you have to get people
to eat more in general.

255
00:15:01,525 --> 00:15:06,030
So what you saw was
portion sizes got bigger.

256
00:15:07,948 --> 00:15:12,202
And more than that, it's formulated
to make you wanna eat more.

257
00:15:13,996 --> 00:15:18,459
Part of it is texture, so they're crunchy
or have this wonderful mouthfeel.

258
00:15:20,252 --> 00:15:24,089
They're colored
to make them really attractive.

259
00:15:24,173 --> 00:15:27,760
They have lots and lots of additives
to make them taste good.

260
00:15:28,510 --> 00:15:32,264
You're going to take in more calories
than you ordinarily would,

261
00:15:32,348 --> 00:15:33,515
and you won't realize it.

262
00:15:37,811 --> 00:15:42,775
[Dan] But in Okinawa, we saw people
that were eating much less food every day,

263
00:15:42,858 --> 00:15:44,568
about 2,000 calories.

264
00:15:44,652 --> 00:15:45,819
Part of the reason is

265
00:15:45,903 --> 00:15:50,324
they had this nutritionally dense food
that didn't have a lot of calories.

266
00:15:50,407 --> 00:15:53,702
So, in America, for lunch,
we might eat a little hamburger,

267
00:15:53,786 --> 00:15:56,664
and we can wolf that down
in a minute or two.

268
00:15:59,625 --> 00:16:02,169
But in Okinawa, lunch might be

269
00:16:02,252 --> 00:16:05,005
this chanpuru, this stir-fry,

270
00:16:05,089 --> 00:16:06,757
nice herbs and tofu.

271
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,344
They could just indulge
in this huge pile of food.

272
00:16:10,427 --> 00:16:14,431
And you guys eat,
you think you're being a total glutton,

273
00:16:14,515 --> 00:16:17,643
but that has fewer calories
than a hamburger does.

274
00:16:18,310 --> 00:16:20,354
[people chatting in Japanese]

275
00:16:21,522 --> 00:16:24,733
[Dan in English] And the second piece
to this is shockingly simple.

276
00:16:25,401 --> 00:16:27,820
So they have this ingenious little trick.

277
00:16:28,737 --> 00:16:31,115
Before a meal, they intone three words,

278
00:16:31,198 --> 00:16:32,992
"hara hachi bu,"

279
00:16:33,575 --> 00:16:36,328
which literally means "eight out of ten."

280
00:16:36,412 --> 00:16:41,250
But to them, it means "Stop eating
when your stomach is 80% full,"

281
00:16:41,333 --> 00:16:45,838
and it's resulting in being satiated
without being stuffed.

282
00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:50,175
So, when you're eating
these low-caloric density foods

283
00:16:50,259 --> 00:16:54,805
and you're reminding yourself
to stop eating when you're 80% full,

284
00:16:54,888 --> 00:16:56,974
you're naturally eating less.

285
00:16:57,516 --> 00:17:00,936
And over time,
this has produced a population

286
00:17:01,020 --> 00:17:03,814
that's suffered less obesity.

287
00:17:10,696 --> 00:17:12,406
Today, in Okinawa's big city,

288
00:17:12,489 --> 00:17:15,784
you see all the trappings
you'd see in any major city.

289
00:17:15,868 --> 00:17:19,455
Freeways, a crush of traffic,
and fast food restaurants.

290
00:17:22,124 --> 00:17:26,128
But if you wanna find
Okinawans' real culture of longevity,

291
00:17:26,211 --> 00:17:29,715
you have to get out of the city
into the rural areas,

292
00:17:29,798 --> 00:17:32,092
where you can still see a lifestyle

293
00:17:32,176 --> 00:17:35,804
that has produced centenarians
for centuries.

294
00:17:35,888 --> 00:17:38,098
[placid music plays]

295
00:17:53,781 --> 00:17:55,157
[Dan] Look at, look at, look at.

296
00:17:55,908 --> 00:17:58,202
Already, I see signs of longevity.

297
00:17:59,036 --> 00:18:01,705
That, if I'm not mistaken, is lettuce.

298
00:18:03,332 --> 00:18:04,541
Hope they're not watching.

299
00:18:05,042 --> 00:18:06,585
[Naomi] Sorry. Uh-oh.

300
00:18:07,795 --> 00:18:08,754
[Dan] Let's go this way.

301
00:18:08,837 --> 00:18:12,591
Do you know what this dragon means here?
I see them all the time.

302
00:18:12,674 --> 00:18:15,177
[Naomi] This is not a dragon.
This is called Shisa.

303
00:18:15,260 --> 00:18:19,389
Shisa, you've gotta remember
because this represents Okinawa.

304
00:18:22,059 --> 00:18:23,018
Okay.

305
00:18:23,727 --> 00:18:25,604
Wow, check this place out.

306
00:18:27,898 --> 00:18:31,235
-Wow.
-[Dan] I love that garden.

307
00:18:31,318 --> 00:18:32,861
[Naomi in Japanese] Hello.

308
00:18:32,945 --> 00:18:35,823
[Dan in English] She's got a nice bike.
I mean, I already like her.

309
00:18:35,906 --> 00:18:37,533
[Naomi in Japanese] How old are you now?

310
00:18:37,616 --> 00:18:38,826
[speaking Japanese]

311
00:18:38,909 --> 00:18:40,828
-[in English] Ninety-four.
-[Dan] Oh my gosh.

312
00:18:40,911 --> 00:18:42,788
[woman laughs]

313
00:18:42,871 --> 00:18:45,499
[Dan] She's sewing.
And what is she sewing?

314
00:18:45,582 --> 00:18:48,919
[in Japanese] We noticed
that you sew things.

315
00:18:49,002 --> 00:18:50,546
I use a sewing machine!

316
00:18:50,629 --> 00:18:51,880
[Dan] Did she make her dress?

317
00:18:51,964 --> 00:18:53,799
-[in Japanese] Yeah, I made it.
-[Naomi] I see.

318
00:18:53,882 --> 00:18:55,008
[Dan in English] Beautiful.

319
00:18:58,804 --> 00:18:59,805
[speaks Japanese]

320
00:19:01,807 --> 00:19:02,766
[clapping]

321
00:19:02,850 --> 00:19:05,310
[all laughing]

322
00:19:05,394 --> 00:19:06,770
[in Japanese] It went through!

323
00:19:07,354 --> 00:19:08,605
[Dan in English] That's amazing.

324
00:19:10,107 --> 00:19:10,941
Hi!

325
00:19:11,608 --> 00:19:16,155
[in Japanese] I'm about 97.
Pretty old now.

326
00:19:16,238 --> 00:19:17,906
[speaking Japanese]

327
00:19:17,990 --> 00:19:22,077
[Naomi translating] Now… she said
she still has muscles!

328
00:19:22,161 --> 00:19:23,287
[Dan] I can see them!

329
00:19:23,370 --> 00:19:24,496
[Naomi] Yeah!

330
00:19:24,580 --> 00:19:26,248
[in Japanese] Impressive muscles.

331
00:19:28,375 --> 00:19:30,711
[Dan in English] What is the secret
to living a long time

332
00:19:30,794 --> 00:19:32,504
and staying so vital?

333
00:19:32,588 --> 00:19:35,799
[man in Japanese]
It's not enough for humans to only walk.

334
00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,511
You must have speed.

335
00:19:39,595 --> 00:19:40,596
Speed, like this.

336
00:19:41,513 --> 00:19:42,347
Whoa! [laughing]

337
00:19:42,431 --> 00:19:43,932
[Harumasa] You need to do this.

338
00:19:45,475 --> 00:19:47,561
[laughing] Oh my God!

339
00:19:47,644 --> 00:19:51,940
[Dan] So, after spending a lot of time
with older people in Okinawa,

340
00:19:52,024 --> 00:19:55,152
I noticed in their houses,
there was no real furniture

341
00:19:55,235 --> 00:19:58,322
except a low table and a tatami mat.

342
00:19:58,405 --> 00:20:00,991
These people were sitting on the floor.

343
00:20:02,284 --> 00:20:04,286
We found 103-year-olds

344
00:20:04,369 --> 00:20:08,707
who would get up and down 30 times a day!
That's like doing 30 squats.

345
00:20:10,125 --> 00:20:13,712
They're strengthening their core.
They're strengthening their lower body.

346
00:20:13,795 --> 00:20:18,091
They're improving their balance.
Well, how would that map to longevity?

347
00:20:18,175 --> 00:20:20,010
Well, it turns out, in America,

348
00:20:20,093 --> 00:20:23,639
one of the top ten reasons
older people die

349
00:20:23,722 --> 00:20:25,265
is 'cause they'd fall down.

350
00:20:25,349 --> 00:20:27,976
They have weak lower bodies
and bad balance

351
00:20:28,060 --> 00:20:31,188
because they're sitting on chairs
and La-Z-Boys all the time.

352
00:20:32,981 --> 00:20:35,609
So the other thing I noticed
is that everybody,

353
00:20:35,692 --> 00:20:38,862
even people into their hundreds,
have a garden.

354
00:20:38,946 --> 00:20:42,157
So every day, they're out weeding

355
00:20:42,241 --> 00:20:46,995
or watering or seeding
or harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables.

356
00:20:47,079 --> 00:20:49,957
And this could be one or two hours a day

357
00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,585
of gentle,
low-intensity physical activity,

358
00:20:53,669 --> 00:20:55,212
range of motion.

359
00:20:55,921 --> 00:20:59,800
And when you think about it,
these people weren't exercising.

360
00:20:59,883 --> 00:21:03,512
They have much better lower body strength,
much better balance,

361
00:21:03,595 --> 00:21:06,056
and they're not dying from these diseases.

362
00:21:06,139 --> 00:21:09,768
So hence emerges yet another insight

363
00:21:09,851 --> 00:21:12,854
that we might think about
if we want to live longer.

364
00:21:12,938 --> 00:21:15,691
-[speaking Japanese]
-[in English] Look at that!

365
00:21:15,774 --> 00:21:19,611
[Dan laughing]

366
00:21:23,282 --> 00:21:25,867
[women speaking Japanese]

367
00:21:27,536 --> 00:21:29,246
[woman 1 in Japanese] I'll pour some tea.

368
00:21:30,497 --> 00:21:31,832
[woman 2] Thank you.

369
00:21:34,167 --> 00:21:36,044
[woman 1] Let's have some.

370
00:21:39,047 --> 00:21:41,049
After I retired in 1983,

371
00:21:41,133 --> 00:21:45,887
all I did was go back and forth
from the garden to my home.

372
00:21:45,971 --> 00:21:47,514
It was boring.

373
00:21:48,015 --> 00:21:52,185
So I went around to all the houses

374
00:21:53,270 --> 00:21:55,397
and said, "Let's do a moai for 1,000 yen."

375
00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,067
[Dan in English] I started to learn about
groups of people called moais.

376
00:21:59,776 --> 00:22:03,238
Moais, essentially,
a committed social circle

377
00:22:03,322 --> 00:22:06,658
of people who originally got together
by pooling their money

378
00:22:06,742 --> 00:22:10,037
and helping each other
in times of hardship.

379
00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:13,874
[in Japanese] One of our friends fell
when they went to the bathroom at night

380
00:22:13,957 --> 00:22:16,043
and is in the hospital now.

381
00:22:16,543 --> 00:22:19,546
Our moai is continuing to help

382
00:22:19,629 --> 00:22:24,926
by pooling money and giving it to them.

383
00:22:25,010 --> 00:22:29,097
[Dan in English] So, on the surface,
a moai is simply a financial arrangement.

384
00:22:29,181 --> 00:22:32,976
But I believe
the benefits transcend money.

385
00:22:33,060 --> 00:22:35,812
I'm wondering if belonging to a moai

386
00:22:35,896 --> 00:22:40,275
has helped you reach your 90s
with such vitality.

387
00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:45,447
[in Japanese] We're all friendly and learn
how to sing and dance together.

388
00:22:45,530 --> 00:22:48,075
We get together and chat.

389
00:22:48,617 --> 00:22:50,869
That is the secret to long living.

390
00:22:58,460 --> 00:23:00,170
[singing in Japanese]

391
00:23:00,253 --> 00:23:02,756
[Dan in English] And you might think,
"Well, big deal!" You know?

392
00:23:02,839 --> 00:23:05,425
What is it about hanging out
with other people that helps?

393
00:23:05,509 --> 00:23:10,389
Well, in the United States,
we have a loneliness epidemic.

394
00:23:11,139 --> 00:23:14,101
A population that's increasingly lonely,

395
00:23:14,184 --> 00:23:15,602
increasingly isolated,

396
00:23:15,685 --> 00:23:19,314
and increasingly needs human connection
more than ever.

397
00:23:19,398 --> 00:23:21,858
[singing in Japanese]

398
00:23:23,318 --> 00:23:25,737
[Dan in English]
Now we're discovering in America

399
00:23:25,821 --> 00:23:31,034
that loneliness can cost
15 years of life expectancy.

400
00:23:31,118 --> 00:23:33,453
Think about that. Fifteen years!

401
00:23:33,537 --> 00:23:38,291
There is no pill,
no supplement, no blockbuster drug

402
00:23:38,375 --> 00:23:41,002
that could give us anywhere near 15 years.

403
00:23:41,086 --> 00:23:43,171
But here in Okinawa,

404
00:23:43,255 --> 00:23:47,592
they're getting those years
by simply finding friends,

405
00:23:47,676 --> 00:23:49,636
committing to those friends,

406
00:23:49,719 --> 00:23:52,222
and spending time
with those friends every day.

407
00:23:55,308 --> 00:23:58,395
So I started
looking at the obvious longevity factors,

408
00:23:58,478 --> 00:24:00,188
like diet and exercise,

409
00:24:00,856 --> 00:24:03,817
but then I stumbled onto this moai idea,

410
00:24:03,900 --> 00:24:06,528
and it completely takes off my blinders.

411
00:24:06,611 --> 00:24:10,157
It opens my mind to the possibility
of other surprising insights

412
00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:14,661
that might turn out to be
incredibly powerful factors

413
00:24:14,744 --> 00:24:16,329
at producing longevity.

414
00:24:17,247 --> 00:24:19,541
[gunfire]

415
00:24:22,377 --> 00:24:26,756
[Dan] For the people of Okinawa,
World War II is very present.

416
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,176
They suffered incredible hardship.

417
00:24:29,259 --> 00:24:32,846
They suffered many more deaths
than the Americans did.

418
00:24:33,430 --> 00:24:34,556
[man] In the wartime,

419
00:24:35,390 --> 00:24:39,311
200,000 people are killed in Okinawa.

420
00:24:39,895 --> 00:24:45,025
I think they have very strong PTSD maybe.

421
00:24:45,108 --> 00:24:48,111
[speaking Japanese]

422
00:24:48,195 --> 00:24:50,405
[Naomi in English]
She worked for the government…

423
00:24:50,489 --> 00:24:51,490
[speaking Japanese]

424
00:24:51,573 --> 00:24:53,742
[Naomi in English]
…and they gave them a grenade.

425
00:24:53,825 --> 00:24:59,748
[woman in Japanese] "If the enemy gets you
and tries to harm you,

426
00:24:59,831 --> 00:25:02,209
use this grenade."

427
00:25:02,292 --> 00:25:06,379
And we were this close
to giving up and committing suicide

428
00:25:06,463 --> 00:25:08,590
when we were saved by soldiers.

429
00:25:08,673 --> 00:25:13,053
They told me,
"The war is over. Life is a treasure."

430
00:25:14,721 --> 00:25:18,600
When my mother and my brother died,

431
00:25:20,393 --> 00:25:23,188
I wasn't able to be there
for their last moment.

432
00:25:24,523 --> 00:25:26,316
[Dan in English]
They remember the war so well.

433
00:25:26,399 --> 00:25:29,152
It's what they talk about first or second,

434
00:25:29,236 --> 00:25:34,032
and I'm sure it was a tragedy
but somehow a legacy as well.

435
00:25:35,825 --> 00:25:40,956
[woman in Japanese] I am so glad I crawled
out of that hellhole and survived.

436
00:25:41,039 --> 00:25:43,542
I tell my children,

437
00:25:43,625 --> 00:25:44,960
"No matter what,

438
00:25:45,043 --> 00:25:48,964
no matter how poor you are,
you can survive."

439
00:25:49,047 --> 00:25:50,966
"Endure everything."

440
00:25:54,344 --> 00:25:58,348
[in English] And I like to say
that the past experience

441
00:25:58,431 --> 00:26:01,893
was a terrible experience in Okinawa.

442
00:26:01,977 --> 00:26:04,604
But in spite of that,

443
00:26:04,688 --> 00:26:10,402
they established
healthy, happy conditions.

444
00:26:10,485 --> 00:26:13,822
Enjoy the present. That's important.

445
00:26:15,657 --> 00:26:17,158
[Dan] You'd think, on the surface,

446
00:26:17,242 --> 00:26:22,080
that this would destroy longevity
among a population.

447
00:26:22,163 --> 00:26:24,207
But I actually got to thinking

448
00:26:24,291 --> 00:26:28,128
maybe this is contributing
to their long life

449
00:26:28,211 --> 00:26:30,714
in counterintuitive ways.

450
00:26:30,797 --> 00:26:32,882
[machine whirring]

451
00:26:36,303 --> 00:26:39,180
[Dan] There's this concept in Okinawa
called ikigai,

452
00:26:39,264 --> 00:26:42,475
and I believe
it's one of the most powerful factors

453
00:26:42,559 --> 00:26:44,603
contributing to their longevity.

454
00:26:44,686 --> 00:26:46,980
[man in Japanese]
I contribute to the world.

455
00:26:47,063 --> 00:26:49,774
The art I've created
will remain for hundreds of years

456
00:26:49,858 --> 00:26:51,359
after I pass away.

457
00:26:52,527 --> 00:26:53,862
This is my ikigai.

458
00:26:53,945 --> 00:26:55,447
I'm blessed.

459
00:27:17,969 --> 00:27:21,181
[in English] We would visit
the centenarian house.

460
00:27:21,264 --> 00:27:25,935
And we would check
the physical and medical condition,

461
00:27:26,019 --> 00:27:27,687
and after that, I would ask,

462
00:27:27,771 --> 00:27:29,064
"What's your ikigai?"

463
00:27:30,732 --> 00:27:32,692
Ikigai is a kind of mission.

464
00:27:32,776 --> 00:27:34,361
A sense of purpose.

465
00:27:34,861 --> 00:27:38,823
I think ikigai is the main factor

466
00:27:38,907 --> 00:27:42,994
of spiritual health of the centenarians.

467
00:27:43,578 --> 00:27:46,456
If we lose the ikigai, we will die.

468
00:27:47,374 --> 00:27:49,959
Okinawans have no word for retirement.

469
00:27:50,043 --> 00:27:53,254
When they get to be 60, 70, 80, 90,
they're still working.

470
00:27:53,338 --> 00:27:55,465
They might only be working in their garden

471
00:27:55,548 --> 00:27:58,218
to bring some vegetables home.

472
00:27:58,301 --> 00:28:02,180
They may have a stall in the market
where they're only working in the morning.

473
00:28:02,263 --> 00:28:05,600
They're keeping their minds engaged.
They're keeping their bodies moving.

474
00:28:06,101 --> 00:28:09,020
They could sum up their life meaning,

475
00:28:09,104 --> 00:28:12,107
the reason for which
they wake up in the morning.

476
00:28:12,190 --> 00:28:14,734
They're told constantly that,

477
00:28:14,818 --> 00:28:16,778
"You count. We need you."

478
00:28:16,861 --> 00:28:17,904
[speaking Japanese]

479
00:28:17,987 --> 00:28:21,783
[in English] People imbued with
this constant sense of purpose,

480
00:28:21,866 --> 00:28:23,243
they know their values,

481
00:28:23,326 --> 00:28:26,538
and it makes
those day-to-day decisions very easy

482
00:28:26,621 --> 00:28:28,456
because you know your core.

483
00:28:34,671 --> 00:28:37,382
So my experience at Okinawa
was teaching me

484
00:28:37,465 --> 00:28:40,510
that counterintuitive,
little-explored things

485
00:28:40,593 --> 00:28:43,304
are driving longevity
more than anything else.

486
00:28:44,472 --> 00:28:46,015
I didn't realize it then,

487
00:28:46,099 --> 00:28:50,270
but I was only beginning
to piece together a much bigger puzzle.

488
00:28:50,353 --> 00:28:51,771
You see, around this time,

489
00:28:51,855 --> 00:28:55,567
I started reading reports
of another longevity hotspot,

490
00:28:55,650 --> 00:28:58,278
completely different environment

491
00:28:58,361 --> 00:29:01,281
on another island
on the other side of the planet.

492
00:29:02,073 --> 00:29:06,953
A cluster of whitewashed villages
high in the mountains of Sardinia,

493
00:29:07,454 --> 00:29:11,374
and almost vertical streets,
surrounded by rugged terrain.

494
00:29:13,084 --> 00:29:15,879
Were they doing the same thing
as the people in Okinawa?

495
00:29:18,214 --> 00:29:21,843
Or was there
another set of secrets to discover?

496
00:29:22,761 --> 00:29:24,929
My mission was to find out.

497
00:29:30,643 --> 00:29:33,688
[light music playing]