You’ve probably heard the term Blue Zone by now, or at least seen evidence of it. TikTokers are taking straight shots of olive oil and crediting the Mediterranean diet for everything from glowing skin to a longer life.
Netflix’s “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” hosted and co-produced by longevity researcher Dan Buettner, brought the concept to an even wider audience. Suddenly everyone wants in on the secret.
But there’s more to the story than what’s in the bottle. The habits that show up most consistently across these communities have more to do with how people move through their days, who they share meals with, and whether they wake up with somewhere to be. Here are five ways to bring a little Blue Zone into your everyday life.
1. Move naturally, all day long
Blue Zone centenarians don’t “work out.” They just never stop moving. Research published in the Journal of Population Ageing found the world’s longest-lived people incorporate physical activity into the fabric of daily life — tending gardens, walking to neighbors’ homes and doing housework by hand.
Tony Kasandrinos, founder and co-owner of Kasandrinos, a family-owned Greek extra-virgin olive oil brand, grew up splitting his time between New York and his father’s village of Niata, Greece, and witnessed this firsthand.
“People were always moving, but not because they were following a workout plan. It was just built into life. They were walking uphill through the village, carrying groceries or baskets, working in the garden, picking olives, fixing things, cooking and using their hands all day long,” Kasandrinos tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Movement wasn’t something separate from life; it was life.”
Research backs this up. A 2022 study published in Nature Medicine found that doing physical activities like walking and climbing stairs, was associated with significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death.
2. Get outside
Sun exposure, fresh air and time in nature are woven into the daily rhythms of Blue Zone communities. In Niata, do-Kasandrinos says villagers rose with the sun and spent most of their days outdoors, not as a wellness practice, just as a function of how life worked.
That exposure matters biologically. Sunlight regulates circadian rhythms and drives vitamin D synthesis, which research links to reduced risk of depression, cognitive decline and chronic disease.
Dr. Mark Mitchnick, a pediatrician, co-founder of Burnd suncare company and inventor of transparent zinc oxide in sunscreens, thinks about this a lot. He’s quick to push back on the idea that sun protection means sun avoidance.
“We need to be outside, we were built for it, and the sun is literally part of our biology,” Mitchnick tells the AJC.
Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Mark Mitchnick
Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Mark Mitchnick
His advice is practical: Short exposure during lower UV hours, like early morning or evening, is fine for most people without sunscreen. It’s the extended midday exposure, especially near water, sand, or at high altitude, where a broad-spectrum sunscreen and a hat become important. The pediatrician also notes that the habits we model outdoors matter just as much as the habits we practice.
“Kids pick up their habits from us,” he says. “One of the best things we can do for our kids is to model the right habits that they can naturally imitate.”
But the bottom line is simple.
“Get outside, enjoy yourself, be as active as your body allows, wear a hat and use a good sunscreen,” Mitchnick says.
3. Olive oil is more than a trend
The Mediterranean diet is one of the most studied dietary patterns associated with longevity, and olive oil is its cornerstone.
A 2022 meta-analysis of 13 long-term studies found that people who consumed more olive oil had a 15% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 17% lower risk of dying from any cause — with benefits plateauing at around one and a half tablespoons a day. But it comes with an important asterisk.
Not all olive oil is created equal, and studies (and Kasandrinos) have been saying this long before TikTok made it a trend. Most of what people associate with extra virgin olive oil’s health benefits comes from polyphenols and antioxidants that are only present in oil that’s fresh, properly harvested and minimally processed. A lot of what sits on grocery store shelves has already lost most of that.
“Fresh EVOO has life to it,” Kasandrinos says. “It smells vibrant, tastes grassy or fruity, and usually has a peppery finish that tells you those beneficial compounds are present.”
He recommends looking for extra virgin and organic olive oil with a clear harvest date and a single country of origin — signs you’re getting something with real nutritional integrity rather than a blended, shelf-worn product.
In Greece, Kasandrinos notes, nobody thought of olive oil as a wellness trend.
“It was just a part of everyday life, like water or bread. But it was the foundation of every meal.”
People there consume roughly two to three tablespoons a day, he says. And while some may look sideways at the olive oil shot trend, he says taking a straight spoonful is completely ordinary in Greece. It always has been.
4. Eat together
Blue Zone research consistently points to the social dimension of eating as a longevity factor in its own right. In Niata, Kasandrinos recalls that mealtime was never just about the food.
“You sat down with family, neighbors stopped by, conversation flowed, and nobody was rushing,” he says. “When you eat real food in a setting that brings people together, it feeds more than just your body.”
Science agrees. A 2015 review in Perspectives on Psychological Science found social isolation is one of the strongest predictors of early death, with a risk comparable to smoking. Communal eating, it turns out, is one of the most reliable ways humans build that connection.
5. Have a reason to get up each day
In Okinawa, Japan, there’s a word for it: ikigai, meaning a reason for being. In Nicoya, Costa Rica, it’s plan de vida. The language is different, but the idea shows up in every Blue Zone community Buettner studied. People who live the longest tend to wake up with a purpose. They have friends and family nearby and usually belong to a faith community. His research suggests a strong sense of purpose may add up to seven years of life expectancy, which makes it one of the highest-leverage habits on this entire list.
Kasandrinos watched this play out among the elders of Niata, and it left a mark on him.
“No one was retired in the way we think of it in America,” he says. “Even in their 80s or 90s, people still had a role. They were helping with the harvest, cooking, tending plants, sharing stories, going to church, checking in on family.”
That might be the most useful thing the Blue Zones research has to tell us, and the hardest to replicate with a supplement or a Netflix documentary. It has to be lived.
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