Blue Zones Project - Monterey County

Blue Zones Project is a community-wide well-being improvement initiative to help make healthy choices easier for everyone in our community. Blue Zones Project encourages changes in our community that lead to healthier options. When our entire community participates – from our worksites and schools to our restaurants and grocery stores – the small changes contribute to huge benefits for all of us: lowered healthcare costs, improved productivity, and ultimately, a higher quality of life. HISTORY OF BLUE ZONES What began as a New York Times bestseller by National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner has evolved into a global movement that's inspiring people to live longer, more active lives with lower rates of chronic disease. From Sardinia, Italy, to Okinawa, Japan, to Loma Linda, California, people are living vibrant, active lives well into their hundreds. Buettner calls these areas Blue Zones and they're the inspiration behind his book, The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest. Buettner's research, along with a global longevity study, have led to a program that helps us live longer, healthier, and happier lives. LIVE LONGER BY APPLYING THESE PRINCIPLES FROM THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED THE LONGEST. 1- Move Naturally (be active without having to think about it) 2- Know Your Purpose 3- Down Shift (slow down daily, rest, take vacation) 4- 80% Rule (stop eating when you are 80% full) 5- Plant Slant (eat more veggies, less meat and processed foods) 6- Wine @ Five (one alcoholic beverage a day with friends) 7- Right Tribe (create a healthy social network) 8- Community (be part of a spiritual community) 9- Loved Ones First (make family a priority)