Most of us strive to live long, happy, healthy lives, but unfortunately Dan Buettner said that "life expectancy in our country is not only 78 years old.” According to his research, we have the capacity to live to around 90 years old, so how did we lose 12 years of our life? Buettner attempts to answer this question in his presentation; but let's be clear, our genetics only play a small role in this. The Danish twin study has already recognized that our genetics only play a 10% role in our longevity; the other 90 percent is under our control, so the idea that someone has to win the "genetic lottery" to live a long time is somewhat of a myth. The blue zones mentioned by Buettner during his seminar show a correlation in how their diet and lifestyle habits help them live to be 100 years old with vigor. Sardinia, Italy is the first blue zone examined in his seminar and the first thing we noticed is that there are "10 times more centenarians than we have here in America." We would like to think that these people are frail, but on the contrary, these individuals have more energy and vigor than most people their age here in America. When we examine their lifestyles, we notice that they engage in “regular, low-intensity physical [activities]” as these individuals are largely herders. Their diet is primarily plant-based, accentuated by foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids as well as polyphenols. Beyond their food and daily regimen, Sardinians treat their elders differently than we do here in America. Sardinians are celebrated for their age and wisdom rather than their youth, they also maintain a close-knit, close-knit family that seems to add several years to their life expectancy.Okinawa, Tokyo...... middle of paper. .. ...several things that we can take with us in order to extend our life expectancy and have a very fulfilling life. The first would be a plant-based diet, rich in omega-3, polyphenols and other beneficial nutrients, but in moderation. The second is regular, low-intensity physical activity; Most of these Blue Zone communities do not conduct “training” in the traditional sense. This means they take regular walks and do household chores every day to stay active. The last thing we can remember is the community structure, they are very family oriented and tend to belong to a faith community which, according to Buettner's research, gives them "four and 14 years of extra life expectancy" . These communities also have a backsliding regime in which they will step back, reflect, meditate and dedicate some time to themselves..