Netflix just released a 4 episode series on the subject titled “Live to 100 – Secrets of Blue Zones” (click here.)
It reminded me of something I heard recently in an interview with a Gerontologist who stated that longevity was a matter of three factors – diet, exercise and genes with genes being the key determinant. She said that all of the dieting and exercising in the world wouldn’t get you to a ripe old age if the genes weren’t good to begin with. (Note – this led the Ridge-boy in me to conclude “Well then, screw all that dieting and exercising, I’ll take my chances on the genes!”)
I had done a previous Buzzyblog post on Blue Zones discussing a number of folks in the Ridge area who were in their 80’s and 90’s and still active (click here.) Of the several folks I mentioned in that post however, only Charlie Simms (96) is still around today.
Neil (77) and Willie (90) at Farm Aid 1997: