The Blue Zones: Fact VS Fiction

Subconscious Fat in the filming of the Blue Zones

There’s a strange modern obsession with people who live past 100. Never mind that the final decades are often a slow spiral into orthopedic recliners and pharmaceutical cocktails. Longevity, not vitality, has become the holy grail. And no one has packaged this grail better than Dan Buettner and his “Blue Zones.”

Mr. Skeptical rudely interrupts me, “So no #6 C today of carnivorism?”

“No. I may get back to that next week.”

“Good, I was kinda C’d out anyway.”

I give him a dirty look.

Back to the Blue Zones.

You’ve seen the Blue Zone book and watched the Netflix series. Sardinia, Italy: Okinawa, Japan: Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; Loma Linda, California. Places where people live longer, supposedly because they walk a lot, eat chickpeas, and garden until their fingers fall off.

But something feels... off.

Photo by fr0ggy5 on Unsplash

Subconscious Fat at 30,000 Feet

Mr. Skeptical crosses his arms and adds, “Are you about to say Netflix faked the longevity of Loma Linda vegans?”

“No. I’m about to say they framed it. Selectively. Carefully. Suspiciously. Let’s cut to the meat: the Blue Zones do eat meat.”

Mr. Skeptical straightens up. “That’s not what I saw in the series.”

“My point is that meat is not demonized. In fact, in Sardinia and Ikaria, goat and sheep milk, pork, and even organ meats are regular parts of the traditional diet. Okinawan elders? They eat pork—and not the lean kind either. “The Okinawan diet is practically a bacon endorsement. Okinawa has the highest number of supercentenarians (individuals over 110 years old). And not one of them was a vegetarian.”

Mr. Skeptical yells, “I don’t believe you.”

I decide to ignore Mr. Skeptical, but in case you, the reader, side with him, let me provide you with two links to my references, here and here.

Notice that two of the Blue Zones, Sardinia and Okinawa, eat meat at least twice per week. The documentary made it appear like pork in Okinawa was only eaten on special occasions. This was misleading.

Subconscious Fat at 10,000 Feet

The Netflix series does something curious. It emphasizes beans. Grains. Vegetables. And the Seventh-Day Adventist community in Loma Linda, California—the only American Blue Zone—gets an outsized spotlight. Why? Because they’re vegetarian by religious doctrine. Not by longevity science.

And here’s where the plot thickens: in behind-the-scenes interviews and early production leaks, multiple crew members admitted the producers wanted to highlight plant-based lifestyles as the unifying longevity factor—even when it wasn’t. In Sardinia, for example, they avoided filming local butchers and instead focused on centenarians making minestrone.

Mr. Skeptical has calmed down but adds, “Wait, are you saying Netflix made minestrone look like an immortality potion?”

“Yes. And they edited out the lamb stew on the next table. And I know this can be hard to believe, so here is another reference where it shows via video Buettner saying:

We made the decision to stay 100% plant-based within our Blue Zone family.

Notice India, which eats very little meat, has an average life expectancy of 70. China has 77, but Hong Kong is known for having the highest life expectancy in the world at 85.77. Hong Kong, along with Argentina and Uruguay, is one of the top three meat-eating places on Earth.

Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level

Here's a contrarian take: Blue Zone longevity isn’t about tofu—it’s about tradition.

These people walk. They squat. They move their bodies constantly and don’t outsource every task to machines. They have tight social circles. They experience real community. They don’t live under fluorescent lights at 2 a.m., doomscrolling Instagram. Their diets? They’re whole, unprocessed, and—yes—include animal products.

“But what about all the beans and whole grains?” asks Mr. Skeptical.

“Sure, they eat those. But without seed oils. Without Pop-Tarts. Without synthetic soy lecithin sludge. And usually alongside local cheese, broth, and meat. It’s not veganism that keeps them alive. It’s anti-modernism.”

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Practical Suggestions and Conclusions

If you want to live like a Blue Zoner, don’t ditch the steak. Ditch the DoorDash. Eat real food. Lift heavy things, or even better, use bands to build muscle. Go outside. Build a tribe.

And the next time you watch a glossy Netflix doc, remember: someone edited that scene. Just like they edited out the pig’s head soup.

Mr. Skeptical sighs, "So you're telling me I should celebrate my next birthday with goat cheese and lamb stew instead of lentil loaf?"

“Exactly. Just don’t invite the Netflix crew.”

Be Aware.

Other links related to this post: 

Who was Dr. John Harvey Kellogg? 

Can Too Much Meat be Bad for You?

Horses

PS Links on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Full disclosure: Chat GPT was used to research and enhance this post.