Lessons from Costa Rica's Basic Health Teams

Back in 2005 Dan Buettner patented Blue Zones. He’s written 9 books, of which 5 were NY Times bestsellers, and has another one in the works. His 2023 Netflix documentary series “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones” won Emmy awards and was widely viewed. Many of the main points that Dan has emphasized over the years—healthy diet (he highlighted whole grains, beans, nuts, greens, and “peasant food” here), physical activity, social engagement, and sense of purpose—are backed up by randomized trials and/or large, prospective studies, as I reviewed in Super Agers.

In this interview, I asked Dan about the critique he’s faced, predominantly from Saul Newman, a biologist in the UK, about accuracy of the data for extreme longevity in the blue zones. In December 2025, two of his collaborators published in The Gerontologist a rebuttal response (open-access) entitled “The validity of Blue Zones demography: a response to critiques” on the rigorous demographic work they’ve done.

We also discussed the marketing and business operations of Blue Zones LLC, the company he sold to Adventist Health in 2020. His son, Danny, is the EVP of the company and likely successor to Dan’s work in the future. As Dan said, “He’s my genetic upgrade.”

I hope you find this conversation informative. An AI-generated transcript is available in the tab at top right above.

Some biomedical updates from the past week:

* A vaccine to prevent colon cancer in carriers of mutations of Lynch Syndrome looks good for strong immune response and safety, ready for Phase 3 clinical trials

* A review of the data of Tylenol during pregnancy reaffirms its safety and lack of increased risk for autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability.

* Our perspective/review on how AI and large language models can reduce global health inequities

* Another big jump vs refractory autoimmune diseases, this time for hemolytic anemia, using engineered T cells. See my recent review of this topic, from treatment to cures.

* A pair of new large prospective cohort studies that reinforce the importance of even small increases in physical activity, along with sleep and diet, for reduction all-cause mortality and improvement in healthspan.

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Thank you Annie Fenn, MD, Harshi Peiris, Ph.D., Strategy Shots, Rebecca Moore, Lynn L, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dan Buettner! Join me for my next live video in the app.