established that only about 10 percent

有個丹麥雙胞胎的研究

of how long the average person lives,

證實在某種生物限制下

within certain biological limits, is dictated by our genes.

人平均能活多久

The other 90 percent is dictated by our lifestyle.

只有百分之十是基因所決定

So the premise of Blue Zones: if we can find the

其他百分之九十是由生活方式決定

optimal lifestyle of longevity

所以藍寶地的前提是：如果我們能找到

we can come up with a de facto formula

長壽的最佳生活方式

for longevity.

我們就能得出一個實際的方法

But if you ask the average American what the optimal formula

來增長壽命

of longevity is, they probably couldn't tell you.

不過假如你問一般美國人,長壽的方法是什麼

They've probably heard of the South Beach Diet, or the Atkins Diet.

他們大概說不出來

You have the USDA food pyramid.

他們可能聽說過南灘減肥法或阿金減肥法

There is what Oprah tells us.

還有美國農業部提供的食物金字塔

There is what Doctor Oz tells us.

歐普拉說要這樣做

The fact of the matter is there is a lot of confusion

歐茲博士說要那樣做

around what really helps us live longer better.

問題就在於意見太多

Should you be running marathons or doing yoga?

混淆了真能幫助我們活得又好又久的方法

Should you eat organic meats

你應該跑馬拉松還是做瑜珈？

or should you be eating tofu?

應該吃有機肉

When it comes to supplements, should you be taking them?

還是豆腐？

How about these hormones or resveratrol?

說到營養食品,你該吃嗎？

And does purpose play into it?

荷爾蒙或白藜蘆醇（紅酒裡的抗氧化物質）呢？

Spirituality? And how about how we socialize?

做這些事有意義嗎？

Well, our approach to finding longevity

精神上呢？我們又該如何跟人相處？

was to team up with National Geographic,

好,我們研究長壽的方法

and the National Institute on Aging,

是跟國家地理

to find the four demographically confirmed areas

還有國家老化研究院合作

that are geographically defined.

找出四個人口確定

And then bring a team of experts in there

地理界線分明的區堿

to methodically go through exactly what these people do,

然後進駐一隊專家

to distill down the cross-cultural distillation.

仔細看看那邊的人都從事什麼活動

And at the end of this I'm going to tell you what that distillation is.

而來萃取出跨文化的精華

But first I'd like to debunk some common myths

演講最後我會告訴你們精華是什麼

when it comes to longevity.

不過首先我要破除一些常見的迷思

And the first myth is if you try really hard

長壽的迷思

you can live to be 100.

第一項迷思是：只要很努力

False.

就能活到一百歲

The problem is, only about one out of 5,000 people

錯

in America live to be 100.

困難就在,美國只有五千分之一的人

Your chances are very low.

能活到一百歲

Even though it's the fastest growing demographic in America,

你的機會非常小

it's hard to reach 100.

雖然這是美國成長最快的數據

The problem is

還是很難達到一百歲

that we're not programmed for longevity.

問題就在於

We are programmed for something called

人類並非長壽的動物

procreative success.

我們生而為一種叫做

I love that word.

成功繁衍的動物

It reminds me of my college days.

我愛這個字眼

Biologists term procreative success to mean

它讓我想起大學生活

the age where you have children

生物學家把這個詞定義為

and then another generation, the age when your children have children.

我們有了孩子時的年齡

After that the effect of evolution

然後下一代,當我們的孩子也有了孩子時的年齡

completely dissipates.

直到演化的效應

If you're a mammal, if you're a rat

完全消失為止

or an elephant, or a human, in between, it's the same story.

假如你是哺乳類,假如你是隻老鼠

So to make it to age 100, you not only have to have

或是大象、人、或之間任何生物都是一樣

had a very good lifestyle, you also have to have won

要活到一百歲,你不僅得有個

the genetic lottery.

良好的生活方式,你還得抽中

The second myth is,

基因頭彩

there are treatments that can help slow,

第二項迷思是

reverse, or even stop aging.

有療程能減緩

False.

反轉、甚至停止老化

When you think of it, there is 99 things that can age us.

錯

Deprive your brain of oxygen for just a few minutes,

仔細想,就知道有九十九件事能讓我們老化

those brain cells die, they never come back.

只要你的腦袋缺氧幾分鐘

Play tennis too hard, on your knees, ruin your cartilage,

腦細胞就會死,從不復返

the cartilage never comes back.

打網球太激烈,膝蓋的軟骨組織就會受傷

Our arteries can clog. Our brains can gunk up with plaque,

軟骨也一去不回

and we can get Alzheimer's.

我們的動脈會堵塞,腦斑會沉積在腦裡

There is just too many things to go wrong.

我們還會得老年癡呆症

Our bodies have 35 trillion cells,

有太多事會出錯了

trillion with a "T." We're talking national debt numbers here.

人的身體有三十五兆個細胞

(Laughter)

t開頭的trillion,我們現在其實是討論國債

Those cells turn themselves over once every eight years.

（笑聲）

And every time they turn themselves over

這些細胞每八年更新一次

there is some damage. And that damage builds up.

每次更新

And it builds up exponentially.

就會有所損傷,而傷害會累積

It's a little bit like the days when we all had

累積以指數方式成長

Beatles albums or Eagles albums

有點像以前我們都擁有

and we'd make a copy of that on a cassette tape,

披頭四或老鷹合唱團的唱片

and let our friends copy that cassette tape,

我們會拷貝一份到錄音帶上

and pretty soon, with successive generations

再讓朋友拷貝錄音帶

that tape sounds like garbage.

很快地,代代相傳

Well, the same things happen to our cells.

錄音帶就聽起來跟垃圾沒兩樣

That's why a 65-year-old person

同樣的事也發生在我們的細胞上

is aging at a rate of about

這就是為什麼一個六十五歲的人

125 times faster

老化的速率

than a 12-year-old person.

比一個十二歲的人

So, if there is nothing you can do

快一百二十五倍

to slow your aging or stop your aging,

那麼,如果我們做什麼都不能

what am I doing here?

減緩或停止老化

Well, the fact of the matter is

那我在這裡幹嘛？

the best science tells us that the capacity of the human body,

嗯,事實上

my body, your body,

最厲害的科學告訴我們說人體的限度

is about 90 years,

我的身體，你的身體

a little bit more for women.

大約可用九十年

But life expectancy in this country

女人久一點

is only 78.

但我們國家的預期壽命

So somewhere along the line,

只有七十八歲

we're leaving about 12 good years on the table.

所以是我們在生命中某個時候

These are years that we could get.

擱置了十二年美好的光陰

And research shows that they would be years largely free of chronic disease,

我們可以把這些日子討回來

heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

研究也顯示這些歲月大部份能不受慢性病所苦

We think the best way to get these missing years

心臟病、癌症跟糖尿病

is to look at the cultures around the world

我們認為收回這些消失光陰最好的方法

that are actually experiencing them,

就是看看世界各地的文化

areas where people are living to age 100

有實際經驗的文化

at rates up to 10 times greater than we are,

人能活到一百歲的比率

areas where the life expectancy

比我們多出最多十倍的地方

is an extra dozen years,

那些預期壽命

the rate of middle age mortality is a fraction

多出十二年

of what it is in this country.

而中年死亡率相對於我們

We found our first Blue Zone about 125 miles

只是個分數的地方

off the coast of Italy, on the island of Sardinia.

我們發現的第一個藍寶地是在

And not the entire island, the island is about 1.4 million people,

義大利海岸外約一百二十五英哩處，薩丁尼亞島上

but only up in the highlands, an area called the Nuoro province.

不是整座島，整座島約有一百四十萬人

And here we have this area where men live the longest,

而是在高地上，一個叫努奧羅省的地方

about 10 times more centenarians than we have here in America.

這裡的人最長壽

And this is a place where people not only reach age 100,

百歲人瑞的數目大約比美國多出十倍

they do so with extraordinary vigor.

這裡的人不僅活到一百歲而已

Places where 102 year olds still ride their bike to work,

他們還非常有活力

chop wood, and can beat a guy 60 years younger than them.

一百零二歲的老人仍舊騎腳踏車去工作

(Laughter)

砍柴，還能打敗比自己年輕六十歲的小夥子

Their history actually goes back to about the time of Christ.

（笑聲）

It's actually a Bronze Age culture that's been isolated.

他們的歷史實際上能回溯到大約基督的時代

Because the land is so infertile,

那是個孤立的青銅器文化

they largely are shepherds,

因為土地非常貧瘠

which occasions regular, low-intensity physical activity.

所以大部份都是牧羊人

Their diet is mostly plant-based,

勞力活動規律而不激烈

accentuated with foods that they can carry into the fields.

他們的飲食多以植物為主

They came up with an unleavened whole wheat bread

特別是能帶到牧場上的食物

called carta musica made out of durum wheat,

他們想出一種未發酵的全麥麵包

a type of cheese made from grass-fed animals

叫做notamusica,用硬粒小麥製作

so the cheese is high in Omega-3 fatty acids

和一種乳酪,來自青草餵養的動物

instead of Omega-6 fatty acids from corn-fed animals,

所以這種乳酪富含 Omega-3 脂肪酸

and a type of wine that has three times the level

而非 Omega-6 脂肪酸，來自穀物餵養的動物

of polyphenols than any known wine in the world.

還有一種葡萄酒，它的多酚物質含量

It's called Cannonau.

比世界所知的任何酒都多三倍

But the real secret I think lies more

叫做 Cannonau

in the way that they organize their society.

不過我想真正的秘訣主要是

And one of the most salient elements of the Sardinian society

他們組織社會的方式

is how they treat older people.

薩丁尼亞社會最突出的部份之一

You ever notice here in America, social equity

就是他們對待老人家的方式

seems to peak at about age 24?

你有沒有注意到在美國，社會權益

Just look at the advertisements.

似乎二十四歲就到頂點了？

Here in Sardinia, the older you get

只要瞧瞧那些廣告就知道

the more equity you have,

而在薩丁尼亞，你愈老

the more wisdom you're celebrated for.

享有的權益愈多

You go into the bars in Sardinia,

愈因智慧而受愛戴

instead of seeing the Sports Illustrated swimsuit calendar,

走進薩丁尼亞的酒吧

you see the centenarian of the month calendar.

你看不到運動畫刊的泳裝日曆

This, as it turns out, is not only good for your aging parents

而是看到百歲人瑞的月曆

to keep them close to the family --

事實證明，這不只讓老邁的父母

it imparts about four to six years of extra life expectancy --

跟家人更親近

research shows it's also good for the children of those families,

還增加預期壽命四到六年

who have lower rates of mortality and lower rates of disease.

研究顯示這對家中的小孩也有益處

That's called the grandmother effect.

死亡率和生病的比例都比較低

We found our second Blue Zone

這叫做祖母效應

on the other side of the planet,

我們找到的第二個藍寶地

about 800 miles south of Tokyo,

在地球另一邊

on the archipelago of Okinawa.

大約位於東京南方八百英哩處

Okinawa is actually 161 small islands.

的琉球群島上

And in the northern part of the main island,

琉球實際上是一百六十一個小島組成

this is ground zero for world longevity.

而主島的北端

This is a place where the oldest living female population is found.

是世界長壽的原點

It's a place where people have the longest disability-free

世界上最老的女性就是在這裡發現

life expectancy in the world.

這裡的人有著世界上最長

They have what we want.

而無障礙的預期壽命

They live a long time, and tend to die in their sleep,

他們有我們想要的

very quickly,

活很久,往往在夢裡過世

and often, I can tell you, after sex.

死得快

They live about seven good years longer than the average American.

而且我跟你講，常在做愛後

Five times as many centenarians as we have in America.

他們比一般美國人多快活七年

One fifth the rate of colon and breast cancer,

有五倍於美國的百歲人瑞

big killers here in America.

得結腸癌跟乳癌的比例是我們的五分之一

And one sixth the rate of cardiovascular disease.

兩者都是美國人的大剋星

And the fact that this culture has yielded these numbers

心血管疾病的比例是我們的六分之一

suggests strongly they have something to teach us.

這裡的文化能有這樣的成績

What do they do?

明顯表示有些事他們能教我們

Once again, a plant-based diet,

他們是怎麼做的？

full of vegetables with lots of color in them.

同樣地,植物為主的飲食

And they eat about eight times as much tofu

富有多種顏色的蔬菜

as Americans do.

而他們吃大約八倍多的豆腐

More significant than what they eat is how they eat it.

比起美國人來說

They have all kinds of little strategies

比起吃什麼來說,吃的方式更重要

to keep from overeating,

他們有各種小技巧

which, as you know, is a big problem here in America.

來避免過食

A few of the strategies we observed:

而你們都知道，這在美國是大問題

they eat off of smaller plates, so they tend to eat fewer calories at every sitting.

我們觀察到的一些技巧：

Instead of serving family style,

他們吃飯的碟子比較小,所以每次用餐攝取的卡路里也就較少

where you can sort of mindlessly eat as you're talking,

不以家庭聚餐的型式

they serve at the counter, put the food away,

邊講話邊隨意吃的那種

and then bring it to the table.

而是在櫃檯上菜,遠離飯菜

They also have a 3,000-year-old adage,

再端上桌

which I think is the greatest sort of diet suggestion ever invented.

他們還有一句流傳三千年的格言

It was invented by Confucius.

我認為是所有飲食建議中最好的

And that diet is known as the Hara, Hatchi, Bu diet.

是孔子想出來的

It's simply a little saying these people say before their meal

被稱為腹八分飲食法

to remind them to stop eating when their stomach is [80] percent full.

是他們用餐前說的一句話

It takes about a half hour for that full feeling

來提醒自己吃到八分飽就好

to travel from your belly to your brain.

飽足感要花半小時

And by remembering to stop at 80 percent

才能從肚子傳到腦袋

it helps keep you from doing that very thing.

藉由記住吃到八分飽就好

But, like Sardinia, Okinawa has a few social constructs

就能幫助你不會吃過量

that we can associate with longevity.

而就像薩丁尼亞,琉球有些社會結構

We know that isolation kills.

跟長壽相關

Fifteen years ago, the average American had three good friends.

我們都知道孤單會害死人

We're down to one and half right now.

十五年前美國人平均有三個好朋友

If you were lucky enough to be born in Okinawa,

現在我們只有一個半

you were born into a system where you

假如你夠幸運生在琉球

automatically have a half a dozen friends

你會生在一種體系裡

with whom you travel through life.

讓你自動擁有半打朋友

They call it a Moai. And if you're in a Moai

與他們共同生活

you're expected to share the bounty if you encounter luck,

他們稱為模合,假如你處於某個模合

and if things go bad,

走運時別人會期待你慷慨分享

child gets sick, parent dies,

假如不幸的話

you always have somebody who has your back.

孩子生病、父母去世

This particular Moai, these five ladies

總有人會在背後支持你

have been together for 97 years.

這個「模合」,這五個女士

Their average age is 102.

相處在一起九十七年了

Typically in America

她們的平均年齡是一百零二歲

we've divided our adult life up into two sections.

通常在美國

There is our work life,

我們會把成人生活分成兩段

where we're productive.

一段是工作

And then one day, boom, we retire.

我們充滿生產力

And typically that has meant

接著有一天,碰,我們退休

retiring to the easy chair,

通常這指的就是

or going down to Arizona to play golf.

在安樂椅上睡覺

In the Okinawan language there is not even

或去亞歷桑那州打高爾夫

a word for retirement.

在琉球語裡甚至沒有

Instead there is one word

退休這個詞

that imbues your entire life,

反而是有個詞

and that word is "ikigai."

盈繞你一生

And, roughly translated, it means

這個詞是「生き甲斐」(生存的價值)

"the reason for which you wake up in the morning."

粗略的翻譯是：

For this 102-year-old karate master,

「早上起床的理由」

his ikigai was carrying forth this martial art.

對這位一百零二歲的空手道師父來說

For this hundred-year-old fisherman

他的生存價值就是發揚武術

it was continuing to catch fish for his family three times a week.