Blue Zones discoverer Dan Buettner to discuss longevity eating habits at Global Wellness Summit 2022

Dan Buettner, the discoverer of Blue Zones – areas where people live longer and experience better quality of life – is to give a keynote speech at this year’s Global Wellness Summit (GWS), taking place from October 31-November 3 in Tel Aviv, Israel. 

Blue Zones

Buettner first spoke at the 2018 GWS in Italy. A noted explorer, National Geographic fellow, author and award-winning journalist, he has been researching Blue Zone communities since 2004, identifying five examples in Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California.

In the 18 years since, Buettner has discovered that the longevity of these communities isn’t based on punishing health and fitness regimes or self-discipline, but rather the holistic eco-systems that make healthy choices easy, nudging residents towards daily movement, plant-based diets, strong social connections and a sense of purpose.

Longevity diets

In his keynote speech, Buettner present his new research on longevity diets, specifically how and what the world’s longest-living people eat, as well as how a restoration of specific, traditional healthy eating subcultures around the world could save trillions of dollars in yearly healthcare costs. 

Finally, Buettner will share insights from his new book, Blue Zones American Kitchen. To be released in December 2022, Blue Zones American Kitchen, uncovers the traditional roots of plant-forward cuisine in the US and explores the cultures shaping the country’s healthiest eating landscapes, recognising plant-forward communities, such as the Hmong in Minnesota and Quakers in New England. 

A four-part documentary series sharing lessons from Blue Zones,is set to premiere in early 2023. 

Lynchpins of longevity 

“Dan wowed delegates at the 2018 Summit and we’re thrilled to have him share his latest research this year,” says GWS chair and CEO, Susie Ellis. 

“His work on how total environment and culture are the lynchpins of longevity and is increasingly changing the way the world thinks about health, wellness, prevention and ageing. It’s also having a growing impact on public policy, wellness community design and longevity science – all big topics at this year’s conference.” 

“The overwhelming finding from my many years of research is that the path to a long and happy life is not about changing your habits, it’s about changing your surroundings,” says Buettner.

“Leaders in public policy, architecture and design, wellness real estate and hospitality that will gather at the conference now have the greatest opportunity to architect communities and environments so that people’s daily decisions are naturally the healthy ones.

“I’m so happy to return to the Summit. I’ve given thousands of speeches in the last decade and I rarely return to a conference, but I had more fun at the GWS in Italy than I’ve had at any conference ever,” he added. 

Longevity science

With the longevity science market forecast to reach $600 billion by 2025, the subject is set to be a key topic at this year’s GWS. 

Buettner will be joined by several experts joining medical experts such as Shai Efrati, MD, director of the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine in Tel Aviv, who will deliver a talk on how hyperbaric oxygen treatments have been shown to reverse the biology of ageing, and Tzipora Strauss, MD, who is co-leading a longevity medicine research centre the Sheba University in Israel.

GWS 2022

The 2022 edition of the GWS will take place at the Hilton Tel Aviv in Israel between October 31 and November 3. 

The event will explore the theme of ‘Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open for Business’, with a roster of expert speakers sharing the latest thinking set to positively shape the future of the $4.4 trillion wellness industry. 

Announced speakers include Levi Shapiro, founder of mHealth, Israel’s largest community of health-tech innovators, and Aradhana Khowala, chairwoman of the Advisory Board for Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Project, one of the world’s most regenerative tourism projects to date. 

The line-up will also include talks from Michelle Williams, dean of the faculty at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Rick Stollmeyer, founder of Mindbody, a wellness experience platform worth nearly $2 billion, with more speakers to be announced in due course.

Long-time media partner European Spa will be providing coverage of the event, so be sure to check back for the latest updates