Written by Dan Buettner

Oprah makes things look so easy. The Blue Zones show we did together - which will air Tuesday, November 25 - will reveal the nine secrets of the world's longest-lived people. But the preparation for it took seven years of research. This blog is an account of just one chapter of that story: exploring the Costa Rican Blue Zone with Dr. Oz. Read this and you'll see a different side to Dr. Oz, one that will likely surprise you as it did me.

I wanted to show Oprah's audience how centenarians had lived most of their lives. Our plan was to hike to the home of a legendary persnickety 97-year old named Aristide. His house was hidden in the jungle with no running water or electricity and surrounded by corn-and-bean fields. It's a place that looked like the last 50 years hadn't happened. I didn't foresee the adventure that lay ahead of us.

Jorge Vindas, our guide pointed to the San Juan's cloud-shrouded mountain and said, "It's going to be pouring rain." Oz, producer Leslie Grisanti, two cameramen, a soundman, and I started off across the cow pasture towards Aristide's house that was hiding in a cluster of trees over the ridge. Five minutes into the trek, it started to rain. It wasn't a gentle shower; the clouds unleashed its watery wrath upon us. This was not a bid deal for Oz or me, but for the cameramen and sound people, who schlepped over $100K of electronics on their shoulders, it was a disaster. One camera instantly short-circuited and the sound mixer fried.

Written by Dan Buettner

Preparing and taping for the Oprah show (airing November 25th) teaches you to condense every idea, no matter how complex, to short sound bites. Talk shows want news "you can use." And then they break for a commercial.

In my book, The Blue Zones, I take 38 pages to explain the nine common denominators of the world's longest-lived people (the Power 9). An average reader could read the whole book in two hours. Most people just want the ten things they could do to live longer and stay younger.

So, here's Blue Zones Top Ten for TV. Do them, and you can add up to 14 good years to your life and stay younger along the way:

1. De-convenience your home – lose the remote, buy a light garage door and lift it yourself, use a shovel instead of a snowblower
2. Eat Nuts – Have a can of nuts around your office or home, eat a handful daily
3. Drink Sardinian wine – Sardinian canonau wine has the world's highest levels of antioxidants. Drink a glass or two a day
4. Play with your children – this is excellent low intensity exercise and will strenthen a family. Both associated with longer life expectancy
5. Grow a Garden – This proven stress reducer will put your body through the range of motion and yield fresh vegtables
6. Hour of Power – Downshift daily with a nap, meditation, prayer or a quiet walk--destressing is a proven way to slow aging
7. Eat Tofu – Arguably the world's most perfect food, eaten by the world's longest lived women. Contains a plant estrogen that makes skin look younger
8. Get a Tan – Doctors are rethinking the notion of slathering yourself with sunscreen. Up to half of Americans are Vitamin D deficient--a condition that can double your chance of dying in any given year. A tan not only looks healthy, it is.
9. Donate your large dinner plates  – eat off 9 inch plates as the Okinawans do and reduce calorie consumption at dinner by 20-30%
10. Write Down your Personal Mission – Know and putting into practice your sense of purpose can give you up to a decade of good life.

Written by Siddarth Saikia

"A useless life is an Early Death"  -Goethe

The quote by the legendary German writer and philosopher was made in the early 19th century, but new research shows that he may have been onto something. A 2005 study that followed 12,640 middle-aged Hungarians found that those who felt their lives had meaning had significantly lower rates of cancer and heart disease.

The importance of having some sort of purpose to your life has often been highlighted in this blog. Basically it means finding a meaningful reason to get out of bed in the morning. The two most fatally dangerous years of your life are the year you were born and the year you retire. Losing an everyday purpose goes beyond mental well being. Today numerous studies are connecting mental health, particularly stress, with physiological symptoms and diseases. A lack of purpose is similar, a mental issue that can have seriously adverse effects on your body.

Luckily for us, Dan Buettner has provided some tips for finding purpose in our lives. The explorer, Guinness World Record holder and New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Zones recently wrote an article for AARP about purpose and it's importance in attaining longevity. Work, Religion and Volunteering are the three most common avenues of finding purpose and Buettner goes in depth into their importance while providing helpful and scientifically backed tips about how to find our own unique purpose in life.  

Give the article a read here.

Written by Michelle Albert

It's not too difficult. Just be sure to include these foods and beverages on your table, and you can feel good about the health benefits of these Thanksgiving staples and practice the healthy eating found in the Blue Zones.

Red wine (Sardinia), apple pie made with red delicious apples and cinnamon: These foods are rich in procyanidins, which are a class of flavonoid that has been linked to heart health. The red wine commonly enjoyed in Sardinia has two to three the amount of procyanidins as other wines.

Sweet potatoes (Okinawa): A staple food for Okinawans until recently, these tubers are rich in antioxidants in the form of beta-carotene and vitamin C. For real authenticity, see if you can find the purple Okinawan variety.

Goat cheese or pecorino cheese (Sardinia):Along with some whole-grain crackers, serve some goat or pecorino cheese. Both are eaten in Sardinia, and pecorino cheese is high in omega-3 fatty acids and both cheeses are excellent sources of calcium and protein.

Tofurkey (Loma Linda):Many of the Seventh-day Adventists of Loma Linda, California, don't eat meat, and their plant-based diet offers many benefits in the form of longer (and healthier) life. Branch out if you are so inclined and serve a tofu turkey.

Take a walk (all Blue Zones):All the Blue Zones populations get outdoors, naturally. So after your meal, gather up your friends and family and take a walk. The exercise (and sunshine if it is sunny) is the perfect way to end your celebration.

Written by Kathryn Savage

What does love, marriage, and belonging to a core group of friends have in common? Evidently, the health of your brain. Studies show that socializing may prevent against memory loss. Consequently, the loss of a spouse - and presumed isolation - increases risk for developing dementia. Much like muscles that need to be toned to stay fit, we're social creatures, and our brains need stimulation to stay healthy.

Recent research indicates that marriage and divorce increase Alzheimer’s risk. Scientists have found that coupled-up middle age adults, whether married or living with a partner, were 50 percent less likely to develop “dementia during their older years than people living alone.”