7 habits to live a healthier life, inspired by the world's longest-lived communities

At a time when life expectancy in the U.S. has dipped and diet-related disease is a leading cause of death, it's no wonder that Dan Buettner's decades-long exploration of centenarians who thrive in the longest-lived communities on Earth is attracting a ton of attention.

His new Netflix documentary, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, is trending as a top streaming pick. In it, there's an evocative scene, set against the backdrop of the turquoise waters and sugar-sand beaches of Okinawa, a subtropical archipelago about 1,000 miles south of Tokyo.

Compared with Americans, people in Okinawa are about three times more likely to reach their 100th birthday, according to Buettner's research. He introduces us to centenarians who garden, cook, sing, laugh and play. Their weathered skin and slow gaits don't stop them from living fully, albeit simply.

There are equally beautiful scenes from other long-lived communities, which Buettner calls "blue zones," including Ikaria, an island off the coast of Greece in the Aegean Sea, and the mountain villages of Sardinia, off the coast of Italy.

As a viewer and reader — is the companion book that Buettner