We’re all frequently (and often painfully) reminded about all the things that can shorten our life expectancy: too many processed foods; not enough exercise, to name but two. But now, a new Netflix documentary, created by bestselling author Dan Buettner, explores not what destroys us, but what can help us live to a ripe old age. Buettner has spent the past 20 years locating and then researching five communities across the world which he identified as having the highest rates of longevity and good health. These areas – located in Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California – are now known as “Blue Zones”, and are the subject of his fascinating four-part series. Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zonesof the Blue Zones, which premieres on 30 August, follows the award-winning journalist as he gets to know the people who hold the secrets to living well into their 100s. Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones | Official Trailer | Netflix www.youtube.com After years of studying these Blue Zone inhabitants, Buettner and his team of demographers, anthropoligists, medics and epidemiologists managed to pinpoint nine lifestyle habits that are consistent across all five populations. They have dubbed these the “Power 9”, and they form the heart of the new docu-series. So what are these nine habits? And can anyone adopt them, regardless of their postcode? 1. Move Naturally We all know the importance of keeping fit but, according to Buettner, the world’s longest-lived people “don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms”. “Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it,” he and his colleagues state on the website for their Blue Zones organisation. These groups don’t rely on machines to do their housework, they grow gardens and tend to all their chores by hand. 2. Have a sense of purpose Having a sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy, the Blue Zones team has concluded. Knowing why you wake up in the morning is crucial to making the most of your life. 3. Eliminate stress Everyone suffers from stress, even the people who live in Blue Zones, and stress leads to chronic inflammation which is associated with every major age-related disease. However, the difference between how many of us cope with stress and how these communities do is that they take active steps to “shed” it. “Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists (who live in Loma Linda, California) pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour,” Buettner says. 4. Eat till you're 80 per cent full Okinawans understand the importance of not overeating. Indeed, they constantly remind themselves to stop eating when they’re 80 per cent full. The 20 per cent gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it, according to the Blue Zones team. They note that people in the five communities eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then don’t eat anymore for the rest of the day. 5. Go plant-based Sorry, meat lovers, but if you want to live longer, you need to cut back. Beans, including fava, black, soy and lentils, are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets and meat (mostly pork) is eaten on average only five times per month. Serving sizes are 85g-115g, which is definitely a lot less than most of us get through in one sitting. 6. Enjoy your evening wine Good news for those of us who enjoy an evening tipple: People in all Blue Zones (except the Californian Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly. Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers, Buettner claims, however, he states: “The trick is to drink 1-2 glasses per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. “And no, you can’t save up all week and have 14 drinks on Saturday.” 7. Belong to a community Buettner and his team have interviewed 263 centenarians over the years and all but five of them belonged to some faith-based community. The denomination doesn’t seem to matter, however, attending faith-based services four times per month will add between four and 14 years to your life, research suggests. 8. Put your loved ones first “You do you” may be the mantra for many Western communities in particular, but Blue Zoners put their families first. “This means keeping ageing parents and grandparents nearby or in the home ([which] lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too.)” Buettner states, as well as committing to a life partner. It also means investing time and love in your kids, who are then more likely to care for you later on. 9. Surround yourself with good friends Social networks are key. And no, we don’t mean Facebook. The world’s longest-living people are part of friendship groups that commit to each other and encourage each other to follow healthy behaviours. Studies suggest that smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness are contagious, so if you surround yourself with happy and healthy people, you’re more likely to enjoy the same benefits. Conclusion So if we follow these “Power 9” habits, we’ll all live to 100? Not necessarily. Buettner has conceded that “to make it to age 100, you have to have won the genetic lottery”. However, he also stresses that “most of us have the capacity to make it well into our early 90s and largely without chronic disease” if we adopt a Blue Zones lifestyle. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. 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Ryan Reynolds appeared to troll celebrity pal Taylor Swift over recent rumours that she's dating The 1975's Matty Healy. In a post to his Instagram Stories, the 'Deadpool' actor shared a selfie of himself and chose to include The 1975’s hit song "Chocolate," for the music. There was also a caption: "Zoom Zoom," that appeared on Reynolds's forehead, in what can only be described as a random post with no context whatsoever. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter While Swift herself wasn't not mentioned in the Insta story, it hasn't stopped fans from questioning the song choice, given recent reports that Swift and Healy were spotted together, with The 1975 frontman also in attendance at the popstar's Nashville Eras Tour shows. It comes after The Sun first reported a "source close to Taylor" alleged Swift and Healy are "madly in love," and that it's "super-early days, but it feels right." With this recent post by Reynolds, fans don't quite know what to make of it all. Reynolds often takes to social media to troll his actor wife Blake Lively and his showbiz mates such as Rob McElhenney, and Hugh Jackman, so it could be another instance of this. While he and Lively are good friends with Swift, as back in 2016 the couple spent the Fourth of July with the 'Anti-Hero' singer and her then-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston. A voice recording of the couple's eldest daughter, James features on Swift's 2017 song 'Gorgeous,' while their third daughter's name is also a track ('Betty') on the singer's album Folklore where James and their second daughter Inez are also mentioned in the lyrics of the song. "I named all the characters in this story after my friends' kids... and I hope you like it!" Swift said on country radio in 2020. When Swift won Album of the Year award for 'Folklore' at the 2021 Grammy's, she thanked "James, Inez and Betty and their parents who are the second people that I play every new song that I write." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Blake Brittain Sony Music Entertainment has dropped a lawsuit against Triller over allegations the short-form video platform