How Debunking Blue Zones Can Help You Learn English Faster Ep 780

Discover the secret to longevity while you learn English language

Want to learn the secret of living past 100? Does’nt everyone? Today we discover the truth behind “blue zones” while improving your English language skills.

Did you know that most English conversations mostly use the 500 common English words? If you just focus on these words you will see a huge improvement in your English fluency! check out our Most Common 500 English Words Course: https://adeptenglish.com/language-courses/500-most-common-words-course/

You are what you eat. Your diet is a bank account. Good food choices are good investments.
⭐ Bethenny Frankel

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✔️ Lesson transcript: https://adeptenglish.com/lessons/learn-english-language-blue-zones-longevity-myths/

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More About This Lesson

In today’s English lesson, we explore the idea of “blue zones,” places where people live the longest. As you listen & learn new English words you’ll uncover the real reasons behind their long lives. It’s a great way to practice your English comprehension and work on your fluency while learning something fascinating.

Longevity is not just about adding years to your life, but about adding life to your years.
⭐ Dame Cicely Saunders

In this English lesson you will:

1. improve listening skills by hearing natural spoken English in a real-world context.
2. learn new vocabulary, such as “longevity” and “debunk,” with clear explanations.
3. practice pronunciation by listening to accurate, fluent English pronunciation.
4. gain insight into health-related topics, making the lesson informative and engaging.
5. expand your vocabulary related to everyday topics like diet and lifestyle.
6. enhance your understanding of idiomatic expressions like “debunk a myth.”
7. receive tips on using the 500 Most Common Words course to build fluency.
8. experience British English pronunciation and phrasing, useful for real-life conversations.
9. practice comprehension of more complex topics, challenging your understanding.
10. get exposure to conversational and formal language styles in context.

Listen to this lesson today to grow your English vocabulary and learn more about the world! Follow and subscribe to our English language podcast, wherever you listen or watch your podcasts: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adeptenglish/

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How can listening to this podcast improve my English fluency?
   By listening to this podcast about blue zones and longevity, you’re exposing yourself to natural English speech patterns and vocabulary related to health and lifestyle. Regular listening practice helps train your ear to British English pronunciation and intonation. As you engage with interesting content, you’ll absorb new words and phrases in context, which is crucial for developing fluency. Remember to listen multiple times to internalize the language structures and improve your comprehension.
2. What are some key vocabulary words I can learn from this podcast about blue zones?
   This podcast introduces several important terms related to health and longevity. You’ll encounter words like “longevity,” “debunking,” “centenarians,” and “Mediterranean diet.” Pay attention to how these words are used in context. Try to use them in your own sentences after listening. This active engagement with new vocabulary will help you remember and use these words more naturally in your own English conversations about health and lifestyle.
3. How can I practice speaking about the blue zones topic after listening to this podcast?
   After listening, try summarizing the main points of the podcast in your own words. Practice explaining the concept of blue zones and the recent research that challenges some of the claims. You could record yourself speaking about this topic and listen back to identify areas for improvement. Another effective method is to have a conversation with a language exchange partner or tutor about longevity and lifestyle, using the vocabulary and ideas from the podcast.
4. What techniques can I use to improve my listening comprehension of British English podcasts like this one?
   To improve your listening skills, start by listening to the podcast without looking at the transcript. Try to grasp the main ideas. Then, listen again while reading the transcript to catch words or phrases you missed. Focus on the rhythm and intonation of British English. You can also try shadowing – repeating what you hear immediately after the speaker. This helps you mimic native speech patterns. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t understand everything at first; regular practice will lead to improvement.
5. How can I use the information about blue zones to engage in English conversations about health and lifestyle?
   The information about blue zones provides excellent material for engaging discussions about health and lifestyle in English. You can use it to talk about different cultural approaches to longevity, debate the validity of blue zone claims, or discuss your own views on healthy living. Try formulating questions about lifestyle choices and their impact on health. This topic allows you to practice using conditional sentences (e.g., “If people followed the blue zone lifestyle, would they live longer?”) and expressing opinions, which are valuable skills for fluent English conversation.

Most Unusual Words:

• Longevity: living for a long time, especially into old age.
• Debunk: to show that an idea or belief is not true.
• Myth: a widely held but false idea or story.
• Centenarian: a person who is 100 years old or older.
• Resveratrol: a substance found in some foods, thought to be good for health.
• Pension: money paid regularly to people after they retire from work.
• Atheist: a person who does not believe in God.
• Meditative: involving deep thinking or reflection, often for relaxation.
• Audit: an official inspection of financial records.
• Satire: the use of humour to show the flaws in people or ideas.

Most Frequently Used Words:

Word	Count
People	17
Where	11
Zones	10
Peace	9
Health	8
Nobel	8
English	8
About	7
Prize	7

Listen To The Audio Lesson Now

Transcript: How Debunking Blue Zones Can Help You Learn English Faster

Debunking the myths of Blue Zones

Hi there and welcome to this podcast from Adept English. Do you want to live to a great old age? If you do, you may have paid attention to the idea of the world having blue zones. That’s places, areas of the world, where people live a long time. There have been several regions of the world which have been identified as having people with the greatest longevity. That means old age, capacity to live to an old age. ‘Longevity’ is L-O-N-G-E-V-I-T-Y. And because we’re all becoming much more aware of how our diet and our lifestyle contributes to our general health and whether or not we live a long time, we are keen for insights. So the idea of looking at blue zones really appeals to us. What secrets do the blue zones hold? What is it about those people’s lives that helps them live such a long time?

Hello, I’m Hilary, and you’re listening to Adept English. We will help you to speak English fluently. All you have to do is listen. So start listening now and find out how it works.

Why do people in Blue Zones live longer – or do they?

And then suddenly an exposé of incorrect data behind the idea of blue zones. Recently someone was awarded not the Nobel Peace Prize but rather the Ig Nobel Peace Prize, a very different award. And this prize was for ‘debunking some of the myths around blue zones and challenging the data behind some of the claims’. If you ‘debunk a myth’ it means you ‘challenge or remove people’s belief in it’. You remove its credibility. What I’m offering today is English language listening practice as usual. But let’s get into the idea of blue zones and what they might teach us. But also look at where the data might not be quite as presented and where the idea of blue zones falls down. It is an English lesson so don’t forget to listen several times to this podcast. It’s got some great vocabulary in it.

Need help with your English?

Don’t forget if you find the podcast really difficult to follow you might be helped by our Most Common 500 Words Course. If you would like to make sure that you have absolutely stored in your head the most common words in English so that you’re completely familiar with them then this course is great. It’s a Listen & Learn course, it’s all spoken and at the end of this course you will know the most common 500 words. The most common 500 words account for a high percentage of English conversation and it’s good to have these words in your mind when you come to speak. Go to our website at adeptenglish.com to have a look at that course.

Boost Your Learning With Adept English

Is your lifestyle as healthy as that of people in the blue zones?

So a definition first of all, what is a blue zone? Well Wikipedia says and this is an opportunity to practise some slightly more complicated English. ‘A blue zone is a region of the world where people are claimed to have exceptionally long lives past the age of 80 due to a lifestyle combining physical activity, low stress, rich social interaction and a local whole foods diet.’ So you’re probably familiar with this idea. Ideas like ‘the Mediterranean diet’ or ‘drink a glass of red wine every day’. Or ‘exercise well into your 80s and 90s’, ‘Be a vibrant member of your community to keep your brain working, keep your social connections’. These ideas are not new to us but the idea of blue zones was something that we were introduced to fairly recently.

There’s even a Netflix documentary called Blue Zones made in 2023 which follows author Dan Buettner as he travels around the world to find out more about these communities where people live very long lives. I’ve referred to this idea in a previous podcast 738, 738. When I was talking about the Spanish woman Maria Branyas Morera and her great age of 117. I’m sorry to say that she died in August this year, 2024. Yet her 117 years is still extraordinary and decades beyond the age that most of us live for. A ‘decade’ DECADE means 10 years.

Where are these blue zones?

Where are these so-called blue zones? Well they are the island of Ikaria in Greece where people eat a Mediterranean diet of olive oil, red wine and homegrown vegetables. The Ogliastra region of Sardinia where the men live longer than anywhere else in the world. It’s been said that living in mountainous areas, very physical work on farms and the land and again drinking lots of red wine seem to be key here. Okinawa in Japan is home to the world’s oldest women who eat a lot of soy based foods and practice Tai Chi, a meditative form of exercise. The Nikoya Peninsula in Costa Rica is another one where the diet is based on beans and corn tortillas.

The people in this area regularly perform physical jobs into old age and have a sense of purpose in life known as ‘plan de vida’. And lastly the Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California who buck the trend of unhealthy American living. They are a strictly religious group of people, strict vegetarians who live in tight-knit communities.

What do the blue zones appear to teach us?

And actually if you are health conscious, much of what has been predictably found out about these communities is borne out by the latest in health research. Dan Buettner from the Netflix documentary on Blue Zones summarised his findings as the following. ‘Long life is more likely to be achieved with the following nine factors. Exercise by moving naturally, having a purpose in life, having simplified routines to reduce your stress, stop eating when 80% full and eat a largely plant-based diet, drink one to two glasses of wine daily, have a sense of religious faith and belonging, put your family first and live in positive social networks. Those are the keys.

Drink red wine for good health – or not?!

Much of that is hard to argue with. I think especially the social network, feeling connected to people and still feeling relevant in the world when you’re old. They’re all really important to your mental health and wellbeing into old age. And some kind of spiritual life probably helps longevity too. People do live longer when they have meaning and purpose to live by. The only one of those that I’d immediately take issue with would be the red wine. Red wine was thought for quite a long time to be healthy. Good for you. Because it contains a substance called resveratrol.

That’s R-E-S-V-E-R-A-T-R-O-L, ‘resveratrol’, which has all kinds of health benefits. There are many reasons to take resveratrol as a dietary supplement. It’s good for you in all kinds of ways. But the idea of drinking red wine to get it has been discounted. There isn’t enough resveratrol in red wine to counteract the negative effects. It’s still alcohol so essentially it’s still a toxin or a poison. And you’d have to drink bucketfuls of red wine to get the positive effect of the resveratrol. Sorry, I don’t mean to be a downer! I think alcohol is great in moderation, in reasonable or small quantity. But it’s no longer thought to be correct that red wine is healthier than any other alcoholic drink. Drink it because you enjoy it, not for its health benefits! And resveratrol is a supplement well worth taking.

An Ig Nobel Peace Prize for discovering ‘the fly in the ointment’?

So this idea of blue zones captures our imagination. And we’re understandably interested in the secrets of a long life. So what is this about an Ig Nobel Peace Prize? Well, you’ve probably heard of the Nobel Peace Prize after Alfred Nobel. It’s awarded every year to people who have done the best work for understanding between nations, reducing armies, and for holding and promoting peace agreements. All which are sorely needed in this world, I find. But an Ig Nobel Peace Prize? Well, the name is the pun on the English word ‘noble’, N-O-B-L-E, and it’s opposite ‘ignoble’. I-G-N-O-B-L-E. ‘Noble’ means moral, good, honest, and brave. And ‘ignoble’ means ‘morally bad and shameful’.

Adept English Explains How To Use News Stories For Language Learning

So the Ig Nobel Peace Prize is a little bit of satire, that’s S-A-T-I-R-E. It’s a prize that’s also awarded yearly to celebrate unusual or trivial achievements in science. It says its aim is ‘to honour achievements which first of all make people laugh, and then make them think’. So the name puns on the Nobel Peace Prize and the English word ‘ignoble’. And last month, Dr. Saul Newman of the Oxford Institute of Population Aging was awarded the Ig Nobel Peace Prize for his work debunking the idea of blue zones. Dr. Newman’s investigations revealed serious flaws in the data about the world’s oldest people. What did he find?

How is the blue zone data flawed?

Well, Dr. Saul Newman found that significant data was routinely ignored if it didn’t fit the desired story of ‘blue zones’. When he came to look at the data for Sardinia and Costa Rica, he found that it wasn’t necessarily that people lived to be so old, but rather that their deaths simply hadn’t been reported. In some cases, this seems to have been because the families were still in receipt of their pensions. That’s P-E-N-S-I-O-N. That’s the money the government pay when you’re old. Oh dear! But imagine yourself struggling, not having very much money. And yet grandma’s pension money still comes in, and this helps you out enormously. You can understand why this might happen.

Simple misreporting accounts for much of the longevity data

Dr. Newman also found that in Costa Rica and on the island of Ikaria in Greece, 40 to 50% of the centenarians, the year old people, were found to be misreporting their age, so they weren’t really 100 years old. And this can be difficult to prove in the absence of records. Apparently in 2015, when Germany was giving money to support Greece and prevent their exit from the EU, prevent a Grexit, as it was known at the time, a pension audit, a check on pensions, was required as one of the conditions. And apparently once this was done, the number of people claiming pensions dropped by 72%. Quite a lot then! I guess that saved quite a lot of money, but perhaps the ages of the people involved were not changed on the records after this.Perhaps they just quietly stopped claiming!

How WWII led to inaccuracy in the Okinawa data

When it came to Okinawa in Japan, Dr. Newman’s research revealed that contrary to Dan Buettner’s idea that religion or spiritual belief is part of the reason for longevity there, 93% of Okinawans are atheist. An atheist, A-T-H-E-I-S-T, is someone who doesn’t believe in God. Dr. Newman also noted that during World War II, areas of Okinawa were firebombed by the US, and this destroyed many ‘Houses of Records’, the places where birth certificates were held. A ‘birth certificate’ is that legal document which proves someone’s date of birth. Dr. Newman commented that [in] towns where more records were destroyed by American bombs, are also the towns with the greatest number of centenarians! That’s people over 100 years old. Strange that there’s a correlation in that data, isn’t it?! So Dr. Saul Newman is rather sceptical that people are actually as old as they say in many parts of Okinawa.

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Dismay at the red wine recommendation

Dr. Newman also points out that one to two glasses of red wine every day would take you way over the limit of sensible alcohol consumption that most health experts agree on. In one blue zone that Dan Buettner visited, that of Loma Linda in California, the people there are 7th day Adventists, so they don’t drink alcohol at all.

Why do we continue to believe in Blue Zones if the data doesn’t add up?

I do agree that the list that Dan Buettner made is useful, and maybe we don’t have to tick every box on that list to have a long life. Apart from the red wine, and one might question the religious element, I think the other points on that list do influence longevity. The exercise, the whole food, and the social connection and purpose. But personally, I think that if you’re looking for great health and lifestyle advice, you can find plenty of it in videos on YouTube as long as your sources are good! For example, I am full of praise for the UK’s Zoe Study and the Zoe Podcast. So blue zones are great places to visit, but perhaps don’t hold as much important information as we once thought!

Goodbye

Once again, let us know what you think. Do you live in a blue zone? Do people live a long time in your country? Or not? And if so, why do you think that is?

Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.

Thank you so much for listening. Please help me tell others about this podcast by reviewing or rating it. And, please share it on social media. You can find more listening lessons and a free English course at adeptenglish.com

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