Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones should be instructive for all of us. They are as much about longevity as about health and well-being, no matter how long you live. His research–conducted on the ground in places where people are known to live to 100 or more–is despositive.

• Exercise need not involve spandex and mirrors. Walk.

• Food need not involve a state of the art kitchen with finely calibrated tools and appliances. But it must be dominated by vegetables, a minimal amount of protein and no dairy or sugar. Real sour dough bread adds another food group. And, a touch of red wine daily.

• Community–the companyof others, social interaction–is the antidote to loneliness, which so often accompanies old age.

A simple formula.

Other recent research has shown that nature relieves stress–being out of doors frees the mind.

What would old age in the world be like if we followed Dan Buettner’s formula? We would describe ageing as a passing of years rather than a loss of ability; abilities rather than disabilities. A complete paradigm shift.