May 5, 2025 • 14 mins
Longevity doesn't require a plane ticket to exotic locations or radical lifestyle overhauls. In this enlightening conversation, wellness expert David Delrahim reveals how the secrets of Blue Zones—those special places where people live remarkably long, healthy lives—can be recreated right in your own home. The power lies in understanding the components that make Blue Zone communities special and implementing them in your daily life. It's not mystical geography but practical choices about diet, community, and movement that create the Blue Zone effect.
Ready to transform your home into a personal Blue Zone? Listen now to discover practical steps toward living longer and healthier without leaving your neighborhood. Subscribe to the Better Wellness podcast on Spotify, Amazon Music, or iHeart Radio to continue your journey toward optimal wellness.
From the producers of PBS's American Health Journal and Innovations in Medicine. Thank you for listening to Better Wellness.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Roland Perez (00:05):
We're always looking for ways to live longer
and healthier right.
So you might have heard aboutblue zones.
These are places in the worldwhere people seem to live a
little longer.
These zones are Japan and Italy, costa Rica, greece and right
here in the United States atLoma Linda, california.
But can the lifestyle choicesfound in these special blue
(00:28):
zones be brought home to yourfamily?
Welcome to Better Wellness, apodcast that explores the newest
innovations in true wellness.
I'm your host, roland Perez, asthe executive producer of the
American Health Journal for morethan 25 years and produced over
530-minute award-winninghealthcare television shows and
(00:49):
aired nationally on PBS with anaudience of over 100 million
viewers.
But Better Wellness is morethan that not only keeping your
body healthy, but developing themindset and balance that
prevents illness.
Our guests are experiencedexperts in the world of staying
healthy, young and well.
Today we're speaking to DavidDelrahim, wellness expert and
(01:11):
noted visionary in the field ofwellness and healing.
Today he's going to share histhoughts on blue zones and,
through his project calledCocoon that is working to help
the world discover how to live ahealthier, longer life and make
smarter choices.
David, talk to me about BlueZones.
Everyone is talking about BlueZones, as if if you move to
(01:35):
Tibet, you'll live to be 120.
It's just, you go to Italy andyou go on a certain diet and
you're in a certain village andyou don't die.
I remember a story that theexplorer Cook wrote when he was
doing the Pacific Islands and hecame to an island where no one
(01:58):
ever got sick because there wasnever anybody on the island to
bring sickness to them.
And then as soon as the sailorsgot off the boat, they made
them sick and they all diedBecause they had no immune
system.
They were never sick.
So this sort of goes along withthe blue zones.
You know an island that iscompletely unaffected by disease
(02:19):
, and then we have all the BlueZone controversy that people
have With that.
What is your thoughts aboutBlue Zones?
David Delraheim (02:34):
You know the way I'm looking at the Blue Zone
.
Blue Zone is an amazingawareness.
Blue Zone is granted that thereare five physical locations
throughout the globe that peoplelive happy and they live a long
life.
You know what they are.
The closest one to us is theLoma Linda Loma.
Roland Perez (02:57):
Linda California, where Loma Linda California,
where Loma Linda University is.
David Delraheim (03:03):
Yes, exactly, but you know if you really, and
the information is on theInternet and you're looking.
As I said, the blue zone is anawareness, awareness about what,
about certain lifestyle,because we know wellness is a
(03:26):
lifestyle, but those zonespromote and support those kind
of wellness lifestyles.
We call it blue zone.
Now does it mean that you haveto be in those areas,
geographical areas, for you tobenefit from that?
(03:47):
No, I believe your home couldbe a blue zone.
You just have to go ahead andunderstand those components and
try to recreate them within yourown space.
You'll be in a blue zoneCommunity.
You know eating, eating.
(04:10):
You know having Mediterraneandiet.
So when we are looking at this,which is really community, we
know how essential that is Ourassociation together, to be
together.
You know giving each othersupport, because this is what
community is Community givessupport to each other and we
(04:34):
wanna feel supported and we knowthat those, the people who do
not feel supported, often sufferfrom a lot of psychological
challenges.
So community works with ourmental diet, which is the food
(05:00):
that we eat, you know.
Another thing is they walk.
See, all of these componentscan we have them?
Absolutely, I know we will havethem at Cocoon.
So, either way, with Cocoon weare creating a Blue Zone, but
(05:22):
it's supported blue zone.
We just cannot say, all right,I got this, I got a blue zone.
(05:45):
Whatever it is, whether it isour home, five geographical
areas, they're being supported.
Whether it's cultural, whetherit's just a part of the
upbringing, it just is.
Roland Perez (06:03):
I was at Loma Linda and I'm doing a
documentary there on cardiologyand I asked them about this.
I said you're a blue zone, whatmakes you a blue zone?
And he was one of the marketingpeople there and he says it's
not what we do, it's what wedon't do.
(06:25):
Is it's not what we do, it'swhat we don't do?
They're supported bySeventh-day Adventist church.
That area is solid Seventh-dayAdventist church.
The hospital is the Seventh-dayAdventist hospital.
The university is Seventh-day,so they are supported by their
faith is Seventh Day, so theyare supported by their faith.
So that's the way it's a bluezone because they don't smoke
(06:54):
and they don't eat meat and theyhave a lot of habits they walk,
they exercise and so it's notso much what they do, it's what
they don't do.
David Delraheim (07:08):
Well, it's a balance of everything.
So you know what?
In the blue zones, yes, peopleeat their Mediterranean diet,
but they are conscious of theportions.
We know that the portion couldbe as devastating as the quality
of the portions.
We know that the portion couldbe as devastating as the quality
(07:29):
of the food.
We Americans, we eat too muchand we don't walk.
That means we do.
We're not moving our body, allright, and we know what happens
to our metabolism right.
So if we really look into theblue zone.
(07:59):
As I said, we can easilyrecreate blue zones even within
our own house communities, justunderstanding the components.
Roland Perez (08:15):
And bringing that understanding to people is part
of Cocoon's duty is to bring theblue zone to them.
Not have them move to the bluezone, but bringing the blue zone
to them.
Not have them move to the bluezone, but bringing the blue zone
to them.
David Delraheim (08:29):
Absolutely, and showing people how easy it is
to achieve.
So another cocoon is amultidimensional consciousness,
as we talked about.
One of them is is, of course,creating the awareness.
(08:49):
Create, having the support andshowing people how easy it is to
do it.
See part of the reason in ininstances we know what is good
(09:09):
for us and what is not.
Then how come we don't go fromdoing something that is bad for
us to doing something good forus?
Part of it is the fear Notbeing supported, not knowing
where we're going.
We know what it is.
It's comfort, laziness, allright, all of these things.
(09:33):
It's a lot of work.
We always say that in order tocreate another level of excuse
right.
But if I show you how easy itis, excuse right.
But if I show you how easy itis, how easy it is for you to
eat good vegetables, how easy itis for you to have a little bit
(09:57):
of vegetable garden in yourbackyard If you have a yard, if
you don't, you can still have ityeah, of course, parts, parts,
absolutely.
So showing people, creatingthis awareness, the information,
(10:17):
showing people how easy it is,and walking through that journey
together.
I know you are me and I am you.
I am the 8 billion and the 8billion is me, so we're going to
do it together.
(10:37):
I'm not going to prescribesomething that I want you to do
it together.
I'm not gonna prescribesomething that I want you to do
it and I'm not gonna do it.
I don't believe in that.
Even back in 2016, when we didit at the company, I did that
(10:57):
with them all the way.
Roland Perez (11:16):
So Cocoon is going to bring the blue zones to
people and teach them, instructthem on how they can stay
healthier and bring those bluezones into their homes 100%.
David Delraheim (11:25):
You don't even have to be a member of a gym to
do that, right, you don't?
You see, we do a lot of thingsthat we actually.
We're doing it because we'retrying to check the box.
We have created this set ofboxes.
For example, you know what,going to the gym getting a lot
(11:48):
of pills every day, one for this, one for that.
You know what the next timewith our friends.
You know what?
He's on something and I gottahave that thing too, all right.
And then, when it comes to ourown diet, we eat dead food.
How about if we change thatfrom dead food to the live food?
(12:16):
We don't even have to have alot of those pills and then go
for a walk.
Roland Perez (12:23):
And watch the portions.
David Delraheim (12:25):
Watch the portions.
Our body doesn't need this muchfood, does not.
Roland Perez (12:37):
Yeah, several friends of mine have lost weight
over the last few years and Isaid did you exercise, did you
take a pill, did you?
Then he says, no, I just boughtsmaller plates.
I just filled the plates andthey were just smaller.
David Delraheim (12:53):
Sure because our gut is flexible, expandable.
We eat too much, wants too much.
Because it expands, we eat less, it contracts.
Roland Perez (13:07):
So blue zones are just a reflection of what's
inside the zone.
David Delraheim (13:17):
Absolutely.
If you look at the blue zone asa box, you have to see what's
in it.
There's no magic here.
Roland Perez (13:24):
There's no magic.
None, none.
David Delraheim (13:33):
I wish hope and pray that there will be a time
that the entire planet is bluezone.
Roland Perez (13:43):
Interesting, and I'm hoping for that also.
Yes, david, thank you forcoming in.
It's always a treat to talk toyou about living a longer,
healthier life For our listeners.
I hope you can join David'sjourney toward better wellness
for each person in the world.
And remember, the BetterWellness podcast is available
just about anywhere, includingSpotify, amazon Music and iHeart
(14:06):
Radio.
So, once again, thanks forsupporting Better Wellness.
I'm your host, roland Perez.
Thanks for listening.
We're always looking for ways to live longer
and healthier right.
So you might have heard aboutblue zones.
These are places in the worldwhere people seem to live a
little longer.
These zones are Japan and Italy, costa Rica, greece and right
here in the United States atLoma Linda, california.
But can the lifestyle choicesfound in these special blue
(00:28):
zones be brought home to yourfamily?
Welcome to Better Wellness, apodcast that explores the newest
innovations in true wellness.
I'm your host, roland Perez, asthe executive producer of the
American Health Journal for morethan 25 years and produced over
530-minute award-winninghealthcare television shows and
(00:49):
aired nationally on PBS with anaudience of over 100 million
viewers.
But Better Wellness is morethan that not only keeping your
body healthy, but developing themindset and balance that
prevents illness.
Our guests are experiencedexperts in the world of staying
healthy, young and well.
Today we're speaking to DavidDelrahim, wellness expert and
(01:11):
noted visionary in the field ofwellness and healing.
Today he's going to share histhoughts on blue zones and,
through his project calledCocoon that is working to help
the world discover how to live ahealthier, longer life and make
smarter choices.
David, talk to me about BlueZones.
Everyone is talking about BlueZones, as if if you move to
(01:35):
Tibet, you'll live to be 120.
It's just, you go to Italy andyou go on a certain diet and
you're in a certain village andyou don't die.
I remember a story that theexplorer Cook wrote when he was
doing the Pacific Islands and hecame to an island where no one
(01:58):
ever got sick because there wasnever anybody on the island to
bring sickness to them.
And then as soon as the sailorsgot off the boat, they made
them sick and they all diedBecause they had no immune
system.
They were never sick.
So this sort of goes along withthe blue zones.
You know an island that iscompletely unaffected by disease
(02:19):
, and then we have all the BlueZone controversy that people
have With that.
What is your thoughts aboutBlue Zones?
David Delraheim (02:34):
You know the way I'm looking at the Blue Zone
.
Blue Zone is an amazingawareness.
Blue Zone is granted that thereare five physical locations
throughout the globe that peoplelive happy and they live a long
life.
You know what they are.
The closest one to us is theLoma Linda Loma.
Roland Perez (02:57):
Linda California, where Loma Linda California,
where Loma Linda University is.
David Delraheim (03:03):
Yes, exactly, but you know if you really, and
the information is on theInternet and you're looking.
As I said, the blue zone is anawareness, awareness about what,
about certain lifestyle,because we know wellness is a
(03:26):
lifestyle, but those zonespromote and support those kind
of wellness lifestyles.
We call it blue zone.
Now does it mean that you haveto be in those areas,
geographical areas, for you tobenefit from that?
(03:47):
No, I believe your home couldbe a blue zone.
You just have to go ahead andunderstand those components and
try to recreate them within yourown space.
You'll be in a blue zoneCommunity.
You know eating, eating.
(04:10):
You know having Mediterraneandiet.
So when we are looking at this,which is really community, we
know how essential that is Ourassociation together, to be
together.
You know giving each othersupport, because this is what
community is Community givessupport to each other and we
(04:34):
wanna feel supported and we knowthat those, the people who do
not feel supported, often sufferfrom a lot of psychological
challenges.
So community works with ourmental diet, which is the food
(05:00):
that we eat, you know.
Another thing is they walk.
See, all of these componentscan we have them?
Absolutely, I know we will havethem at Cocoon.
So, either way, with Cocoon weare creating a Blue Zone, but
(05:22):
it's supported blue zone.
We just cannot say, all right,I got this, I got a blue zone.
(05:45):
Whatever it is, whether it isour home, five geographical
areas, they're being supported.
Whether it's cultural, whetherit's just a part of the
upbringing, it just is.
Roland Perez (06:03):
I was at Loma Linda and I'm doing a
documentary there on cardiologyand I asked them about this.
I said you're a blue zone, whatmakes you a blue zone?
And he was one of the marketingpeople there and he says it's
not what we do, it's what wedon't do.
(06:25):
Is it's not what we do, it'swhat we don't do?
They're supported bySeventh-day Adventist church.
That area is solid Seventh-dayAdventist church.
The hospital is the Seventh-dayAdventist hospital.
The university is Seventh-day,so they are supported by their
faith is Seventh Day, so theyare supported by their faith.
So that's the way it's a bluezone because they don't smoke
(06:54):
and they don't eat meat and theyhave a lot of habits they walk,
they exercise and so it's notso much what they do, it's what
they don't do.
David Delraheim (07:08):
Well, it's a balance of everything.
So you know what?
In the blue zones, yes, peopleeat their Mediterranean diet,
but they are conscious of theportions.
We know that the portion couldbe as devastating as the quality
of the portions.
We know that the portion couldbe as devastating as the quality
(07:29):
of the food.
We Americans, we eat too muchand we don't walk.
That means we do.
We're not moving our body, allright, and we know what happens
to our metabolism right.
So if we really look into theblue zone.
(07:59):
As I said, we can easilyrecreate blue zones even within
our own house communities, justunderstanding the components.
Roland Perez (08:15):
And bringing that understanding to people is part
of Cocoon's duty is to bring theblue zone to them.
Not have them move to the bluezone, but bringing the blue zone
to them.
Not have them move to the bluezone, but bringing the blue zone
to them.
David Delraheim (08:29):
Absolutely, and showing people how easy it is
to achieve.
So another cocoon is amultidimensional consciousness,
as we talked about.
One of them is is, of course,creating the awareness.
(08:49):
Create, having the support andshowing people how easy it is to
do it.
See part of the reason in ininstances we know what is good
(09:09):
for us and what is not.
Then how come we don't go fromdoing something that is bad for
us to doing something good forus?
Part of it is the fear Notbeing supported, not knowing
where we're going.
We know what it is.
It's comfort, laziness, allright, all of these things.
(09:33):
It's a lot of work.
We always say that in order tocreate another level of excuse
right.
But if I show you how easy itis, excuse right.
But if I show you how easy itis, how easy it is for you to
eat good vegetables, how easy itis for you to have a little bit
(09:57):
of vegetable garden in yourbackyard If you have a yard, if
you don't, you can still have ityeah, of course, parts, parts,
absolutely.
So showing people, creatingthis awareness, the information,
(10:17):
showing people how easy it is,and walking through that journey
together.
I know you are me and I am you.
I am the 8 billion and the 8billion is me, so we're going to
do it together.
(10:37):
I'm not going to prescribesomething that I want you to do
it together.
I'm not gonna prescribesomething that I want you to do
it and I'm not gonna do it.
I don't believe in that.
Even back in 2016, when we didit at the company, I did that
(10:57):
with them all the way.
Roland Perez (11:16):
So Cocoon is going to bring the blue zones to
people and teach them, instructthem on how they can stay
healthier and bring those bluezones into their homes 100%.
David Delraheim (11:25):
You don't even have to be a member of a gym to
do that, right, you don't?
You see, we do a lot of thingsthat we actually.
We're doing it because we'retrying to check the box.
We have created this set ofboxes.
For example, you know what,going to the gym getting a lot
(11:48):
of pills every day, one for this, one for that.
You know what the next timewith our friends.
You know what?
He's on something and I gottahave that thing too, all right.
And then, when it comes to ourown diet, we eat dead food.
How about if we change thatfrom dead food to the live food?
(12:16):
We don't even have to have alot of those pills and then go
for a walk.
Roland Perez (12:23):
And watch the portions.
David Delraheim (12:25):
Watch the portions.
Our body doesn't need this muchfood, does not.
Roland Perez (12:37):
Yeah, several friends of mine have lost weight
over the last few years and Isaid did you exercise, did you
take a pill, did you?
Then he says, no, I just boughtsmaller plates.
I just filled the plates andthey were just smaller.
David Delraheim (12:53):
Sure because our gut is flexible, expandable.
We eat too much, wants too much.
Because it expands, we eat less, it contracts.
Roland Perez (13:07):
So blue zones are just a reflection of what's
inside the zone.
David Delraheim (13:17):
Absolutely.
If you look at the blue zone asa box, you have to see what's
in it.
There's no magic here.
Roland Perez (13:24):
There's no magic.
None, none.
David Delraheim (13:33):
I wish hope and pray that there will be a time
that the entire planet is bluezone.
Roland Perez (13:43):
Interesting, and I'm hoping for that also.
Yes, david, thank you forcoming in.
It's always a treat to talk toyou about living a longer,
healthier life For our listeners.
I hope you can join David'sjourney toward better wellness
for each person in the world.
And remember, the BetterWellness podcast is available
just about anywhere, includingSpotify, amazon Music and iHeart
(14:06):
Radio.
So, once again, thanks forsupporting Better Wellness.
I'm your host, roland Perez.
Thanks for listening.
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