In the early 1970s, National Geographic magazine approached the world-renowned physician, Alexander Leaf, asking him to visit, study, and write an article about the world’s healthiest and most long-living people.
Dr. Leaf, a professor of clinical medicine at Harvard University and Chief of Medical Services at Massachusetts General Hospital, had long been a student of the subject and had already visited and studied some of the cultures known for the healthy lives of their elderly people.
He identified societies in Caucasus Mountains, the Hunza Valley of Pakistan and Vilcabamba Valley, Ecuador at the foothills of the Andes.
Dan Buettner began his research into Blue Zone examining communities in Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Monterrey, Nuevo Leon and Loma Linda, California.
He published an article Secrets in Longevity in National Geographic Magazine’s November 2005 edition In April 2008, Buettner released a book on The Blue Zone: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, through National Geographic Books. A second edition has recently been published.