I will often get asked What is the most important thing I should do for my health? It’s an excellent, well meaning question, and a highly reasonable one. We want to know what things to do, what actions to take, what food to eat to improve our health. But perhaps pursuing health is the wrong framework to have. Perhaps health is not actually something we should be chasing, pursuing, or trying to achieve at all. Instead, maybe health is better viewed as an emergent property, almost a side effect, of living a certain way.
An emergent property is a characteristic that arises from the interaction of components within a complex system, but is not present in, or predictable from, the individual components themselves. When it comes to health, however, our thinking is often much more reductive. We try to isolate and control variables in order to influence outcomes. But our bodies, and our lives, are complex. Our health is not driven by one or two things, but by a large number of influences that interact in complex, sometimes unpredictable ways.
It is ironic that the areas of the world that have the most longevity are not particularly health obsessed. Blue Zones are regions around the world where people live significantly longer, healthier lives than average. The concept was coined by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and author. Buettner identified five key Blue Zones: Okinawa (Japan), Sardinia (Italy), Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica), Ikaria (Greece), and Loma Linda (California, USA). These areas share common lifestyle habits, such as plant-based diets, natural movement, strong community ties, and a sense of purpose, all of which contribute to their residents’ exceptional longevity.
In Blue Zones, there are no gyms, fad diets, dietary supplements, detoxes, cleanses, or alkaline water. Instead, the patterns of daily life are simply conducive to health. People socialize together, go on walks together, eat meals together. The food is not chosen because it is healthy– healthy food prepared in delicious ways tastes great and leaves people feeling satisfied– that’s what people eat. There is a purpose to life, a reason to get up in the morning. Families often live together, and there are high levels of social interaction. Interestingly, people are not overly fixated on living a long time, or pursuing longevity– they just happen to live a long time. In other words, a long, healthy life is an emergent property from a certain lifestyle, rather than something that is chased or pursued.
This observation leads to a powerful conclusion: rather than seeking health through specific actions, we might achieve it more effectively by focusing on cultivating a way of life that naturally supports well-being. This means building strong relationships, moving our bodies in enjoyable ways, finding joy and purpose in our daily activities, and eating nourishing food that leaves us feeling well. Health might best be viewed as something that emerges when we live in alignment with the principles that support a balanced, fulfilling life, rather than something we achieve through effort and willpower.
By shifting our focus from doing health to living well, we may find that the long, healthy life we desire follows naturally. Instead of being caught up in the latest trends or fads, we can look at the time-tested lessons and take a holistic approach, one that allows health to flourish as an organic result of a purposeful, connected, and joyful life. Health, in this sense, isn’t pursued—it’s lived.
Doc