Blue Zones Breakfast, Six Week Challenge

Sept. 7, 2009 — -- Longevity expert Dan Buettner has traveled the world in search of the secrets to longer life and now he's taking what he's learned and has a challenge for Americans. And it all starts with breakfast.

Starting Tuesday, Buettner, author of the New York Times best-seller "The Blue Zones," is asking Americans to take part in the Six Weeks to Longevity challenge.

Click here to find out more about the Six Weeks to Longevity challenge.

The challenge is an at-home version of a massive project Buettner and Blue Zones started with the AARP and United Health Foundation to radically redesign, reorganize and reprioitize the town of Albert Lea, Minn., in an effort to encourage the town's residents to live healthier.

Called the Vitality Project, the initiative put in more sidewalks, encouraged work and school redesigns and taught residents how to live healthier in their own homes in hopes of adding around two years to each participants' life.

To learn more about the Vitality Project, click here to visit our special section.

On the AARP Web site, interested participants can learn how they can make small changes in their homes and lifestyle that can have a big impact on the rest of their lives.

Click here to visit the AARP Web site.

But for those who want a head start today, Buettner showed "Good Morning America" what you can do for breakfast each morning to start the day healthier and the snacks you should have on hand to stay that way all day long.

Cobbled from his travels around the world, Buettner came back with a list of some of the best food and drinks for longer life.

What to Drink

One lesson Buettner learned in Costa Rica is that coffee is a good choice for breakfast because it wakes you up, makes you more alert and function better in the morning. The optimal amount is half a cup, he said, as too much can work as a diarrhetic.

Green tea, which is drunk in Okinawa, Japan, has been found to stave off dementia, Buettner said. A cup at breakfast, another in mid-morning and in the afternoon is best, he said.

Third, goat's milk, is a tip he got from the residents of Sardinia. It's more easily digestible than other milk, he said.

To get your antioxidants, Buettner recommends pomegranate juice and dark grape juice.