The Okinawa Centenarian Study in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa began in 1975. Dr. Suzuki, the Principal Investigator of the OCS, found an unusual number of centenarians to be in extraordinarily healthy shape. They were lean, youthful-looking, energetic, and had remarkably low rates of heart disease and cancer – even stomach cancer, which claims the lives of many mainland Japanese. And they enjoyed the longest life expectancy in the world.
For hundreds of years Okinawa has been a poor country, as have most of the Centenarian hot-spots around the world. It seems that there is a real advantage in living in a poor culture in terms of longevity. Dan Beutner elaborates in part on how this works in practice:
The Okinawan farmer and his family worked ceaselessly to keep up, and often suffered chronic malnutrition. The five-year-old child helped weed the rice field. The grandmother tended the vegetable garden. The grandfather carried wood from the hills. The idea of retirement never occurred to the Okinawan peasant. To this day there’s not a word for it in their language. (Beutner, Page: 81)
This history of deprivation seems to grow out of the infertile soil and goes right to the marrow of the culture, such that even after 1605 when an Okinawan brought the sweet potato back with him from China, the frugal eating habits and life of physical labour was not jettisoned easily. Habits like these die hard and are a boon for a long healthy life.
This hardy miracle tuber thrived just fine in Okinawa’s stingy soil and weathered its typhoons and monsoons. It was a boon for peasants, quickly becoming a staple. Boiled, it also provided food for livestock, so even the poorest Okinawan could now afford meat—albeit only during the annual lunar festival. (Beutner, Page 82)
It must have been a huge boon to Okinawan health because eventually Okinawans got 80 percent of their calories from sweet potatoes.
Wikipedia sums up the Okinawa diet,
“Generally, the traditional diet of the islanders is 20% lower in calories than the Japanese average and contains 300% of the green/yellow vegetables (particularly heavy on sweet potatoes). The Okinawan diet is low in fat and has only 25% of the sugar and 75% of the grains of the average Japanese dietary intake. The traditional diet also includes a relatively small amount of fish (less than half a serving per day) and somewhat more in the way of soy and other legumes (6% of total caloric intake). Almost no [red] meat, eggs, or dairy products are consumed. An Okinawan reaching 110 years of age has typically had a diet consistently averaging no more than one calorie per gram and has a BMI of 20.4.”[1]
The traditional Okinawa diet is high in fruits and vegetables, which are packed with fibre and antioxidant substances that protect against cancer, heart disease and stroke. They consume more soy than any other population on earth: 60-120 g. a day, compared to 30-50 g for the average Japanese, 10 for Chinese and virtually 0 gfor the average American. They also tend to get plenty of physical and mental exercise.
Upon seeing first-hand what Okinawans include in their diets traditionally, one doctor said,
“I noticed lots of mugwort,” ...“Lots of turmeric, lots of garlic. Most people think mugwort is only for the Harry Potter books. Okinawan mugwort is one species of the genus Artemisia, which contains the most powerful natural substance for fighting malaria. (Beutner, Page: 94)
...Turmeric is one-fifth as powerful as cisplatin, which is one of the most powerful drugs in chemotherapy. Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer. This comes back to inflammation. Many age-related diseases are caused by an immune system out of balance. (Beutner, Page: 95)
“Okinawans see vegetables. I see powerful anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anticancer drugs,” he said. “You know, you don’t just wake up one day and have cancer. It’s a process, not an event. And prevention is the same way; it has to be a daily activity. (Beutner, Page: 95)
How Much You Eat – “hara hachi bu”
But how much Okinawans eat is just as important as what they eat. They practice a dietary philosophy known as “hara hachi bu” – literally, eight parts out of 10 full. The older inhabitants repeat this saying before each meal. The cultural prelude to a French meal is, “bon appétit” (good appetite); in Ukrainian it’s “smachnoho”; and in English, “enjoy your meal”, all of which encourage eating to fulfilment. But the Okinawans, perhaps growing out of their historical deprivation, eat only to the point at which they are about 80% sated. That makes for a daily intake of around 1,800 calories. And as scientists have learned from lab animals, the simple act of calorie restriction can have significant effects on longevity. Of course, there’s no way to know exactly how full you are, but it’s a guideline.
Taking time to enjoy your food is also key to not consuming too much at a meal. Chewing your food well, and making the meal last at least 20 minutes allows the stomach and the jaw muscles to send very important messages to the brain that you have sated your hunger.
The result of this rule for Okinawans is that they end up eating fewer calories than most people. They tend not to gain too much weight as a result and coupled with their active lifestyles (they farm and garden and generally stay active, even after they turn 100), it keeps them very healthy.
Over many years I have established a habit of eating only two meals a day, and at times only one meal a day. I usually have a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits in the evening. You know two-thirds of the world eat only two meals a day, so if you eat three, you are in the wealthy minority.
It is interesting to notice what happens when Okinawans move permanently off the island. They pick up the diet and cultural behaviours of their adopted country, and within a generation their life-spans decrease and their rates of cancer and heart attack zoom. The United States has had a large military base on Okinawa since the second world war, and young males are following seductive American habits and renouncing ‘imo’ for hamburgers.
The traditional diet of Okinawa consists of portions made of a bowl of cooked food and a fruit. Okinawans eat seven portions of vegetables (mostly green and yellow ones) and fruits daily, seven of cereals, and two of soy products. At most they take a few portions of fish weekly. Overall, their diet is low in calories and contains a lot of vegetables. This goes against the proponents of high protein, low-carbohydrate diets such as the Zone, Atkins, Paleo and others. The message is to eat healthy foods, mostly plants.
Physical Activity. Often elderly Okinawans are seen riding motorcycles or mountain bikes on the streets of Okinawa. Many of them practice karate or kendo, dance, or walk several kilometres daily, and work in vegetable gardens and sell the produce. Like other traditionally long lived cultures, their physical activity is vitally connected with their family and social life. Physical activity has an objective, making these people feel productive members of the community. Okinawan centenarians are lean throughout their long lives, with an average body mass index (BMI) that ranged from 18 to 22 (lean is less than 23).
The message is to get active. Exercise regularly. Play a sport, run, work out with weights, dance, go hiking, or work in your garden. Extra activity will help burn extra calories and lean you down even more. Lean people live longer.
Compared to westerners, the islanders age slowly and are about 80% less likely to get heart disease. Okinawans are at extremely low risk for hormone-dependent cancers including cancers of the breast, prostate, ovaries, and colon. Compared to North Americans, they have 80% less breast cancer and prostate cancer, and less than half the ovarian and colon cancers, and are less likely than westerners to get dementia. Okinawan elders seem to have higher levels of sex hormones, including natural DHEA, estrogen, and testosterone, than similarly aged Americans, suggesting that Okinawans are physiologically younger. Some Okinawans in their 90's can honestly vouch that they still have an active sex life. Some of the most important factors that may protect against those cancers include low caloric intake, high vegetable/fruit consumption, high fibre diet, low body fat level, and high level of physical activity.
Working long hours in the sun gives Okinawans a healthy dose of vitamin D, even though they wear large conical hats to protect themselves from the strongest intensity of the rays. Without that vitamin D, we increase our risk for nearly all age-related diseases including many types of cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and even autoimmune diseases like MS (multiple sclerosis).
“Insufficient vitamin D markedly accelerates heart disease in kidney patients. For everyone, without enough vitamin D, bones become brittle, key hip and leg muscles become weak, and the chance of falling and breaking bones soars. (Beutner, Page: 101)
Social and Spiritual Aspect.
Okinawans are linked to a social network that makes them feel connected to the environment and their fellows, and helps develop their spiritual side. Okinawans tend to take care of each other, forming more coherent and supportive links than in the western world.
Having a strong reason for living and working is also very important to have, and Okinawans call it “ikigai” —the reason for waking up in the morning. For the first 30 years of my working life I was a farmer, working 50-100 hours a week and enjoying respect in the local community. When I decided to sell my farm and take on a different role in life I knew I would be in for a shock. I had seen many a retired farmer waste away for a short time in town and die prematurely. It took some adjusting to, I can tell you. A sudden loss of a traditional occupation and role in society can have a determinate effect on health and longevity.
Okinawa’s particular lessons
1) Rely on a Plant-based Diet
Traditional Okinawans eat mainly vegetarian diets. Their meals may include stir-fried vegetables, tofu, sweet potatoes, and goya ("bitter melon"). While Centenarian Okinawans occasionally eat some pork, it is traditionally reserved only for ceremonial celebrations and consumed in very small amounts.
2) Eat Until You Are 80% Full
“Hara hachi bu?” It means ‘Stop eating before you are sated’ Fasting, in one form or another, is one of the clearest lessons longevity researchers are hammering home these days, because the evidence for its effects on extending life is very strong.
3) Start a Garden
Almost all Okinawan centenarians grew a garden. Gardening provides a source of daily activity that exercises the body with a wide range of physical motion, while also imparting emotional benefits by the reduction of stress; it also supplies fresh vegetables. Medicinal gardens are also widely cultivated in Okinawa. Mugwort, ginger and turmeric are staples of these gardens because of their proven medicinal qualities. Okinawans, like the Sardinians, are active walkers and movers.
4) Maintain Your Social Networks
The Okinawan tradition of forming a social circle provides security and social networking, and lend financial and emotional support in times of need.
5) Adopt a Reason For Living and Working
Older Okinawans have a clearly established reason to get up in the morning – an Ikigai. This chosen life purpose gives them clear positions of responsibility. The Ikigai instils feelings of being needed well into their 100’s. This adds up to a Positive Attitude to life. They are able to enjoy the day’s simple pleasures. They are humorous and young at heart.
Mark Twain detested a healthy lifestyle, and he once said, “The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.” That all depends on your perspective, of course, but how well you age is highly influenced by your attitude and your lifestyle choices.
5) Enjoy the Sun
Vitamin D is produced by the body when skin is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D promotes a multitude of vital physiological processes. Spending a little time each day in the sun supports optimal vitamin D levels year-round.
Next Post we will see why Sardinia is home to men who live as long as the women.
[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_diet
Image: https://images.app.goo.gl/w5LVueuLUs64Ms7X7