A southern prefecture of Japan, Okinawa is located between Japan’s main islands and Taiwan and it has more centenarians than anywhere else on the planet. The Japanese are known to have the best health and greatest longevity in the world but the Okinawan population enjoys much greater health and longevity than average Japanese people.
Highest Rates of Centenarians
In Okinawa, it is not uncommon to see a 101-year-old climb up a tree to pick up citrus fruit or a 103-year-old go to a judo class. According to Dr. Willcox, author of The Okinawa Program, an island has the highest rates of centenarians and the longest life expectancies in the world – 86 years old for females and 78 years old for males. “Heart disease is minimal, breast cancer so rare that screening mammography is not needed, and most aging men have never heard of prostate cancer,” says Dr. Willcox. “The three leading killers in the West – coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer – occur in Okinawa with the lowest frequency in the world.”
What is the Okinawa Program?
Dr. Willcox’s The Okinawa Program is an approach to health and life based on centuries of Eastern tradition and wisdom which encompasses the Okinawans’ low-calorie diet, their approach to exercise, their stress-reducing positive outlook on life and community spirit. While genes are responsible for up to one-third of the diseases of premature aging, Dr. Willcox’s research suggests that controllable factors are responsible for the other two-thirds.
The Okinawan Diet Plan
It is a mostly plant-based diet that's rich in complex carbohydrates and high in fiber. The traditional Okinawa diet consists of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, legumes (soy foods) and fish with limited amounts of lean meats. The Okinawans typically eat seven servings of vegetables, fruit, and two servings of soy products a day.
The Okinawans Avoid Overeating
The Okinawans’ eating habit called hara hachi bu, which means eat only until you are 80% full, plays an essential role. Dr. Willcox says, “stopping at 80% capacity is actually a very good strategy to avoid obesity without going hungry because the stomach's stretch receptors take about 20 minutes to tell the body that how full it really is and 20 minutes after stopping you will really feel full.”
Learn to Deal with Stress
According to Dr. Willcox, centenarians generally didn't have stress-free lives. As a result, they are much better at managing stress than the general population.
For instance, Okinawa is the only Japanese home territory on which the Second World War was fought. The site of American military bases still take up about 20 percent of the island. Moreover, Okinawa was considered the poorest part of Japan and had produced many migrant workers in the past.
“What many centenarians have in common are coping skills that help them get on with their lives,” according to Dr. Willcox. Through tough times, the centenarians in Okinawa developed “stress-resistant personalities.” Studies on American centenarians have also found them to be flexible, adaptive, emotionally stable, seldom depressed, and assertive when necessary.
Sources:
Willcox, B.J., et al, 2001, The Okinawa Program: How the World’s Longest-Lived People Achieve Everlasting Health – and How You Can Too, New York, Clarkson Potter
Miki Garcia - Miki is a freelance writer from San Francisco. After obtaining her master’s degree in journalism from City University London, UK, ...
