I used to think that there were only a handful
of people over the age of 100 in the world. How
wrong was I! The Japanese island of Okinawa
alone has about 457 of them. It is considered to
be the healthiest place in the world , where the
average life expectancy of an Okinawan woman
is 86, and man’s is 78. Not only do they live long
lives, they live very healthy and happy ones too.
A fine example is 96-year-old martial artist
Seikichi Uehara, who, at his age, defeated a
thirty-something ex-boxing champion. And also
Nabi Kinjo, the 105-year-old woman who hunted
down a poisonous snake and killed it with a fly
swatter.
The Okinawans’ secret, I’ve come to understand,
lies in two things – their food, and their
attitude towards life. As a happy bunch of
people, the elders seem to have no worry etched
on their faces, stress seems to be a foreign
concept to them. An 88-year-old farmer who
still works 11-hour days at the field, says, “I
hardly ever get angry. I enjoy life because I’m
happy at work and I think that’s the medicine
for a long life.” I completely agree, and I wish I
could look at life the way this brilliant guy
does…
Most of the over-85-years-old elderly I’ve ever
met seem to be waiting to die, sick of dealing
with their physical pains and of struggling to
survive on small pensions, but not the
Okinawans. They have a child-like zeal towards
life, wanting to live more. Even a 100-year-old
woman says she would like to live a few more
years to spend with her grandchildren. As the
old Okinawan saying goes, “At 70 you are still a
child, at 80 a young man or woman. And if at
90 someone from Heaven invites you over, tell
him: ‘Just go away, and come back when I am
100.’” I think that perfectly illustrates their
philosophy on life.
The Okinawan eating habits are certainly worth
a mention as well. Their regular diet is not
based on red meat, but largely on rice, fish and
vegetables. One of their popular dishes, Mimiga,
is made from pig ears – low in fat and high in
calcium. They also eat plenty of tofu, and
vegetables such as bitter gourd (Goiya) and
sweet potato are a staple. The Okinawan sweet
potato is especially nutritious – one medium
sized baked potato is said to contain over
20,000 IU of beta carotene and Vitamin A.
Sounds like an incredibly healthy diet but some
of them do indulge in a cup full of a locally
brewed rice wine called Awamori, each night.
Doing research on Okinawa’s high life
expectancy has been very motivating for me; it’s
great to know there are people in the world who
have figured out the secret to a long and happy
life. Unfortunately, the secrets accumulated by
the elderly aren’t being imbibed with much
enthusiasm by the present generation
Okinawans. As in many other countries, Western
fast food joints have invaded the island, which
the youth prefer over traditional foods. One
youngster chomping down on a burger says: “I
like thick, greasy food.” “Goya is bitter,” says
another, “so I don’t like it much.” The
degradation of the healthy eating habits has
taken its toll on the island, considerably
reducing life expectancy. The rates of obesity
and lung cancer are higher in Okinawa than
compared to anywhere else in Japan. It appears
that when the western world is awakening to
the benefits of living life like the Okinawans,
their very own youth are leaving it behind. It’s
sad really, but the truth is the healthy people of
Okinawa are nothing but living relics whose
secrets of a truly healthy life will be lost in just
a few years time…

Okinawan purple potatoe chips and 80yr old karate instructor.

Wow dis plc is supernatural

That show a country that is working even with the nuclear disaster they still maintane their standards