Change Your Outlook on Eating:Okinawan StyleBy: Amanda Vrieze

Okinawa Eating Tips• Before each meal, prepare yourself properly for the meal:

– Wash your hands, set the table, and unwind before sitting down to eat.

• Make it look Appetizing: – Decorate your table attractively – The more appetizing you

make your food the better it will taste.

• Take a moment to appreciate and relax before eating.

• Take your time: – Train yourself to eat savor your food and eat more slowly.

Eating slowly results in feeling full sooner, and thus eating fewer calories at mealtime and make wiser food choices.

Pick Fruit: In Okinawa they…

• Okinawan’s top food groups. They pick from their own trees including citrus fruits, pineapples, bananas, papayas, guavas, mangoes and passion fruit.

• What we can do:– Replace candy with fruit and make it our “sweet treat” for the

day. either picked from our own trees or bought from the supermarket or grocery store.

– Remember the ‘rainbow’ principle – use plenty of different colored vegetables in salads and cooked dishes in order to get a wide range of antioxidant and other anti-cancer plants.

In Okinawa they… Low Calorie Meals • Have low calorie meals which contain level of high

nutrients, and a larger volume than the average American meal.

• What we can do:– Eat a plant-based food with healthy nutrients, low in

calories and yet dense enough to make us feel full and content so we still have energy to go about our daily lives.

Grow Veggies :In Okinawa they…

• Eat and grow fresh organic vegetables and herbs year-round in their gardens. – Gardening is also a form of

exercise for them

• What we can do:– Buy garden-fresh organic

vegetables and herbs, if possible get them locally-grown.

In Okinawa they… Use Healthy Spices

• Turmeric exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer activities. Adding turmeric to your daily diet can be extremely beneficial to your health.

• What we can do:– Incorporating turmeric into your cooking and diet can

act as a major immune booster and protects you from chronic diseases when consumed on a regular basis.

In Okinawa they… Eat Fish

• Although most of Okinawans diet is plant-based containing a variety of different vegetables, they still maintain plenty of fish and soy foods. In fact, rely on fish as their primary source of animal protein.

• What we can do:– Buy your fish fresh, from a reliable unpolluted source and use

fermented soy products such as tofu.

– Keep your heart healthy by limiting the amount of red meat you eat and observing its quality.

– You want to avoid red meat that is high in saturated fat and therefore your cholesterol.

Okinawa Food Pyramid

In Okinawa they… Use sea salt

• They use minimum amount of salt, and when they do it is natural local sea salt.

• One type of salt from the Okinawan island of Miyakojima is said to be ‘the best sea salt in the world’ with 18 minerals.

• What we can do:– Shake the salt habit. Start monitoring or if you need to hide the

salt shaker. You can control the amount of salt you shake onto your food.

– Instead you can replace salt with garlic and herbs to flavor dishes. Start monitoring how much start you use and choose mineral-rich sea salt.

In Okinawa they… Monitor their eating

• Practice the Confucian mantra “hara hachi bu” before each meal, meaning “eat until you are only 80 percent full.”

• This Japanese philosophy of listening to your body and have moderation in your portions. – As a result, the calorie intake of Okinawans is 10-40%

lower than Americans

• What we can do:– Consciously controlled portion sizes through the

practice of Hara Hachi Bu.

In Okinawa they…Drink Tea

• Replenish their cups from a large pot of green tea all day long and use mugwort and hibiscus to make herb tea.

• What we can do:– Drink less coffee and tea and more green tea and herb

tea. Always buy good-quality green tea as it has superior taste and antioxidant levels.