Okinawa diet

Okinawa diet plan off late has taken the center-stage of discussion among nutrition-scientists and health-conscious individuals alike.

What is so special about Okinawa islanders' diet?

One may wonder how Orientals, especially Japanese lives longer than their counterparts in other parts of the world. The indigenous Okinawa islanders, situated at the southern tip of Japan in the vast Pacific Ocean, have an interesting diet plan. People here, however, reportedly highest life expectancy than anywhere else has in the world!

Goya chanpuru. Bitter melon slices stir-fried with tofu, onion and egg, in one of the Okinawa

delicacies. Photo courtesy: jetalone

Yagisashi- thin slices of goat meat with lemon. Photo

courtesy: Yuki

Reports suggest that, on an average, a typical Okinawan may live for about 110 years of healthy productive life. This is partly because of their genetic makeup. However, recent community research studies on Okinawa population suggest that the most important factor influence their longevity is the simple food they eat for centuries.

Salient features of Okinawa diet:-

1. Calorie restricted diet: The diet of the islanders is 20% lower in calories than the Japanese average. Their diet consistently averaging no more than one calorie per gram and the average Okinawan has a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 20. It has been widely recognized that the food consumed itself contains more free-radicals than through the external agents like bacteria, viruses, etc. Calorie restriction, therefore, thought to improve health and slow the aging process in some model animals like rodents by limiting dietary energy intake below daily-average needs.

2. Anti-oxidant rich diet: Okinawa diet contains mainly green/orange/yellow (GOY) vegetables, fruits, roots, and tubers. These foods are rich sources of anti-oxidant vitamins like vitamin-C, vitamin-A, and flavonoid poly-phenolic compounds like ß-carotenes, luteins, xanthins, and minerals like calcium, iron and zinc.

3. Low in fat and sugar: The Okinawa diet is low in fat and has only 25% of the sugar and 75% of the grains of the average Japanese dietary intake. Low-fat and refined sugar in the diet can definitely help prevent from coronary heart diseases and stroke.

4. Vegetarian and seafood rich: The islanders' traditional diet includes a relatively small amount of fish and somewhat more in the way of soy, low calorie vegetables like bitter melon, and other legumes. Almost no meat, eggs, or dairy products are consumed. Fish provides omega-3 essential fatty acids like alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and

docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Soy (in the form of tofu), apart from being a very good source of protein, it contains much health promoting compounds like soluble dietary fiber, antioxidant tannins and plant-sterols. The substances helps prevent from heart diseases, stroke, colon, and prostate cancers.

5. In Okinawa (Japan), goat meat is served raw in thin slices known as "yagisashi."

The advocates of Okinawa diet (The Okinawa Diet Plan, a book by Bradley Wilcox, MD, D. Craig Wilcox, PhD and Makoto Suzuki, MD), divide food items into four categories based up on their caloric density as follows:

The "featherweight" foods: Food groups that provide less than or equal to 0.8 calories per gram belong to this category. Citrus fruits like orange; low calorie vegetables like spinach, cucumber, etc. One can eat freely many servings per day without major concern.

The "lightweight" foods:Food items with a caloric-density from 0.8 to 1.5 calories per gram fall in this group. Certain fruits like banana and vegetables like potato are examples in this category. One should eat these in moderation.

The "middleweight" foods: Food group having a caloric-density from 1.5 to 3.0 calories per gram, such as cereals like wheat, legume products, and lean meat comes under this category. It is advised one should eat only while carefully monitoring portion size.

The "heavyweight" foods: Food items which provide 3 to 9 calories per gram (300 to 900 calories per 100 g) belong in this category. Many oils and fats, nuts, oil seeds and red meat fall in this category, which one should eat only sparingly.

Okinawa island (Japan) on the world map

Okinawa island circled in red.