September
2001
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EATING HEALTHY
Create Longevity through
the Okinawa Program
ROBIN ASBELL
EVERY CULTURE HAS a myth about the wish for a fountain of youth. It was fanciful
fiction when the story Lost Horizon described Shangri-La, a place where everyone
lived in peace and health for hundreds of years. Today, researchers still search
for Shangri-La, looking for populations that live long and healthy lives and trying
to figure out how they did it. You may remember the Soviets of the Caucasus Mountains,
who were featured in yogurt commercials because they ate lots of yogurt and supposedly
lived to be over 100. Upon investigation, it turned out that they had exaggerated
their ages.
A new book, The Okinawa Program,
by Bradley Willcox, MD, D. Craig Willcox, PhD, and Makoto Suzuki, MD, (Clarkson Potter,
$24.95) is the first solid, long-term study of the longest lived population in the
world, in the Shangri-La of Okinawa. The authors conclude that we could all add high
quality years to our lives if we just lived like the Okinawans do.
Okinawa is a string of 161 islands that flourishes in between Japan and Taiwan and
has been called the Galapagos of the East for its untouched rain forest and wildlife.
Dr Suzuki started the study of the Okinawans in the ë70s for the Japanese Ministry
of Health. For 25 years he has documented the amazing health and longevity of the
Okinawans. Dementia tests, blood and chemical workups, and in-depth exams were carefully
analyzed. He studied over 600 centenarians, as well as many 70 and older Okinawans,
and found them free of the health problems we associate with aging. With their clean
arteries and limber bodies, the lean, active oldsters have no words for retirement
or menopause and donít screen for prostate or breast cancer because they are
nonexistent. Okinawans who move away or adopt Western life and diet-styles suffer
from the same health problems we do, so itís not genetic. The research team
has isolated the lifestyle and dietary factors that contribute to the longest-lived
population in the world.
Enough is Enough
When it comes to eating, the culture shares the philosophy that 80 percent full
is
enough. The Okinawans eat a whole grain, legume, and vegetable-based diet, with lots
of soy foods, bioflavonoid rich veggies and fruits, and omega 3 rich fish. Nothing
is forbidden, but the Okinawans keep their high glycemic index foods, such as sugar
and white flour, to a minimum. The centenarians live well on 10 to 20 percent of
calories from protein. Eighty percent of the diet is plant-based. The oldsters also
keep their brains functioning well, a result of clean arteries, antioxidants, and
fish oil. Good fats are eaten sparingly, and trans fats and animal fats are at a
minimum. Daily miso soup and a tuber called imo are important to the diet. Imo, a
purple sweet potato, replaced rice in their Japanese-style diet because hurricanes
often destroyed the rice crop. Imo is rich in brightly colored phytochemicals, and
a more complex, slow-burning carbohydrate than rice.
The sprightly Okinawans use their pure water to brew lots of tea, and the jasmine
tea they drink is rich in antioxidants. The researchers found that jasmine and oolong
tea, which are partially fermented, are the richest in a diversity of antioxidants,
as opposed to green, which is unfermented, or black, which is fully fermented.
Of course, diet alone does not get you to the 100 mark. The Okinawans practice a
model lifestyle of health-giving spiritual practices, community support, and exercise.
On the main island, residents take martial arts from a 96-year-old sensei who leads
them through the stretching and movement that keeps him flexible and strong. Okinawans
believe that "half doctor, half shaman" is the way to treat any illnessóboth
medicine and spiritual healing are equally important. Okinawan women are the spiritual
leaders and much of their prayer centers on health and well-being. On tests given
throughout life, the centenarians scored low on tension and time urgency, and high
on positive outlook and adaptability. So add a few years to your life with the Okinawa
Program; if we could just eat right and slow down a little weíd make it to
Okinawan old age.
Healing Foods and Herbs
Miso inhibits cancer, protects against radiation damage, high in protein
Jasmine Tea is an antioxidant, anti-cancer agent
Turmeric inhibits cancer formation and bacteria, is anti-inflammatory
Bitter Melon affects blood sugar, high in vitamin C
Hechima causes anti-cancer activity, and is anti-viral, anti-AIDs
Mugwort is a stomach protector, immune stimulator, contains terpenes and flavonoids that protect health
Tofu is known to be both anti-cancer and hormone balancing
Imo or sweet potato contains carotenoids, lycopene, and antioxidants
Kudzu contains anti-cancer flavonoids, cleans arteries
Konnyaku has glucomannan, a gelatinous fiber that gives a feeling of fullness, cleans the colon and lowers cholesterol
Seaweed is rich in protein, iodine, calcium, vitamin A, iron, and antioxidants to fight cancer.
Dried Bonito (a fish similar to tuna) is rich in omega-3 and zinc
Okinawan White Miso Soup with Vegetables
Bonito broth, or Dashi, is made by steeping bonito flakes in boiling water, like tea. It is available in a concentrated liquid or powder at United Noodles in south Minneapolis. Make your own by bringing 5 cups water with a piece of kombu
seaweed just to a boil, remove kombu, then off heat add 1 ounce bonito flakes. Let steep for 1 minute and strain. Konnyaku comes in gelatinous cake or noodle form, and is at United Noodles as well.
5 cups bonito broth
1-1/2 cups julienned white radish (daikon)
1/2 cup julienned carrot
1/2 cup thinly sliced konnyaku yam cake ( available at United Noodles )
3 cups chopped fresh spinach or mustard greens
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, halved
3 ounces silken tofu, cubed
1-1/2 ounce white miso
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter (optional)
Bring broth to a boil, add daikon, carrot, and konnyaku, simmer for 7 minutes. Add spinach or mustard, shiitakes, and tofu, simmer for 2-4 minutes. In another small bowl, ladle a few tablespoons of the hot stock. Mix miso and peanut butter, if using, into hot stock. Stir into soup, serve immediately.
Robin Asbell is owner and chef of Natural Foods Chef In Home Catering Services
and has over 15 years experience in the natural foods industry. Her natural foods
cooking classes are offered at Whole Foods Market, Kitchen Window, Edina Continuing
Education, The Marsh, and Williams Sonoma. Member, International Association of Culinary
Professionals. 612-724-5107; email.
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2001 Twin Cities WELLNESS newspaper.
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