Health and longevity secrets of the okinawans

Who are Okinawans?

It is an interesting fact that Okinawans actually live much longer than any other people on the planet. Their longevity is disguised by various health oriented secrets. One could consider Okinawans to be some sort of role models when the health and proper lifestyles are concerned. Japan is usually at the top of the list of the healthiest nations in the world. Such a high place on the list owes a lot to those who live on the small island called Okinawa. It a small subtropical island located in the Pacific Ocean. The percentage of people who are over a hundred years old is much higher on Okinawa than anywhere else on the planet. And the funny fact is that all those elderly Okinawans are incredibly healthy as they do not spend their last decades of life in miserable declining health. Those people live the lifestyles that should set an example for everyone else in the world, because they are rewarded with such health benefits which should be examples from health encyclopedias.

The Healthy Lifestyle of Okinawans

Okinawans do not smoke, they are all physically very active even into their very old age and they consume plenty of natural foods which include various vegetables and fruits. Their diet is very healthy and it is very low on calories. They do not consume large amounts of alcohol and they expose themselves to plenty of sunshine and fresh air. They live in the tropics, and their diet consists of plenty of sea food which is an excellent source of various different sorts of essential fatty acids. They have some sort of a cultural control which is called hari hachi bu. That could be translated roughly into “eat until you are 80 percent full.” Longevity is a great indication of someone’s health. Those who live longer probably do so because they have been living healthy lifestyles throughout their entire lives. Longevity is also connected with restricted amounts of calories ingested. There are no overweight hundred year olds anywhere in the world.

The Okinawan lifestyle can be a great measure of protection from strokes, cancers, heart diseases and other killers of western societies. Okinawanas do not have high levels of homocysteine in the blood, which otherwise causes a lot of damage to the artery walls and that leads to the occurrence of various severe medical conditions. Okinawan women have much less troubles with menopause than the ones from the western civilizations.