Recipe to a Long Life: What Is the Okinawan Diet?
In the village of Ogimi, on Okinawa's main island, there's a stone that reads:
"At 80, you are a child. And if heaven comes for you at 90, tell them to go away and wait until you are 100."
Okinawa is one of the world's "Blue Zones" — regions that have a large concentration of people aged 100 and over.
There are several reasons for this longevity, but one is believed to be the diet. The Okinawan diet — which is low in calories, but high in nutrients and antioxidants — is believed to be one of the healthiest in the world.
The diet naturally helps people feel full, which keeps them from eating too much, said Craig Willcox of Okinawa International University, speaking to National Geographic. A 2023 study even found that diabetic people in Sweden who followed the diet for 12 weeks experienced weight loss and reduced cholesterol.
Compared with other popular diets like the Mediterranean diet, the Okinawan diet is also lower in fat and higher in carbohydrates.
And while rice is the main carbohydrate in other parts of Japan, in Okinawa it's the sweet potato, a vegetable high in antioxidants.
Antioxidants are believed to slow or prevent cell damage, and a high-antioxidant diet may reduce the risk of a number of diseases.
The Okinawan diet also has little red meat or dairy. According to Healthline, plant foods make up over 95% of the diet. These include soy foods — like soybeans, tofu and miso soup — as well as large amounts of leafy greens, seaweeds and other types of vegetables.
The diet contains small amounts of fish and even smaller amounts of meat — usually pork. Okinawans also drink a lot of jasmine tea, which is not only high in antioxidants, but has also been known to have a relaxing effect.
However, while there's been ample research on the Mediterranean diet, more research is needed to understand how the Okinawan diet may contribute to longevity.
