Sam Graci on Lessons of the Okinawans

LESSONS FROM TRADITIONAL DIETS AND LIFESTYLES

In the Hunza Valley in Pakistan, in the Caucasus mountains in the former Soviet Union, in the Mediterranean area,
And in the Andes mountains in South America, there are areas where people routinely live to be one hundred years of age or more. These people are energetic, lean and exceedingly healthy. The secret to their longevity, exceptional vitality and well-being lies in a healthy lifestyle, natural stress reduction and the type of diet I recommend to you. Some traditions we can accept and some we have to adjust and transform with modern-day adaptation.

Lessons from the Okinawan Diet and Lifestyle
There is modern documentation on the healthiest, most energetic and longest living people on the earth – those on the Japanese islands of Okinawa. According to the conclusions of the prominent researchers Drs. Bradley Wilcox, Craig Wilcox and Makoto Suzuki, these people are the he healthiest and most energetic in the world. The many Okinawans who have lived one hundred years or more have been studied for twenty-five years. The study revealed that Okinawans are at much lower risk than other people, including other Japanese, for age -related degenerative illnesses including heart disease, stroke, mental dementia, diabetes and almost all types of cancer. They are lean Healthy people virtually free of obesity.

Okinawans eat a low-calorie diet of about 1,500 to 1,800 calories per day. This diet is extremely low in salt, trans fatty acids, gar and processed foods, but very high in vegetables, fruit and her plant foods, soy products like natto and miso, and freshly ground flax seed. They eat fish rich in EPA and DHA omega-3 essential fatty acids. They stir-fry their foods lightly in canola oil, rich in omega-9 and omega-6 fats, from the indigenous rapeseed ant. Okinawans eat, on average, ten to twenty servings a day fresh vegetables and fruit. They are also very physically active with gardening, walking, even-paced working and participating traditional dance and Tai Chi. These activities are potent stress-alert busters. They eat, on average, 40 grams of fiber every day. It is interesting to note that they average nine hours of sleep every night.