In a study conducted on Japanese people living in Okinawa, who are about a hundred years old, to understand at what age these people become independent individuals who can cook their own food, do housework and live in their own homes, quite unusual results were found.
Although the study included only 22 people, 82% of these people were independent individuals who were able to take care of themselves up to the age of 92 and about two thirds, on average, to 97 years. In fact, many Okinawans not only lived long but also lived long, active and happy lives.
There are many ways to live a healthy life, but the most important of these is a healthy diet and diet. Research scientist Craig Willcox said in an interview with CNN that Okinawans mostly consume seven different fruits and vegetables and 18 different types of food a day, and add more than 200 foods and spices to their general diet and diet.
So how is it that these people can consume so many different kinds of fruits and vegetables?
Are 18 different foods a day more than a person can consume? How do they do this? Isn’t it hard to eat such a wide variety of fruits and vegetables?
But given one of the best-known and most famous Okinawan dishes, a stir-fried vegetable dish called chanpuru, perhaps this may not be as impossible as it seems.
Chanpuru literally means “to mix together”. A lot of vegetables can be put into this dish, but the classic version includes bitter melon, also known as the pomegranate, tofu, eggs, bean sprouts, and sometimes carrots, cabbage, and onions.
It is often served with sweet potato and miso soup made with seaweed, tofu and long white radish, also known as Japanese radish. Okinawans also enjoy consuming fruits such as pineapple and papaya in between or after meals, along with a glass of freshly brewed jasmine tea.
What is the Secret to Good Health?
Not only chanpuru, but many dishes of Okinawans are a mixture of many vegetables called jyushi and papaya irichi. They include various vegetables in their diet every day. Their table is very rich and includes a variety of leafy vegetables, root vegetables and sea vegetables. Thus, people have the opportunity to consume different vegetables during the day.
This is why the Okinawa diet works. Focusing on the intake of a single healthy food or eating none of the foods that are harmful or badly labeled by the society and consuming many different vegetables and fruits during the day have enabled these people to live healthy and long.
They never just eat tofu, bitter melon or sweet potatoes. On the contrary, they often prefer to eat rice or noodles instead. Okinawans’ meals usually consist of different types of vegetables and fruits and foods of different colors and textures.
So don’t just focus on consuming very healthy foods like cabbage, ground almonds or Indian Gooseberry. The secret of a healthy and balanced diet is to increase the variety of fresh vegetables and fruits you eat during the day. Even if possible, seven kinds of vegetables and fruits should be consumed per day.
Hital PAÇACI
Source: https://heated.medium.com/the-biggest-reason-why-the-okinawan-diet-works-d1b91773d681
