Live long, the Okinawan way

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Live long, the Okinawan way

By LEE IMADA, News Editor

HONOLULU - Okinawans have the highest per capita population of centenarians and

" the longest disability-free life expectancy on the planet " with recent studies

uncovering why and offering benefits for all, says a Honolulu researcher, who

has been studying this phenomenon for more than a decade.

 

While genetics may play a role, " the fact that there are so many of them, diet

and lifestyle have played a strong role in the longevity phenomenon, " said Dr.

Bradley Willcox, a physician-investigator in geriatrics at the Pacific Health

Research Institute and an assistant professor at the John A. Burns School of

Medicine at the University of Hawaii.

Okinawans have a life expectancy of 81.2 years, compared to the Japanese, who

were second at 79.9 years, according to World Health Organization and Japan

Ministry of Health and Welfare data in 1996. Americans were down the list at

18th at 76.8 years.

As for centenarians, Okinawa had 40 per 100,000; Japan had 20 per 100,000 and

the United States, 10 per 100,000, said Willcox, who has become somewhat of a

celebrity having appeared on " Oprah " and CNN and in a " Time " magazine cover

story on centenarians.

In fact, Willcox co-authored a book in 2001, " The Okinawa Program, " which hit

the New York Times Best-seller list. He and his colleagues have recently

released a second book, " The Okinawa Diet Plan. "

His co-authors are his brother Dr. Craig Willcox, an assistant professor at

Okinawa Prefectural University, and Dr. Makoto Suzuki, a Japanese cardiologist

and geriatrician, who is the principal investigator of the

Japan-Ministry-of-Health-funded Okinawa Centenarian Study, which is currently in

its 28th year.

Noting that one of the biggest problems of dieting is keeping the weight off,

the team is in the process of setting up a subscription-based online diet

support site. People will be able to obtain health information, track their body

fat and weight, and communicate with a dietitian, Willcox said. They hope to

have the site up within a month.

Willcox will be speaking 4 p.m. Saturday at the Maui Okinawan Cultural Center,

688 Nukuwai Place, in Wailuku. The free event is sponsored by the Maui Okinawa

Kenjin Kai and Worldwide Uchinanchu Business Association.

Longevity is a combination of genes and environment, said Willcox. There is some

evidence that Okinawans possess genetic patterns that place them at lower risk

for auto-immune diseases, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple

sclerosis, the Okinawa Program Web site says.

That's the good for Okinawan-Americans; the bad news is that environmental

factors play such a great role that those who have left Okinawa and have adopted

different diets and lifestyles have higher rates of mortality, the Web site

says.

Adding to the environmental side of the longevity equation, Willcox noted how

the first generation of Japanese immigrants to Hawaii " caught up " to the

Okinawan immigrants because they were forced to adopt the " fusion diet " of East

Asian cultures, very similar to the Okinawan diet.

" The Japanese who came from Japan . . . caught up in terms of longevity mainly

because their habits changed akin to what the Okinawans were doing in Okinawa, "

he said.

Lower salt intake meant reduced cases of stroke; more vegetables led to less

stomach cancer, he explained.

First-generation Okinawans and Japanese have the same life expectancy - though

the Japanese still had a higher incidence of stroke, Willcox said. By the second

generation, there was no difference.

The Okinawan diet is " low in calories and high in nutrient density . . . with

high antioxidant loads, " which has been linked to lower cancer rates, said

Willcox in a phone interview from Oahu on Wednesday.

The purple sweet potato, imo, is the core food, and the diet is high in

vegetables, he said. It is balanced by a high consumption of soy foods, some

fish with limited amounts of pork.

Okinawans have a habit of stir frying foods with turmeric, mugwort (fuchiba),

tofu and peppers. When they prepare pork, it is boiled with the fat skimmed off

the top, he said.

This " really resulted in a distinct cuisine that had very high antioxidant loads

and very few calories, " he said. " They ended up being lean all their lives. . .

.. Coupled with physical activity, farming, fishing, you had the right recipe for

longevity, " Willcox added.

Besides living longer, Okinawan centenarians are " highly functional people " with

low rates of Alzheimer's and dementia, Willcox said. Japanese and Americans

reaching their late 80s show a 30 percent prevalence of dementia, according to a

graph on Willcox's Web site. Okinawan dementia rates are less than 15 percent

for that age group.

" There's a cultural component, " said Willcox. " The Okinawans are a tightly

knitted community that has placed an emphasis on 'yuimaru,' which literally

means a connecting circle. "

The elderly are supported and cared for; neighbors check on neighbors, he said.

" You see 80-year-olds caring for 100-year-olds, " he said. " You get elder-care

networks. "

Okinawa, which is a prefecture of Japan, has always been the " poorest of the

prefectures, yet they have the longest life expectancy, " he pointed out.

Affluence is not a major component to longevity in Okinawa, but attitude might

be. Okinawans don't watch the clock and don't feel much tension, Willcox's Web

site says. They are optimistic, adaptable, easygoing, full of self-confidence

and unyielding, surveys of the population have indicated.

As Willcox and his colleagues continue to document this Eden of longevity, they

are seeing the biting of the apple and invasion of modern outside forces.

" The oldest generation, 65-plus, is still phenomenally healthy, " said Willcox.

" When their generation dies out, we may be seeing the end of Okinawan

longevity. "

" The influence of both American fast food, and the replacement of the main

carbohydrate, the Okinawan sweet potato, with white rice has impacted negatively

on their body fat, " he said.

The sweet potato digests slowly into blood sugar; white rice " is like eating

white sugar " and spikes glycemic load, Willcox explained.

" Those ups and downs of sugar in the blood stream can eventually burn out the

pancreas and cause diabetes, " he said noting that white rice used to be a rarity

in the Okinawan diet.

Pork was a food of celebration, consumed maybe two times a month.

" Now, they get their daily dose of Spam, " he said.

But there's hope.

A cultural revival in Okinawa is occurring, said Willcox. Okinawan music,

language, colors and weavings, and clothing are " in. " Some of the most popular

bands in Japan come from Okinawa, he said.

Okinawan dishes and spices have experienced a " rediscovery " to the point where

some are difficult to obtain in Okinawa because of the huge demand abroad, said

Willcox.

" Things Okinawan are now cool, " he said.

On the Net:

 

Okinawa Centenarian Study: http://www.okinawaprogram.com/

 

Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada.

 

 

 

 

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