Диета Окинавы: Секреты долголетия коренных жителей Рюкю.

Eating habits of the indigenous people of the Ryukyu Islands

The Okinawa diet describes the traditional dietary practices of indigenous people of the Ryukyu Islands (belonging to Japan), which were claimed to have contributed to their relative longevity over a period of study in the 20th century.

As assessed over 1949 to 1998, people from the Ryukyu Islands (of which Okinawa is the largest) had a life expectancy among the highest in the world (83.8 years vs. 78.9 years in the United States), although the male life expectancy rank among Japanese prefectures plummeted in the 21st century. Okinawa had the longest life expectancy in all prefectures of Japan for almost 30 years prior to 2000. The relative life expectancy of Okinawans has since declined, due to many factors including Westernization. Although there are myriad factors that could account for differences in life expectancy, calorie restriction and regular physical activity could be factors.

The traditional diet of the islanders contained sweet potato, green leafy or root vegetables, and soy foods, such as miso soup, tofu or other soy preparations, occasionally served with small amounts of fish, noodles, or lean meats, all cooked with herbs, spices, and oil. Although the traditional Japanese diet usually includes large quantities of rice, the traditional Okinawa diet consisted of smaller quantities of rice; instead the staple was sweet potato. Another low calorie staple in Okinawa was seaweed, particularly, konbu or kombu. Okinawans ate three grams total of meat – including pork and poultry – per day, substantially less than the 11 gram average of Japanese as a whole in 1950. In 1979 after many years of Westernization, the quantity of pork consumption per person a year in Okinawa was , exceeding by about 50% that of the Japanese national average.

In addition to their relative longevity identified in the mid 20th century, islanders were noted for their low mortality from cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers. One study compared age adjusted mortality of Okinawans versus Americans and found that, during 1995, an average Okinawan was 8 times less likely to die from coronary artery disease, 7 times less likely to die from prostate cancer, 6.5 times less likely to die from breast cancer, and 2.5 times less likely to die from colon cancer than an average American of the same age.

In the 1972 Japan National Nutrition Survey, it was determined that Okinawan adults consumed 83% of what Japanese adults did and that Okinawan children consumed 62% of what Japanese children consumed. The food culture and presentation is preserved, passing low calorie food from generation to generation.