Want to live to be 100? Read on

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No one wants to get old and wrinkled, but in America the quest for perpetual youth is an obsession. Which might explain the instant popularity of a new book, The Okinawa Program, based on a landmark 25-year study of the people of Okinawa, a chain of islands off the coast of Japan that many regard as the real Shangri-la.

Its residents are the longest-living people in the world, and age at a slower rate than Americans and Europeans. Heart disease is minimal, the stroke rate is low and breast cancer is so rare that mammograms are not necessary. Men have never even heard of prostate cancer, and the menopause is so easy that women have no need of hormone replacement therapy.

How they manage to be so healthy, and how you can too, is the subject of the book, already a best seller in America just a couple of weeks after publication. It was written by twin-brother doctors Bradley and Craig Willcox with Japanese cardiologist Makoto Suzuki. The Willcox brothers are now the favourites of the morning chat-show circuit and have scored the ultimate publicity prize: an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, watched by millions.

The result is that chat rooms are buzzing with The Okinawa Program and many Americans are now following what they call The Way - a regime devised by the authors which incorporates elements of the islanders' lifestyle.

Health clubs are catching on to the New Age trend, offering more services geared towards stress relief such as massage and meditation, as well as the martial art t'ai chi - the favourite exercise of the Okinawans and one of the reasons researchers believe they enjoy such long life. "When practised regularly, t'ai chi provides the health benefits of aerobic exercise, strength training and flexibility, along with the psychospiritual fulfilment of meditation or prayer," write the authors. T'ai chi is now so popular that many see it turning into the new yoga.

So what is the secret of these long-living people? Nurturing the mind as much as the body with a healthy diet, regular exercise, spirituality, low stress and a sense of community, say the authors. They examined more than 600 centenarians and many others in their seventies, eighties and nineties, all of whom are still enjoying active lives.

"There is no word for retirement in the Okinawan language. People keep doing what they've always done," Bradley Willcox told the New York Post.

You are as likely to see a 103-year-old man riding his motorcycle to his karate class as you are a 101-year-old woman tending her garden before taking her vegetables to the market.

Most of us probably don't want to live that long, but that is because we associate old age with disability and infirmity. "Okinawans not only live longer but they spend more years free from disability. When a person can be healthy and active until the end, a very long life becomes much more attractive," says Bradley.

Lifestyle rather than genetics plays the major part here. Younger islanders who are adopting a western diet of fast food (there is a McDonald's in Okinawa), are developing all the ailments that affect us.

The traditional diet consists of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, soy and fish. They eat far fewer dairy products and meat than we do and they get more "flavonoids" - the substance in soy, beans and flaxseed which research has shown prevents breast and prostrate cancer.

"New research is recommending we move towards a plant-based diet with less meat and less diary. Dairy is promoted for its calcium but eating meat causes us to excrete more calcium," says Janice Saunders, a dietitian at New York University Hospital Centre.

The Okinawan diet proves that fashionable high-protein regimes are an unhealthy waste of time, say the authors. They argue that human beings have always eaten "good" carbohydrates like vegetables and whole grains; it's the bad carbs like white bread and sugar that we should avoid. And we also eat far too much protein.

We all know, of course, about the benefits of exercise and it will come as no surprise to learn that the Okinawans exercise regularly. However, they don't spend hours in the gym but practise t'ai chi, walk, garden and cycle.

They also experience low levels of stress. "We in the West suffer from hurry sickness. We try to do more and more in less and less time, and that kind of constant stress can have devastating long-term consequences - like dementia, the premature ageing of the brain," says Bradley Willcox.

Okinawans also have a more laid-back approach to life. Their motto might best be summarised as: if you can't do anything about it, don't worry about it. They deal with stress by regular meditation, massage, exercise and prayer and are boosted by strong social ties with family and friends. The authors cite many studies which show that isolated people are far more likely to get depressed or ill and advise nurturing your family, joining a social club, reconciling with a friend or inviting a new friend for a drink.

Most interesting is that Okinawa is the only contemporary society where women are the acknowledged religious and social leaders. This may account for the lowest female suicide rates in Asia.

"Women are the leaders of the official mainstream religion and the acknowledged religious leaders within the home, clan and village. This difference in social organisation allows women not only the opportunity to make health-promoting social contacts but also to gain respected leadership roles as they grow older," say the authors.

Which is not about to happen in London. But the point still stands: remain active and socially engaged and your mind and body are less likely to degenerate. Bradley Willcox has certainly managed to incorporate some of the islanders' way of living into his lifestyle.

"I was always into fitness but now I meditate more and eat more soy foods. I've also become more relaxed ... I figure I'm in here for a century and I'm planning my life accordingly," he says.

Buy this book online from Amazon.co.uk

 

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