What causes one country to have so many more centenarians than most? David Smiedt reveals some of Japan’s secrets to staying healthy and living longer
According to a study by La Trobe University in Melbourne, there are more than 4000 centenarians living in Australia. It’s an impressive figure but it becomes less so when you consider that there are more than 50,000 Japanese who could ask for a birthday cake with more than 100 candles.
The primary reason that people in the “Land of the Rising Sun” tend to outlive the rest of us is simple: a lifetime of healthy living. Here, we look at which of their proven strategies we can pilfer so that we’ll be buying calendars for decades to come.
Smaller meals
Naomi Moriyama, author of Japanese women don’t ghet old or fat: Secrets of My Mother’s Tokyo Kitchen (Random House), has likened the Japanese diet to the “iPod of food” – in other words, smaller portions of more nutrient-dense fare. By Moriyama’s reckoning, the average daily Japanese calorie intake is 25 per cent lower than that of western societies. This is significant when you consider that a University of Florida College of Medicine study on rats found that when combined with moderate exercise, just an 8 per cent reduction in calories “extended their average life span and significantly overturned the negative effects of cellular ageing on liver function and overall health”.
Natural menopause
There’s continued debate over the possible health risks linked to hormone replacement therapy (HRT). However, in Okinawa, the region of Japan with the highest concentration of centenarians, many women elect to have a natural menopause, thus avoiding the potential HRT risks, which studies show can include some forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease and venous thrombosis. Researchers say one reason they’re able to do this is they struggle less with “the change” due to the high levels of soy in their diet. To get the most benefit from soy’s phytoestrogens, it should be ingested naturally through foods such as tofu, tempeh, legumes, whole grains and flaxseeds
A sense of purpose
Many Okinawans subscribe to the philosophy of “ikigai”, which roughly translates to “that which makes life worth living”. In practice, this equates to daily
meditation or prayer, and exercise in the form of
yoga, walking or gardening. But perhaps the most crucial element of ikigai is that it often focuses on caring for another living thing, be it a person, a pet or a petunia. The theory goes that by focusing on the wellbeing of another entity, you can reduce the sense of stress that comes with dwelling on your own ailments and issues.
Respect for elders
On a societal level, Japan seems to have figured out that the more the elderly feel respected and valued, the longer they hang around. It’s a concept known as “moai”, in which groups of lifelong friends provide emotional support in times of hardship, as well as social engagement and activity.
A life of laughter
One of the commonalities that researchers find in regions where residents live longest – be it Japan, Sardinia or Greece – is a lack of earnestness. In India, laughter yoga is considered just as valid and viable as the more traditional ashtanga style, while a 2006 study published in The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine found that patients with end-stage renal failure who maintained their sense of humour increased their chances of survival by 31 per cent. Various research supports the idea that a giggle or two does everything from boost blood flow and immune response to burn calories and decrease blood sugar, however, many centenarians will simply tell you that laughter keeps them young.
More fish, less fat
The Japanese tradition of serving small portions on individual plates focuses on enjoying morsels over mouthfuls, but it’s the nation’s staple foods that hold the key to a long and healthy life. They eat six times the amount of rice – a low-fat complex carbohydrate – as westerners, and often serve more than four vegetables in a meal (simmered in broth, stir-fried or steamed, thus preserving the nutrients). But their most potent food is fish, and lots of it – Japan accounts for 2 per cent of the world’s population, yet it consumes 10 per cent of its omega-3-rich fish.
Source: http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au
