Okinawans: Living to 100

By Shlomo Maital

   Consider the Japanese island of Okinawa.  It has five times more centenarians, per capita, than the US.  Documentarian Dan Buettner visited the island to find out why – and produced an interesting Netflix documentary film on it. 

    It includes some things we can use – not necessarily to reach 100, but to live full and healthy lives longer.

     One of them is  “hara hachi bu”,  in Japanese.  Literally, eight out of 10.  It is recited before meals by Okinawans,  and it means:  stop eating when you are 80% full.  Not totally stuffed, but 80%.    We need 2,000 calories daily. Americans consume 3,200.  Partly because the food industry slyly engineers high-caloric foods.

     Okinawans eat little meat, even little fish, but mostly legumes, especially sweet potatoes, which are typhoon-proof, as they grow in the ground.   They eat foods like tofu, vegetables, etc., that are low calorie, and high density. 

      But there is a social aspect.  There are ‘moai’ communities.  Moai  are informal helping communities, neighborhoods, that combat loneliness and deprivation.  A small sum of money is raised, for needy cases.  Nobody is alone, or depressed, without the community coming to help. 

       Hara Hachi Bu.  And moia.  Can we emulate the wise Okinawans?

        Incidentally, they suffered terribly during WWII.  200,000 people were killed.  Many lost family.  They appear to feel an obligation to live long and well, in honor of those who died young.