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What do Super Centenarians eat?

9/27/2012

4 Comments

 
TI am always on the quest of finding out what people eat who live the longest.  During my educational years I have heard everything from eating meat, no meat, raw food, cooked food, dairy or no dairy. I am a strong believer that real life sometimes can teach us more than scientifically controlled double blind studies.

Here are some longevity tips from the HUNZAS, OKINAWAS and VILCABAMBANS


he Hunzas live at the northern tips of Pakistan, at the Himalayan Mountains. The Hunzas are famous for their high rate of centenarians, people who live up to 100 to 110  years old.
 Dr. White studied the health of 20 100 year old Hunzas, and could not find anything wrong with them, not even their eyesight decreased by age..  Compared to our believes aging is not associated with health decline, instead most of the elderly living in Hunza have extra ordinary vitality and energy. Famous mountain climber recall to have Hunza people  as old as 80 years, carrying their heavy photographic equipment up the mountains, without a trace of exhaustion.

Here is what the Hunzas eat: 80% of their diet is eaten uncooked. When vegetables are cooked, they are typically lightly steamed, using minimal amount of water. Once cooked the water is always consumed with the vegetables. Fresh corn for example is never cooked! They soak lentils, beans, and peas in water for several days. Then they place them into the sun to dry. They eat their beans when they begin to sprout. They grow apricots, peaches, pears, apples, plums, grapes, cherries, mulberries, figs, and many types of apricots. Their favorite food is the apricot. In the summer you can see their roofs of their houses covered with apricots for drying in the sun. Hunza people are famous for eating lots of apricot kernel seeds which evidently have powerful anti-cancer properties (especially vitamin B17).  Hunzas eat rarely meat and only in community celebrations.

Okinawa is made up of 161 beautiful islands is sometimes called “Japan’s Hawaii”. Okinawa has been studied thoroughly because of its high life expectancy. Okinawa today accounts for 15% of the world’s  documented super centenarians (110 years of age). The word “retirement” does not exist in the traditional Okinawan dialect.  Researches confirmed that the elderly had no trace of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, arthritis or diabetes.

Here is the Okinawa diet: They eat a diet high in vegetables, nothing processed or packaged. Protein comes from soy most likely fermented soy (miso, tempeh), grains and fish. Seaweed is also a staple food at their diet. The emphasis is on dark green vegetables which are rich in calcium, and they don’t eat any dairy and seldom eat meat.

Vilcabamba is a small village in Southern Ecuador located in an elevated Valley. The Vilcabamba Valley is extremely inaccessible and has therefore been protected from many modern influences just like the Hunza Valley.  Vilcabamba people are famous for their longevity, happiness and vitality. These people don’t have the word “old” in their dialect instead they use the word “LONG-LIVED”.

Here is the Vilcabamba diet: They eat lots of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, seeds, beans and nuts. Once in a while goat milk and eggs are consumed but very rare. Their diet is very low in calories, and protein comes mostly from grains, vegetables and beans. Carbohydrates come from quinoa, wheat, barley, potatoes, yucca and sweet potatoes. Fat comes from avocados, seeds and nuts. They never have dessert instead they eat sweet fruits like mangos, bananas, papayas, figs and pineapples.

But besides their eating habits all three cultures have few other similar lifestyles regardless of their natural habitat.

·        They laugh a lot and only see the bright side of life

·        They are very social sometimes they hike for hours over the mountains to meet their best friend

·        They are naturally active, for example long walks through the mountains to get to their work place. (they 
         don’t engage in excessive exercising, instead they engage in regular daily low-intensity physical activities)

·        They stop eating before they feel full. 

·        They never eat processed or packaged food.

·        They have a very strong believe in the PURPOSE OF NOW - 

·        They take time to quiet their mind via meditations or nature walks.  One 107 year old Okinawa said “Life is short. Don’t run so fast you miss it!”

·        They are very spiritual orientated. 

·        They all have a sense of belonging. The young people love being around elderly since aging is seen as something to strive for.  

If you are interested to learn more about these cultures I recommend the book “Healthy at 100”, by John Robbins, or the book “The Blue Zone”, from Dan Buettner.

 Buddha quote: “A man is only old when regrets take the place of his dreams.


Birgit your Herbalist 

4 Comments
aqua
2/24/2013 07:18:43 am

And re-Okinawans:

Japanese centenarians tend to eat more animal products.
"The present paper examines the relationship of nutritional status to further life expectancy and health status in the Japanese elderly based on 3 epidemiological studies. 1. Nutrient intakes in 94 Japanese centenarians investigated between 1972 and 1973 showed a higher proportion of animal protein to total proteins than in contemporary average Japanese. 2. High intakes of milk and fats and oils had favorable effects on 10-year (1976-1986) survivorship in 422 urban residents aged 69-71. The survivors revealed a longitudinal increase in intakes of animal foods such as eggs, milk, fish and meat over the 10 years. 3. Nutrient intakes were compared, based on 24-hour dietary records, between a sample from Okinawa Prefecture where life expectancies at birth and 65 were the longest in Japan, and a sample from Akita Prefecture where the life expectancies were much shorter. Intakes of Ca, Fe, vitamins A, B1, B2, C, and the proportion of energy from proteins and fats were significantly higher in the former than in the latter. Intakes of carbohydrates and NaCl were lower."

Nutrition for the Japanese elderly. [Nutr Health. 1992] - PubMed Result
I dont care what people eat- but I do care strongly about people who encourage myth making and factoids to support their own stance and take on life.
Think on this - there is no completely vegetarian animal!
So called herbivores eat kilos of bugs, snails etc every year.
And so do the great apes-Chimps on occaision are cannabilistic- as well as eating small game.

So to suggest that vegetarinism is a] natural and b] part of traditional cultures is spurious.
Be vegetarian but dont push myths!

Reply
thomas t samaras link
6/18/2013 01:07:27 pm

The Journal of the American College of Nutrition published a paper by Willcox, Willcox, Todoriki, and Suzuki in 2009 on the Okinawan diet. In summary, it said that the traditional diet in Okinawa was:

1. High intake of vegetables
2. Hi intake of legumes
3. Moderate intake of fish products
4. Low intake of meat and meat products
5. Low intake of dairy products
6. Moderate alcohol intake
7. Low caloric intake
8. Rich in omega-3 fats
9 Hi monounsaturated to saturated fat ratio
10. Emphasis on low-glycemic index carbohydrates

Keep in mind that most traditional diets are being corrupted by Western eating patterns. Therefore, it you went to Okinawa today and observed the younger people eating, it would most likely differ from the above diet. In addition, the elderly may be eating differently compared to 50 years age.



Reply
Dave Foster link
9/22/2017 11:31:21 pm

The Hunza eat varying amounts of cheese, milk, cream, and butter as well. Although you say 80% of the Hunza diet remains uncooked, does this mean by calories or weight? A large amount of fruits and particularly greens may weigh quite a lot, but they will provide insufficient calories.

Reply
Birgit
9/23/2017 10:49:52 am

Yes some Hunza eat some dairy and If they do its raw not processed which helps them to digest dairy much better since the enzymes within the dairy weren't extracted like our over processed dairy products !

Reply



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    Birgit Lueders

    is a certified Master Herbalist, Yoga Instructor and Personal Trainer. She has been teaching in the Philadelphia area since 1998. Birgit first learned the values of an organic vegetarian lifestyle in her home country of Austria. She now lives in Paoli, PA with her husband Mark and two girls.
    Check out my husbands site:  www.theceramicshop.com  

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