Longevity studies have shown that this is a quintessential factor.Īlso, if you end up in a street fight, you’ll be more ready to fight if your belly is not full. Why? Because overeating stresses the body and causes inflammation. (I explained this in one of my Karate Nerd in Okinawa episodes.)

Old Okinawans follow the Confucian adage of “hara hachi bu”. This is a scientific observation of the traditional Okinawan diet. If there’s only one thing you remember from this article, make it this. Your meal needs to be low in calories, but high in nutrition. The secret to eating like an Okinawan is simple: I’m glad you asked… 8 Rules of the Okinawan Diet (And, even better, be able to do Karate everyday!)Īll we have to do is to eat like the old masters from Okinawa. This is great news for us Karate Nerds – because we have the key to changing our lifespans! So, poor diet has a greater effect than good genes. Being an Okinawan and not eating like one, introduced many deadly health issues. Upon adding pizzas and fast food to their diet, they cut their long life expectancy. There was an interesting study made of 100,000 Okinawans who moved to Brazil. Their risk of chronic diseases heightened just by changing the way they ate! The introduction of fast food also made things worse.Īs a result, younger Okinawans have a higher risk of obesity. They also consumed more rice, bread, milk and meat. Younger Okinawans ate more than they needed by an average of 200 calories. Yet, life expectancy began to change for the generation born after World War 2. By eating and living the way they always did, they lived beyond 100. This was despite insane improvements in prosperity and wealth. Historically speaking, every Okinawan who’s over a hundred ate the same way. How do we know they don’t have “super genes”? The main reason Okinawans live longer is actually their diet! Yet, only 20% of the credit goes to good genes. Well, longevity is a combination of both genes and lifestyle factors (nature and nurture). They also have youthful arteries and superb mental health. It’s one of only five places in the world that qualify as a “blue zone”, which means that life expectancy is higher than average.Īs you know – Okinawa is also the birthplace of Karate!Īccording to research, old Okinawans are good at avoiding heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and osteoarthritis. Okinawa has the #1 life expectancy in the world. History is filled with Karate masters who lived way beyond the average life expectancy.įor example: Itosu Anko lived to the age of 83 (as compared to the average Japanese life expectancy of 40.9 in the year he died), Gichin Funakoshi lived to the age of 88 (average: 65.4 years) and Motobu Choki lived to the age of 74 (average: 30.5 years). One famous Karate master, Seikichi Uehara, trained till the age of 97. Can you picture yourself doing Karate when you’re 70 years old?

Age of wushu drinking guide