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What Is The Okinawa Diet?

Can someone summarize the basic ideas for me if you have read the book? thanks.

Tue. Apr 3, 10:55am

when i want to check out review of a book, i can usually find unbiased review on the amazon.com site. here is a link w/ reviews for the book you asked about.

Link

Tuesday, April 03, 2007, 11:11 AM

for those who want to read it directly...

From Publishers Weekly
In 2001, The Okinawa Program jumped onto bestseller lists, lauding the healthy habits of a group of elderly Okinawans who have some of the world's lowest mortality rates and best health. (Since then, it's been reported that younger Okinawans' weight has been increasing, due in part to the popularity of McDonald's on the island.) Now the authors return, expounding on the Okinawan key to longevity: a healthy, balanced diet. For Willcox, Willcox and Suzuki, "limiting calorie intake is the healthiest approach to eating." The authors present a moderate, easy-to-follow plan, beginning with a guide to their four categories of food, according to calorific density: featherweights (e.g., green tea, asparagus), lightweights (e.g., red snapper, cooked brown rice), middleweights (e.g., hummus, broiled lean beef rib steak) and heavyweights (e.g., cheesecake, butter). They then move on to the 10 principles of the Okinawan diet, from featherweight meal foundations to the staple of Okinawan diets—the sweet potato—which is grandly praised for its rich anti-oxidants. Restricting the Western tendency to overeat is key to longevity, but this doesn't mean going hungry. The book's second half offers more than 160 delicious and healthful recipes, ranging from traditional Japanese fare such as Pork Daikon to Western dishes like Shrimp and Broccoli Penne. Never extreme, the authors counsel readers to treat diet plans "like training wheels on a bike," and the eight-week phase-in plan facilitates the gradual incorporation of the Okinawan regime, so readers feel benefits without frustration and deprivation.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“The Okinawa Diet Plan is a significant contribution to the science of healthy weight loss and longevity. This book can help you reduce the risk of many weight-related diseases by achieving and maintaining the healthiest weight for you.” —Andrew Weil, M.D., author of 8 Weeks to Optimum Health

“Spectacular. This is the best advice on all aspects of lifestyle in one book that can be found anywhere. It is not only well-researched and well-written, but the amount of ground covered is immense.” —Thomas Wolever, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, coauthor of The Glucose Revolution

Here Are Some Highly Ranked User Reviews:

I really wanted to give this 4.5 half stars and the only reason that i'm not giving it five is that I think that the Willcoxs' first book The Okinawa Longevity Plan is better. It covers total mind body giving a more complete picture of the contributing factors that lead to a longer healthier life. Also included in the longebity plan is what the authors call "east-west fusion" recipes that are more palatable to western tastes.
Now that aside I did like the recipes and half tried almost 2/3 of those. My favorite is the red curry. So often when i'm looking for a curry recipe it calls for coconut milk. I was very pleased to find a curry recipe based on tomatoes. I also like the sweet-sour mustard baked tofu. Talk about Fast! wow! The recipes do really taste good, but I did find that some of the ingrediants were had to find locally in Michigan, but there are very good interet stores that will ship.
So give it a try. I really think that you'll enjoy it.

I'm an Okinawan-American...which means that I've eaten all of the recipes in this book and I tend to like the taste of them. Eating traditional Okinawan food is not strange for me, but it can be for people who are not accustomed to it. For example, Okinawans eat a lot of kelp, but the slimy texture and the resultant bowel movements from eating too much at once might turn some people off of this diet.

I don't like the way that the authors try to paint their diet and research as unassailable, especially since there are other diets out there that are also good. If you don't want to spend money on exotic foods from ethnic supermarkets, you can just eat vegetarian and get a good effect. Even though the traditional food of Okinawa is healthy, saying that you will live a long time just because you imitate the habits of a different culture is not so sound. For example, if you eat all Okinawan foods and yet still subject your body to the hectic stresses of daily life, you're not doing much good. I mean, you can eat what the goat farmers of the Steppes eat, but you're not in their environment, so you probably won't see the same results they do.

In short, check the book out at a library, first, and see if the odd foods are something that you can really stick with. Then, follow the advice to destress and get more into family and friend connections. After that, you'll have what it takes to help live a good life, I think.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007, 11:15 AM

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