Live long and prosper. Food and nut

Live long and prosper.

Food and nutrition expert Peter Bennet reports on his trip to a pretty fishing village on one of the islands of Okinawa, Japan, to find out why the people there live so long.

When I first met Makato Okushima, I would have said she was seventy-five, perhaps eighty years old. In fact, she is one hundred years old, which is not at all unusual in Okinawa. She is just one of more than 400 people there who are at least one hundred years old; Okinawa has the highest and healthiest concentration of centenarians in the world.

I had come to find out the secret of these healthy islanders' longevity and a stroll down to the waterfront with Makato provided me with my first clue. After passing elderly fisherman unloading the day's catch, Makato joined a queue at a market stall to buy fish for the evening meal. It seems the people of Okinawa eat plenty of fish, which is a healthy food and very low in calories.

After we arrived at Makato's house, I watched with fascination as Makato prepared the food with her daughter, who also looked younger than her 76 years. As well as the fish, there were portions of sweet potato, spring onion and other fresh, locally grown vegetables. There was also plenty of brown rice and tofu - a soya product high in protein and vitamins. On other days there might be a meat dish too, but the fat would be continuously poured off the meat as it cooked.

After the meal we drank green tea, which is said to have many health benefits and helps burn calories, as well. There were no sugary drinks and only a little locally produced rice wine, which the Okinawa's centenarians for more than a decate.

I asked Makato what she thought the secret to her good health was. 'Well, as you see, we have a healthy, low-fat diet and we eat slowly to savour our food,' she told me, 'but it's also important to stay active. That way you don't get fat.' I suddenly realised I hadn't seen a single overweight person since my arrival in Okinawa.

On my last day, Makato took me to the outskirts of the village. There, facing the sea, was an old stone marker. I asked what the Japanese characters engraved on it meant. My translator told me: 'At 70 you are still a child; at 80 a young man or woman. And if at 90 someone from heaven invites you over, tell him to go away and come back when you are 100.'

Before flying home, I met Dr Davis Billings, who has studied Okinawa's firmly believe helps to prevent illness. He told me that life threatening complaints such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease are rare in Okinawa. It seems that Okinawans not only live longer, they live better.

Results (English) 3:

活得长久，繁荣。食品和营养专家Peter Bennet介绍他去了一个漂亮的渔村之一的冲绳，日本群岛，找出为什么人们活得那么长。我第一次见到Makato Okushima的时候，我会说她七十五岁，也许八十岁。事实上，她已经一百岁了，这在冲绳是没有什么不寻常的。她只是一个超过400人至少一百岁；冲绳最高和最健康的百岁老人集中在世界。我已经找到了这些健康的岛民长寿和漫步到海滨与Makato秘密为我提供了我的第一个线索。通过老渔民卸载一天的捕捞后，Makato加入了一个队列，在市场的货摊上为晚餐买鱼。它似乎冲绳的人民吃大量的鱼，这是一种健康的食物和非常低的热量。我们到达公司的房子后，我看了魅力为公司准备的食物和她的女儿，他看上去也比她年轻76岁。以及鱼，有一部分的红薯，葱和其他新鲜，当地种植的蔬菜。也有大量的糙米和豆腐-一种大豆产品高的蛋白质和维生素。在其他日子里也可能有一个肉菜，但脂肪会不断地浇了肉，因为它熟了。饭后我们喝了绿茶，据说它有许多健康的好处，也有助于燃烧卡路里，以及。无糖饮料和少量的当地生产的黄酒，其中冲绳的百岁老人超过一码。我问她什么她认为公司健康的秘密。”嗯，你看，我们有一个健康的饮食和我们吃慢慢品尝我们的食物，”她说，“但它保持活跃也很重要。这样你不会发胖，我突然意识到，自从我来到冲绳，我还没有看到一个超重的人。在我的最后一天，Makato带我去郊区的村庄。那里，面朝大海，是一个古老的石头标志。我问日本的汉字是什么意思。我的翻译告诉我：“在70岁时，你仍然是个孩子，80岁的年轻人或女人。如果在90个来自天堂的人邀请你过来，告诉他走开，回来时，你是100岁。在回家之前，我遇到了Davis Billings博士，他研究了冲绳的坚定的认为有助于预防疾病。他告诉我，威胁生命的疾病，如癌症、糖尿病和心脏病在冲绳是罕见的。看来，冲绳人不仅活得更长，他们活得更好。