The data that supports the idea that their diet was low fat and in general miserly unfortunately starts right after WWII when their island was devastated. Before WWII they were doing better, but there were also a series of famines that killed off some of the population which were basically malthusian crises. Interestingly, you see the same in other Blue Zones like the Greek Islands. That supports the idea that so-called long lived birth cohorts might be so long lived because famine killed off the weak in those cohorts. If you averaged the lifespan of all the people born in the years the revered long lived people were born in, it would probably be very low. I can't find data on birth cohorts, but the Okinawan population in 1896 was 440 000. There are 569 centenarians born around then, so that's less than 1% of the original population that survived, which is not very impressive.

I wrote a bit about this in my own blog. They ate lots of yams traditionally and also fed them to their hogs.

The info about them reducing the pork fat is scant and comes from biased sources. In contrast, the info from actual Okinawans seems to support that they prized pork fat.

The benefits of calorie restriction are well documented, the benefits of low-fat are not.

No one seems to disagree that the elderly people on Okinawa who have eaten a traditional diet are pretty healthy.

Everyone seems to try to distort the traditional Okinawan diet to fit with what they already believe is healthy to eat. This is aided by the lack of good statistics on what people there have actually eaten over time.

• Low fat belivers behind The Okinawa Diet program ignore the pork and emphasise the tofu.
• WAPF people are the total opposite.
• Paleo people seem to out emphasis on the lard and reduce the carb content. Or blame temporary post World War 2 starvation for the low fat content.

Some numbers I have found include:

• In 1880 the Okinawan sweet potatoe made up 93% of the daily diet.
• In 1919 the average farmer consumed daily: 39g of protein, 5g fat and 890g carbohydrate (from sweet potatoes)
• In 1979 Okinawan's aparently consumed an average of 7.9 kilograms of pork a year (about 150 grams per week).

What young people on Okinawa eat today is not good evidence for what the traditional diet consisted of. What people there value most as food is also not a good guide to what they use to eat. When people become modern wealthy consumers they often prize what has previously been rare or expensive.

I don't think the differences are that great to the general principles of a paleolithic diet. Low fat is only a problem if you believe the high-fat dogma of some paleo gurus, the same for high carbs. Or if you believe only certain macronutrient ratios are healthy. The traditional diet it appears is based on root vegetables, colourful leafy vegetables, fruits, seaweed, soy, fish and pork. I don't think soy is a poison in small amounts. They also ate the whole pig, "everything but the oink" from the face to the feet. The diet has low caloire density and high in vitamins and minerals. They also use alot of spices in cooking.

It is perhaps more important what the traditional diet excludes like refined sugar and starch, grains, oils and processed foods in general.

While this may not fit totally with a list of paleo foods I'm not sure how anyone could think this an unhealthy diet for anyone. Arguing over the pork content or how much fat or carbs they must have eaten seems to be missing the point to me.

My wife is Japanese and her image of Ryukyu Ryori (Okinawan cuisine) is fatty pork with some vegetables in a broth. The Japanese generally are not at all "fat phobic" along with their near neighbours the Koreans and just love fatty meats. The trade name "The Okinawa Diet" bears no resemblance to the real thing and is just a load of profiteering crap. I agree that the real diet of the Okinawans isn't far removed from our paleolithic diet.

It's mostly grains, (especially wheat,) sugar and veg. oils that kill people off early. IMO, most people would stand a better chance of living longer/better if they eliminated those 3 things, even if they didn't convert 100% to a Paleo-style way of eating.

It doesn't seem correct that the Okinawans would boil off fat rather than cook with it.

There are other non-food factors that contribute to longevity, like environment, stress levels, pollution, etc.

http://drbganimalpharm.blogspot.com/2009/08/benefits-of-high-saturated-fat-diets.html I thought this was a great analysis if interested.

The newest evidence that Japan has been engaging in fraud by over-counting centenarians throws a new light on claims that the country's diets are especially healthy...

U r right kamal. I lived in Taiwan for 7years and my husband is Chinese. Southern Chinese anyway eat a lot of rice.

Dr. Rosedale has a fantastic response: the longevity of the Okinawans and Kitavans:
http://www.facebook.com/notes/dr-rosedale-and-the-rosedale-health-plan/the-longevity-of-the-okinawans-and-kitavans-dr-rosedales-response/201274489941868

First of all, population studies are the least scientifically robust form of health science. That being said, there are many speculations of why Okinawans have a high number of centenarians. Firstly, we must distinguish between increasing maximal lifespan that CR has been shown to do and I believe my diet can also do, and increasing average lifespan. Increasing average lifespan is nice but not near as powerful as extending youth and increasing maximum lifespan. For that there are no human counterpart and we have no footsteps to follow, only science as revealed in animal studies. That being said, the Okinawans eat considerably more fish than other groups and a higher percentage of carbohydrates as vegetables i.e. fiber as opposed to starches. Most of the fiber gets excreted, so Okinawans are likely relatively calorie restricted. Also, overindulging in food among Okinawans is very frowned upon. What Nick Lane has said in his book “Oxygen” is the following, p 275; “based on a 25 year study, the book [The Okinawa Way written by a Japanese cardiologist] argues that the secret of the Okinawans... goes beyond genes, diet, and exercise to their relaxed lifestyle and low level of stress. The Okinawans have a word for it, "tege", which means 'half-done': forget timetables, forget finishing today things that can be done tomorrow. I suspect they are probably right.”

In the most comprehensive study pertaining to the Okinawan diet and longevity entitled, "Caloric Restriction, the Traditional Okinawan Diet, and Healthy Aging" published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, the following was found; “Findings include low caloric intake and negative energy balance at younger ages, little weight gain with age, life-long low BMI...and survival patterns consistent with extended mean and maximum life span." The study concluded; "This study [Caloric Restriction, the Traditional Okinawan Diet, and Healthy Aging] lends epidemiologic support for phenotypic benefits of CR in humans and is consistent with the well-known literature on animals with regard to CR phenotypes and healthy aging."... I have not seen a breakdown of the calories eaten, but it's known that they eat more fish and fibrous vegetables and lower calories. Simple logic could conclude that they eat fewer non-fiber carbohydrates, which, along with reduced stress, may account for their increased average lifespan.

Though my knowledge of the Kitavans is less, I believe much the same applies to them, and there are similar myths based on poor science and falsities that is being written about them that unfortunately is getting much unwarranted publicity.

RR.

Hear hear. I am afraid I don't know what Okinawans eat, but the Japanese people in china eat a very fatty meaty diet, the kind that would get them a talking to if they were in the US.

Also, Chinese people eat very low carb and very high fat if they can afford it. A dinner out with Chinese people typically has no rice or other carbs. The most common dish is stewed pork fat over greens (said to be chairman maos favorite dish). Fish is served sitting in the bottom of a large bowl of oil, you have to reach in with your chopsticks. When you eat at a stewed catfish restaurant, they come around with a bowl of tallow and spoon a blob into your food.

If rice is eaten at all, it is at the end of the meal as a dessert and is usually picked at or ignored.

"A dinner out with Chinese people typically has no rice or other carbs" This is true only when dining out with family and friends where many courses of traditional dishes are ordered. A plate of fried rice is considered a dish because it's not steamed white rice. And besides, with so many dishes to eat, there is no room for fillers (white rice). Steam rice is considered a filler in an ordinary Chinese meal that consists of two or three dishes. More affluent chinese eat less rice in a meal because they can afford more variety of dishes to eat. But, hey, there's no rules for whoever loves to eat rice - rich or poor. It's comfort food for the Chinese.

In the soft science of armchair nutritional speculation it is common to point out them healthy population X as if whatever we have conceptualized as their diet is the go-to diet, since it is better than another one which is a complete failure. But what is truly important to do is to look inside these populations to see what makes their best of the best shine.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1407826

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.

I tried to obtain the full article but I couldn't. It is just raw statistics done by Japanese people so I have no reason to doubt it. I hear that they kill themselves with neat-o looking swords for dishonor.

Never ever ever use a population and our conceptualization of their diet as a metric for success. Look deeper.

Of course as a caveat I have to note that observational data can't prove anything, it is just that things like these call into doubt other beliefs.

There is a book I read called "The Blue Zones," by Dan Duettner that talked about the people who live the longest including the Okinawans. He does point to many factors that help people/or groups of people that live to 100. Close family and social ties also seem to play a role.

I did find it peculiar that some of these groups of people did eat grains and some groups like the Adventist in Loma Linda, California are vegetarian. In my opinion, think one common thread that the 10 "Blue Zone" from around the world had in common was not eating processed foods like American's commonly do. They "worked" at getting their meals prepared, ate nuts, did a lot of socializing, and some drank high quality red wine (Cannonau-Italian made) like those in Sardinia. You were also more likely to live longer if you had daughters.

a distinction should be made between the "okinawa diet" as a dietary concept, and what people in okinawa actually eat in their everyday lives (the same issue as with "mediterranean"): a lot has been already said with regards to the former, but the latter is rather anticlimactic: i've watched a program on japanese tv which featured foods eaten in different parts of japan, so what's the favourite dish among okinawans? - a big bowl of plain white rice smothered with lots of mayonnaise (sic!) margarine (sicK!) - explained as a gastronomical influence of us military bases abundantly located there

and the corollary: okinawa has the highest levels of obesity in japan: * http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~honkawa/7310.html * it is in japanese, but graphs don't need translation: highest columns (46.7% - men; 39.4% - women) in both graphs points to okinawa

but still, for a westerner, japan is a land of slimness: obese or even overweight people are rather an 'oddity' than vice versa, which is somewhat difficult to explain providing a huu-uuge emphasis japanese put on food: it is almost impossible to watch tv there as it is as 'bulimigenic' as having a bucket of ice-cream and a bag of cookies right at your hand

Rice is gluten free, and white rice is anti-nutrients free. It is like pure carbs. So if they eat a lots of veggies, they have enough healthy nutrients, their acid-base balance is good. They just complete whith rice. And their omega 3 omega 6 ratio seems to be good with the consumption of seeweed and fish and the non-consumption of vegetable oils.

Maybe it is more the facts that they don't eat certain things like diairy, gluten, sugar, vegetables oils...than the fact that they eat rice which makes them healthy.

And they seems to have an active lifestyle, so eating a lot of carbs could be good for them.

wiki was used because i was too lazy to make a summary. for the most important source see:

The Okinawa Centenarian Study http://www.okicent.org/index.html or a short introduction from scientific american: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=centarians-studied-to-find-the-secret-of-longevity

diet: http://www.okinawa-diet.com/okinawa_diet/okinawa_diet_food_pyramid.html

thx for the interesting links. exactly what i was hoping for.

so you think the actual life expectancy today does not differ much from other countrys or at least not because of their diet?

So is there diet low protein? Is lowering protein the answer.

dear all im sorry but you are all missing the point.we have been programmed for mileniums how healthy is this or that,like garlic which is very potent neurotoxin,or green tea which is fungal or tofu and any other sauces very fungal.my point is healthy diet is when one eats noncandidal foods.candida is known to be cause of almost any disease,for what medical profession have millions of fancy diagnostic names,like lupus fibromyalgia chrons celiac ibs auto imune disorder and the list goes on like norway saga.fresh air does play part in good health but not enough if one eats fungal foods which is main culprit.

it is true in china, mainly in beijing, no one eats rice that can afford it. this is not because chinese people dont eat rice, but "well off" people have a snobbery that rice is "peasant food" and they don't eat it lest they appear not wealthy and much like peasants. meat is treasured and rice is looked down upon. it is just another way for the wealthier chinese to try to appear as nobles and differentiate themselves from the poorer population. ironically in japan high grade rice is more treasured in pure form, because the japanese philosophy is they will only buy the highest quality of things. quality rice is served and valued since it takes a lot of work to make good rice, and it is a sin to mix food with your rice.

Lowering animal based protein is the answer. This was Platos recomendation 2,500 years ago no one has come along since that was much wiser than Plato. 2,500 Years ago Plato said if people eat meat doctors and lawers will rule. But if people eat fruits and vegetables people will live long, happy and peacefull lives without the need for physicians and lawers.