Mediterranean diet (not the best)
 

There are lots of regions or countries in the world that do better than the Mediterranean. I don't have any statistics on the vegan diet but I can compare the Okinawan diet with Italy, Greece, and the United States. The following was provided by the World Health Organization and Japan Ministry of Health and Welfare....1996.

Death Rates Per 100,000 People For Coronary Heart Disease:

Location:.....................Deaths Per Year............Eating Pattern

Okinawa................................18......... .............East-West fusion

Italy......................................55..... ................Mediterranean

Greece...................................55....... ...............Mediterranean

United States.........................100................ ......American


Stroke:

Okinawa.................................35

Italy.......................................49

Greece....................................109


Cancer:

Okinawa...................................97

Italy.........................................135

Greece......................................109


Deaths From All Causes:

Okinawa...................................335

Italy........................................459

Greece.....................................449

Life expectancy(1996)

Okinawa......................81.2

Italy............................78.3

Greece.........................78.1

We've talked in other threads about the Mediterranean diet. Could you please briefly explain the basics of the Okinawa diet?

You are quoting statistics that are sixteen years old?

Here is a link to Okinawan diet. Surprised to find carbs, pork. fish and eggs.

Okinawa diet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oh my stars and garters! :faint:


(:thumbup:)

I'll be glad to get the information but I don't have it with me at the moment. Perhaps tomorrow.

Well, the book came out in 2001. It may have been updated in 2007. I'll have to check on it. However, regardless of how old it is, it gives the blueprint of how to achieve great health and longevity. The Okinawan elders were the healthiest and longest lived people in the world. They had more centenarians per 100,000 population than anywhere else on earth. The authors stated that younger Okinawans were slowly changing for the worse. And, at the time the book was written, it was to document and give credit to the Okinawan elders. It was a 25 year study. The point was to document it, otherwise it would be lost forever. So it's a snapshot in time that anyone can benifit from.

Yes, they eat some animal protein but it only adds up to about 14% of their total diet, by weight. For example, they typically would eat 2 to 3 eggs per week. The eggs would come from their own chickens that were free roaming. When their chickens (perhaps 3 or 4 per family) stopped laying eggs, they would eat those chickens (high in omega 3). It wouldn't be very much. I'll put this in better perspective at some later time. Perhaps tomorrow.

The problem is that we live in a culture where anything that tastes good would be overconsumed. In the U.S., if you tell people that it's okay to eat 2 or 3 eggs per week, they will eat a dozen or more. Eggs taste so good that it would be very difficult not to eat more. So, for many people, it might be better to abstain alltogether.

Not only do they eat very little animal protein, but it's not grain fed beef, chicken, pork and fish. All animal protein is raised naturally. It's all free range and fish from the ocean. And, as far as I know, they don't eat beef.

All I'm saying is that it's a lot better than the Mediterannean diet. And a heck of a lot better than the American diet. And the vegan diet may likely be the best of all but I don't have the statistics on it to make a direct comparrison.

But the book "The China Study" makes a pretty good case that the vegan diet is the best.

One other important thing about the Okinawan diet: Okinawan elders eat a low calorie natural diet and they stop eating when they are 80% full. It's the calorie restricted diet that the average American fears.

Personally, I eat low-calorie natural whole-foods but I can't quite figure out exactly how one would know when they have reached 80% full.

I think I read somewhere that the Okinawan Elders eat only seaweed. Or maybe I just made that up. :throwtomatoes:

Is that organic seaweed?

Organic and holistic seaweed!

The Okinawa Diet Food Pyramid

A Guide to Daily Food Choices

http://naturalfemina.files.wordpress...od_pyramid.jpg

To quote a famous person, "What difference does it make now"? Interesting information but I'm not sure, at our age, we would get a lot more longevity by even a severe diet alteration!

American Diet? :shrug: We have a lot more bad habits in America to kill us rather than our diet. Our golf carts and round-a-bouts are more dangerous than a cheese burger.

But how will U know?

It's kinda simple really, take your current health reports blood work, ultra sounds, carotid duplex what ever you have now, especially tests that show plaque build up or blockages in your arteries.

Change your diet (without cheating for 3 or 6 months, 6 is a better barometer) redo your blood work and any of the tests that showed issues again.
If there's no improvement eat all the dead animals you can & drink like hell.

Say Jimbo was wrong....simple right? :shrug:

Ps: I betcha I'm going to see a leaner healthier person with more energy.

I'm not referring to any diet other than vegan no oils.

I'm not sure exactly how much seaweed they eat because on my chart they lump dairy and seaweed together as "calcium-rich foods."
Those two together make up 2% of their diet, by weight.

To get a better idea of their total lifestyle, I would suggest you pick up a copy of the book: "The Okinawa Program: How The World's Longest-Lived People Achieve Everlasting Health-And How You Can Too". Ask for the latest edition.

There is truth in what you say, but why not make the best of what you have left? If a better lifestyle can boost your immune system you will feel better and be less susceptible to disease. So whatever life you have left will be of better quality. Isn't that worth something?

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

Redd Foxx

Interesting quote, he died of Myocardial infarction

During the rehearsal, he apparently suffered a massive heart attack on the set, which at first was thought to be a joke, with the cast and crew laughing at him. After discovering the reality of the situation and being rushed to the Emergency Room of Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, Redd Foxx was pronounced dead.

Actually he died that evening.

At least he died of something!

Frequently, those who die from heart attacks don't have time to feel stupid.

There was a man in the news who lived to be about 115, he purposely practiced a healthy lifestyle and was the oldest man in the world. He was in good health up until about one month before he died. He got pneumonia and was in the hospital for a few weeks before dying.

That's the goal, or should be the goal for those who strive for health and longevity. It has been reported many times that centenarians often die peacefully in their sleep. Their heart just stops.

Cigar chomping George Burns (January 20, 1896 March 09, 1996) did not ahere to any of the above-stated diets . Latest life expectancy for men in the US is 78 and for women 83> Just think some passengers waved out the dessert cart just before the Titanic went down. Hmmmmmmmmmm (quoted by a famous female journalist whose name escapes me at this moment(Irma Bombeck)

I applaud those who strive for health and longevity, as long as it isn't the primary reason for existence. Of course, we all want to be healthy. I suppose that dying peacefully in your sleep could be a goal. I'd rather focus on having a meaningful life while I'm on this planet, trying to live the Golden Rule, and having some fun along wth it.

:BigApplause::BigApplause::BigApplause::BigApplaus e:

The man who was the oldest man in the world liked getting into interesting conversations with other residents where he lived. He lived his last years in an assisted living facility. And he liked going for walks. Also, there was a waiting list of people who wanted to talk to him or interview him because he was like a celebrity. I got the impression that he enjoyed keeping his mind and body active.

I can't imagine longevity being the primary reason. Usually, I think it's secondary. First comes a love of live, I would think. And, if you love life, you want more of it.

I had a neighbor many years ago who said she wanted to live to be 100. (She lived in my neighborhood and was the owner/operator of a motel.)
She said she thought she could do it and it seemed to be very important to her. From my perspective, it didn't seem as though she was living a very happy or interesting life. But who knows, you can't tell how a person feels about life just by looking at them or talking with them briefly.

The conversation I had with her was about 18 years ago and she might have been in her late seventies at the time. I think she would be about 96 by now. I sometimes wonder if she's going to make it to 100. And I wonder if old age is everything she thought it would be.

Lets get real:
 

I know a man who always said that he didn't want to live to be very old. And he kept saying that well into his old old age. In his early 80s he went for a by-pass operation. Why? I assume he wanted to keep living. It seems that life gets more and more precious as you come closer to the end.

And I wonder, if he could do it all over again, would he trade his poor dietary habits for a healthier old age? He suffers from disabilities now. Does he say to himself, "I remember all the ice cream, apple pies (etc.) I had and it was well worth the suffering I have now"?

I often think that in the end, people, for the most part, get the health they deserve. If people consciously make the choice to enjoy themselves by eating lots of processed junk then we should not feel sorry for them when they get febble and hunched over (etc.) in their older years.

So, to quote Yogi Berra, "If the people don't want to come out to the ballpark, nobody's going to stop them." Right?

And:

"I always go to other people's funerals otherwise they won't come to mine."

Is it the desire for a long life?

Or a fear of death.

Good question. Perhaps it's a blend of the two. It's only natural to fear the unknown and we naturally want to continue with what we are familiar with. I want to wake up for breakfast tomorrow morning because I enjoy my breakfast routine. I look forward to doing my daily wonder-word puzzle. I look forward to posting on this website. I enjoy going out to eat with my friend. There are so many things to enjoy in life.

What will we enjoy in death? Anything? HELLO!!!

The question is if you don't wake up for breakfast will you know it?

Since you have low expectations of what you will enjoy in death, it will obviously be nothing much...........unless there is a surprise in store for you.

For those of us who do believe that the soul lives on (after the physical body dies).......they can look forward to being reunited with the spirits of their long departed loved ones......their parents, perhaps a dearly loved spouse who left this earth first...........all of the ancestors who came before them.

I know the spirit lives on.......and death is not to be feared......

Our children and grandchildren will be sad for a brief time and then someday they will join us..........

For those of you who believe in reincarnation, perhaps we all will come back again in the same family units to "re do" what we didn't get quite right the first time around.....

rubicon, George Burns wrote a book to describe his diet and exercise regimen and I found it very interesting. I can't say that I agreed with all of his food choices but he was very careful to do the best he could. If I remember correctly, the best thing about it was that it was calorie restricted. Calorie restriction has been known to yield pretty good results even if the food choices are not the best.

Perhaps he would have lived much longer with better choices.

About passengers passing up dessert on the Titanic:

What were the men thinking as they slipped below the surface of the water? "Darn, I could have had dessert!" :icon_hungry:

What were the women thinking as they entered the lifeboats? "Too many heavy women and this boat might sink too!" ;)

For people living in the U.S., seaweed is not recommended. Seaweed is rich in iodine and too much iodine can cause thyroid problems (goiter). The thinking is that we get enough iodine from our food plus what we get from iodized salt. It's interesting to note that too little iodine in the diet can cause goiter as well. So you need some but not too much.

It's complicated ~
 

I've been on the Med/Diet for several years and it seems to be working for me; at age 74 I'm healthy and don't need to take any prescribed drugs to stay that way. However, I was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis ~~ need to eat gluten-free and dairy-free ~~ weigh only 116 and would love to gain some weight but don't know how to without eating "junk" :shrug:

What was your diagnoses based on, a standard bone density test? Bone density cannot determine bone strength. Low bone density does not always mean low bone strength. The book that explains that is titled, "The Myth of Osteoporosis" by Gillian Sanson.

Also, not all testing equipment is calibrated to give the same results. So you might test low in one area and normal in another.

After reading this book I got the impression that treatments don't work very well because you can build up bone density but it doesn't guarantee that your bones will be stronger.

The bottom line: The best one can do is to maintain good health and strength so as to keep from falling because falling is the number one cause of breaking or fracturing bones.

Gaining weight: Have you tried gaining weight by eating nuts? Nuts contain good fats and are calorie dense.

Having had osteopenia for about 15 years, I have been getting the DEXA scan yearly for the last couple of years and the last one resulted in the diagnosis of osteoporosis; and I have no intention to take any drugs for it. Instead, I've been trying to do weight bearing activities at the fitness center and trying not to fall :shrug: I do eat nuts, maybe should more ! Thanks for your comments.