Other core foods include large amounts of soy foods (including soybeans, tofu, and miso soup), leafy greens (including spinach, mustard greens, mizuna, and cabbage), legumes, root vegetables (such as carrots, taro, pumpkin, squash, and daikon radish), mushrooms, various seaweeds, fish, fruits (like bitter melon, grapes, bananas, and green papaya), with smaller amounts of meat (particularly pork). Favorite beverages include tea (especially jasmine) and sake. Commonly used seasonings include turmeric, ginger, bonito flakes, soy sauce, and garlic.
In fact, one study found that tofu and various types of seaweed were the most frequently consumed foods among residents of the village of Ogimi, at the north end of Okinawa. Seaweed contains lots of minerals, which helps maintain a good electrolyte balance in the body and protects neurological and brain function, says Miyashita.
On a hot day, Okinawan women gather around large bowls preparing sake for the Ungami Festival in Ogimi. Photograph by Alessandro Gandolfi
“It’s a remarkably healthy diet because it adheres to the fundamental theme of healthy eating—it’s real food, mostly plants in a sensible, balanced assembly,” says David Katz, a preventive medicine specialist, past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and co-author of How to Eat: All Your Food and Diet Questions Answered. “Optimal nutrition keeps everything working well so that you keep working well. By putting good fuel in the tank, you’re optimizing the engine and you’re essentially detoxing every day.”
Another noteworthy aspect of the traditional Okinawan diet is the concept of food as medicine, says Willcox, coauthor of The Okinawa Program: How the World’s Longest-Lived People Achieve Everlasting Health—and How You Can Too. In the traditional Okinawan diet, plants, including herbs and spices, are often used for therapeutic purposes.
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