Hara Hachi Bu

About 800 miles south of Tokyo are the islands of Okinawa. It is in the nothern portion of these islands that you will find a community of people that maintain the longest disability free lifestyle in the world.  They live on average seven years longer than the average American, and have five times as many centenarians as the USA. Studies performed by Quest Network have attributed this longevity to diet, lifestyle and a cultural practice called Hara Hachi Bu.  In addition to logevity the Okinawan lifestyle has led to 1/5 the rate of colon and breast cancer in the USA, and 1/6 the rate of cardiocascular disease.

Hara Hachi Bu is a 3000 year old diet created by Chinese social philosopher, Confucious.  In it's siplest form it is a saying or prayer said before the meal meaning to "eat until the stomach is 80% full".  The theory behind this is that the stomach takes about 20 minutes to tell the brain how full it is.  Stopping at 80% allows the stomach's stretch receptors to take about 20 minutes to tell the body how full it really is. Therefore 20 minutes after stopping you feel completely full. As a result of this practice Okinawans consume less calories than the average person.  This combined with a diet of mostly plants and Omega 3 rich fish, and a active/low intensity lifestyle, have made them some of the healthiest people on the earth.

Centenarians in Okinawa are not hard to find and live life with vigor.  Staying active with exercises that are not too intense on the body is important as well.  You will find them daily walking or gardening, starting at a young age and continuing though their entire lifespan.  More subtle practices like not using chairs allow them to constantly workout muscles by getting up and down off the floor.  Obesity is rare in this part of the world.  The people are lean and fit, living a long life with stamina and vigor.