Okinawa diet

The Okinawa diet describes the traditional dietary practices of indigenous people of the Ryukyu Islands (belonging to Japan), which were claimed to have contributed to their relative longevity over a period of study in the 20th century.

[2] Okinawan cuisine consists of smaller meal portions of green and yellow vegetables, soy and other legumes, relatively small amounts of rice compared to mainland Japan, as well as occasional fish and pork.

[2] As proportions of total caloric intake, foods in the traditional Okinawa diet included sweet potato (69%), rice (12%), other grains (7%), legumes including soy (6%), green and yellow vegetables (3%), refined oils (2%), fish (1%) and seaweed, meat (mostly pork), refined sugars, potato, egg, nuts and seeds, dairy and fruit (all <1%).

[12] In addition to their relative longevity identified in the mid-20th century, islanders were noted for their low mortality from cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers.

[2] In the 21st century, the shifting dietary trend coincided with a decrease in longevity, where Okinawans actually developed a lower life expectancy than the Japanese average.

[2] Since the early 2000s, the difference in life expectancy between Okinawan and mainland Japanese decreased, possibly due to Westernization and erosion of the traditional diet.

[3][4] The spread of primarily American fast-food chains was linked with an increase in cardiovascular diseases, much like the ones noted in Japanese migrants to the United States.

Portion sizes are small and meals are brought out in stages that starts with appetizers, many main courses including sashimi (raw fish) and suimono (soup), sweets and tea.