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The Okinawa Program : How the World's Longest-Lived People Achieve Everlasting Health - And How You Can Too (平装)
by Bradley J. Willcox, M.D., D. Craig Willcox, Ph.D., Makoto Suzuki, M.D.
| Category:
Health & fitness, Nutrition, Diet |
| Market price: ¥ 168.00
MSL price:
¥ 138.00
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 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Considered the world's healthiest people, the Okinawans may offer you a prescription for health and longevity through the study. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 12 items |
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Deepak Chopra (M.D., Author of Ageless Body, Timeless Mind and Grow Younger Live Longer) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
The Okinawa Program is a very significant contribution to the science of longevity. Read this book carefully and follow the recommendations and you will add years to your life and life to your years. |
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Andrew Weil (M.D., Author of Spontaneous Healing and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
As you will learn in this scientifically factual and highly readable book, the general principles of living the Okinawa way . . . are accessible to everyone and quite consistent with the latest medical research on healthy lifestyles and healthy aging. |
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James Hollandsworth (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
Well, that's what two brothers, one a physician and one an anthropologist, have been doing for the past decade in the islands of Okinawa, studying over 400 centenarians - people over 100 years old. And not decrepit, demented shells over 100 either - people still living in their homes, gardening, walking to market daily, chatting with friends.
Why are they living so long? Why are their bodies on almost every biochemical measure 20 years younger or more than equivalent American bodies?
That's the subject of the book The Okinawa Program, and a fascinating read it is. The authors both try to describe the health and lifestyle of the Okinawan culture, try to explain what is healthy about it, and then how to incorporate it into our lifestyle.
The distinctives that the authors bring out chapter by chapter are a healthy primarily vegetarian diet, regular exercise, a low-pressure lifestyle, use of meditation and other forms of stress-reduction, a close supportive social network, and their "spirituality" which is mostly positive and optimistic in nature.
The book itself is well-written and documented as far as this genre goes. It's only downfall (also common to the genre) is tunnel-vision. The authors' enthusiasm for all things Okinawan rarely points out anything negative at all about the culture, to the point that you wonder how objective they really are. Beyond that, they often downplay the very tenuous nature of drawing conclusions about looking backwards and trying to figure out why things are a certain way - you can use common sense and a little science to make a good guess that eating foods high in flavinoids may extend life, but limited science plus common sense has led us down the wrong path many a time before.
Another major point to be made is that these non-Christian authors cannot perceive the difference between mere religion (which they apparently believe is generically good for both its placebo like effect on the human body and possibly tapping into some generic higher power) vs. a genuine relationship with the genuine God.
Of course, this draws a rather brutal line in the sand for those of us who do name the name of Christ. If our lives have truly been touched by the living God, then why are we dying by the droves in our gluttony and physical laziness and frantically paced American lifestyles, while people who do not know the true God over the ocean are living lives which I suspect more closely model what Christ would have us live? Food for thought, and a worthwhile book to read and ponder. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
This book is a very comprehensive read about health, based on the healthiest people in the world. It makes sense. The people in Okinawa follow their food pyramid and have great health as a result. The book explains how their lifestyle of good food, daily exercise, positive outlook on life and so on, keeps them healthy, happy and energetic....in fact many of them live to 100 years of age and beyond. Apparently they don't even have a word for menopause! We could all benefit from taking a leaf out of this book and applying it to our own lives - there are even recipes that we can try. This book teaches us that living well is a conscious decision - it requires balance. The Okinawan lifestyle seems to have the perfect balance. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
This has got to be one of the most well-researched books on health and longevity that I've read in a long time. Based on a landmark study on the people of Okinawa (Japan), the authors outline the preventative lifestyle techniques that keep the elders of Okinawa healthy well into old age and with lower rates of disease and disability than here in the West.
Also highly recommended is the book The Okinawa Diet Plan, as this is more specifically geared towards those trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy body weight. Definitely two books that belong in the home library of anyone seriously interested in health and longevity. |
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An Okinawan reader (MSL quote), Japan
<2007-01-05 00:00>
As an Okinawan public health nurse I can say proudly that older Okinawans (ages 65-plus) have been and still are the world's longest-lived people, despite what some less informed people might say. In fact, the older generations far outlive all other Japanese, who are the world's longest-lived country, by a highly statistically significant several years in fact. The Okinawans have been Japan's longest-lived and healthiest people since records have been kept and only recently have the younger ones, with the invasion of American fast food and Japanese white rice (sweet potato was the main carbohydrate in the old days), become less healthy than other Japanese.
The elders, whom Drs. Willcox and Suzuki write about in their outstanding books, ARE truly remarkable. In my ten years as a public health nurse I have not seen a single case of breast cancer and prostate and colon cancers are rare. Few elders die of heart attacks or other unnatural causes. The leading cause of death is simply old age and a recent autopsy study of an Okinawan centenarian showed that she had no cholesterol in her coronary arteries and was healthy until the end. That is typical of the elders I see every day.
If you wish to learn the health and weight secrets of the older Okinawans I would urge you to buy the OKINAWA PROGRAM or the OKINAWA DIET PLAN. Drs. Willcox and Suzuki have done a wonderful job in laying out the facts, translating their research findings into a highly appealing program that keeps you lean, fit and energetic, just like the elders. AND they have kept their books interesting and full of beautiful stories of my healing culture with meal plans that appeal to both East and West. I am so proud that someone has finally told the world the real facts about the world's healthiest people !! |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
This book has already made some changes in my eating habits, and I thought I was doing fairly well before. I agree with all the positive comments already made, so I won't add much to that, expect to say that I think, for me, the unique aspect of this book was that it gave a clear picture of people who were doing it right, and living long healthy lives as a result. Most books tell you what you should do, and that's helpful, but a wholistic picture like this spurs more enthusiasm, and somehow makes it easier to actually do it. My main reason for adding my review is that some recent reviewers seem to have looked at the menus without realizing the implications of the fact that these menus are intended to wean one away from our present unhealthy diet. So of course the first week looks out of keeping with the Okinawa findings, esp. in the Americanized version. But if you look at week four, and at the Eastern version in particular, you will see a lot of Asian foods, and mighty little of our bad habits, if any. (Also, you have to read the recipes - their "scrambled eggs" dish has no actual eggs, for example.) Seems to me their week four menus are very much in keeping with the findings of the book, and if we all started eating like week four, Western or Eastern version, health stats in the US would start looking a LOT better. I hope the authors someday put together a whole cookbook! |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
This book is incredible. It always amazed me that so many people in a country like ours, with the latest medical technology, are so sickly and have so many ongoing, chronic health problems. Well, this book gives the answers. In an easy to understand style, it emphasizes the importance of healthy eating (less meat, avoiding fad diets), exercise, and inner peace. I especially liked the part about the strong yet easygoing personalities of the centurians, and how their spirituality contributed to their long lives. It made me realize how totally screwed up our lives are, despite the latest technological advances, and how much we need to slow things down, learn to relax, and rely on discipline and our own power rather than neglecting our health and then relying on advanced medicine to fix it. It was refreshing to learn that the health problems of old age are not inevitable - we can combat them, and live long and happy lives. I would recommend this book to everyone. |
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Jeffrey Smythe (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
I read the review by John Granger on August 19, 2003 called "Good Program but Not Okinawan". It was hard to believe that he and I are talking about the same book or that he actually lived in Okinawa since his review seemed so ill informed.
I have studied nutrition and met many of the healthy elders in Okinawa and indeed still live there. My guess is that he never got off the US Army base and met any of the healthy elders or traveled to the northern villages to see the natural beauty of Okinawa and share meals and stories with the elders. If he had he would have noticed that the lifestyle described in the Okinawa Program still exists but mostly in those healthy elders.
It is based in the philosophy of "nuchi gusui" which can be loosely translated as "food is medicine." I can't tell you how often I have heard that phrase since coming to this beautiful place. The point the Drs. Willcox and Suzuki were making was to emulate the lifestyle of the elders- not that of the youth in Okinawa.
Regarding longevity, it is well known among the Japanese that the Okinawans not only have more healthy centenarians but a longer life expectancy in general - that's precisely why there are so many centenarians. The oldsters just keep on going. It is also well known in Japan that Okinawa has what is called a U-turn migration pattern. People leave but they come back so lack of younger age groups in the population doesn't explain the high percentage of centenarians either. Also there is no longer a mass migration outward as in the old days (which would actually have lowered the numbers of people who might have lived to one hundred) so that doesn't explain it either. Okinawans also have the highest birth rate in Japan so have HIGH numbers of very young people so that actually lowers the relative centenarian prevalence versus other Japanese.
Nor did the war cull all the weak from the population. Bullets and bombs killed most people, and these do not differentiate between weak and strong but are equally deadly to both. However, Granger does make one good point. That the deprivation before and after the war may have helped people live longer. Of course, he could have just looked up that point in the Okinawa Program, since the authors clearly state that a simple, low-calorie traditional diet helped with their longevity. The elders eat mainly plant foods, like sweet potatoes, other vegetables, tofu and very small amounts of lean meat and fish, which is a quite delicious way to eat and very likely contributes to their famed longevity through "caloric restriction" mechanisms.
A recent scientific report in the journal Science by David Sinclair's research group at Harvard showed that flavonoids, which appear in the Okinawan diet in higher quantities than perhaps anywhere else, extended lifespan in their experiment by 70%! Perhaps Mr. Granger can chew on that for awhile. The Okinawan elders have been doing so and look what it did for them! |
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Susan Michaels (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
This is the BEST health book I have ever read and one of the nicest benefits of eating this way is the weight (mostly FAT!!) that I have lost. I have been heavy all my life. My doctor told me it was genetic and that I am "big- boned" (whatever that means)and that I should just be happy with my weight but I just couldn't accept that. I tried the Atkins Diet and lost 20 pounds but I felt weak, tired and cranky and nearly bit my husband's head off on several occasions. I cried when I gained every pound back within 2 weeks, when I went off the Atkin's diet, it was SO discouraging. I have tried EVERY diet you can think of, from low fat to low carb but nothing seemed to work until I found the Okinawa Program. The best thing was that I didn't feel hungry or deprived despite eating fewer calories and I feel and look so much better. Even cellulite from my thighs has disappeared and that has NEVER happened for me before. Perhaps even better is that I have kept the weight off for 6 months now and there seems to be a stronger bond between my husband, my family and me. I think it's because I FINALLY FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYSELF! My doctor could not believe it when he saw how I look now and is now recommending the Okinawa Program to ALL his patients. |
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1 2 | Total 2 pages 12 items |
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