The Okinawa Way: How to Improve Your Health And Longevity Dramatically - Softcover

Willcox, Bradley J; Willcox, Craig D; Suzuki, Makoto

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0718144945 ISBN 13: 9780718144944

Publisher: Michael Joseph, 2001

Synopsis

Okinawa, a group of islands in the East China Sea, has the longest-lived population in the world, who are healthy, happy and active. There is relatively little incidence of the diseases that plague the Western world. THE OKINAWA WAY is a specifically devised method developed by the authors for retarding and even reversing the symptoms of ageing. By following the plan, you can experience the health and longevity experienced by the Okinawans.

About this title

Review

If ever there were a prescription for longevity, the people of Okinawa, a collection of islands strung between Japan and Taiwan, have found it. In The Okinawa Way, Bradley J Willcox, Craig Willcox and Makoto Suzuki reveal the islanders' age-defying secrets. Considered the world's healthiest people, residents of this tropical archipelago routinely live active, independent lives well into their 90s and 100s. Their rates of obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, memory loss, menopause and breast, colon and prostate cancer rank far below the rates for these illnesses in the UK and other industrialised countries. In fact, researchers believe many Okinawans are physically younger than their chronological ages. In essence, the Okinawans have found a way to beat the clock.

How do they do it? Of course, there are really no surprises here: a low-fat diet, exercise, stress management, strong social and family ties and spiritual connectedness--the same things experts have been recommending for years--all play key roles in keeping the Okinawans youthful. But in this fascinating read, which is peppered with inspiring anecdotes about these remarkable people, the authors provide concrete evidence that adopting these healthy habits pays off significantly in terms of tacking more productive years onto our lives.

Based on the authors' 25-year Okinawa Centenarian Study, this extraordinarily well-written book demonstrates that genetics provide only so much protection against disease. Indeed, the authors often remind us that when younger Okinawans pick up Western habits, their rates of obesity, illness and life expectancy start to match ours as well. Clearly, when it comes to longevity, healthy lifestyle habits will out. That said, the major message of The Okinawa Wayis that we can easily adopt the life-lengthening strategies that have served the Okinawans so well for generations. To that end, the authors pack chapters with suggestions for following "The Way", from eating a low-fat, low-calorie diet packed with fibre and complex carbohydrates (cooking up the book's more than 80 recipes is a start) and learning tai chi to finding time to meditate and relax, developing one's spirituality, doing volunteer work and building a solid network of friends and family. Rounding out the book, the authors pull their key recommendations into a comprehensive yet doable four-week plan that's meant to get you started. Following "The Way" isn't a free shot at immortality but it certainly helps stack the deck in your favour. --Norine Dworkin

Review

"...the book is filled with inspiring glimpses of elderly men and women who are still gardening, working and walking into-and well beyond-their 90s." -- Publishers Weekly, April 2, 2000

"The outcome of years of extensive medical research, this book offers a practical and optimistic vision of growing old." -- Publishers Weekly, April 2, 2000

About this edition

• Publisher: Michael Joseph
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0718144945
• ISBN 13: 9780718144944
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496