The search for longevity has been one of humanity’s desires, although it is currently looked at through a different prism: we seek to live longer and better. For this reason, there are many who have focused on what are already known worldwide as blue zones, places where this is a challenge that seems like a piece of cake and where the Japanese island of Okinawa stands out especially.
Recently, the journalist Edoardo Liotta has been able to spend a few days in one of the small towns on this island, Ogimi, and has recounted his entire experience, from the lunch of the centenarian villagers, to the hobbies they practice with an agility unusual for their older ones. 100 years of life.
Liotta has had the opportunity to see what a typical day is like in the small town of Ogimi, in the middle of the subtropical hills in the north of the island. As expected, this small enclave is made up of traditional wooden houses scattered along extensive farmland.
In Ogimi there is a large concentration of elderly people, who not only exceed 100 years of age, but also have a striking quality of life, with surprising agility. Genetics has a significant weight in this area, but it also highlights the lifestyle and ancient customs carried out by the locals.
Plant-based diet.
Among these customs is Ogimi’s lunch, highlighting the one consumed in Emi’s store. This is a restaurant that has become famous for preparing its longevity food, cooked by the owner of the establishment herself using fresh ingredients: fruits and vegetables grown on her farm.
While there are different versions of longevity food, the dish Liotta ate contained cold noodles, bitter gourd, eggs, tofu, miso soup, and various vegetables. For dessert: homemade yogurt, gelatin, an Okinawan donut, and the island’s native citrus shikuwasa (similar to an orange).
The journalist especially highlights the high vegetable content of these dishes, which are served with a simple piece of fish little larger than an anchovy and a small cube of pork. Regarding foods of plant origin, there are legumes, fermented vegetables, beans, tofu and tubers such as purple sweet potatoes, among others. In short, a plant-based diet, with organic and local ingredients.
In fact, one of the locals explained to them that “he eats everything in his garden,” including stems and other parts of plants that are not usually prepared as food.
An extra tip
But you don’t just have to focus on diet. Something that all populations of centenarians throughout the world seem to share are the ties between the population, both friends and family. Liotta was able to see how their ties improve. In this case, they meet at a community center to carry out activities such as gardening, one of the pastimes typical of the blue zones, as EL ESPAÑOL detailed.
Some of the local elders who work in the garden also prepare games with seasonal crops for the children, fostering intergenerational ties. However, there is also an inconvenient truth: the ‘invasion’ of modernity is threatening the delicate balance between humans, nature and traditions in Ogimi.
