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2/19/2006 I am fascinated by people who live 100 years or older. What have they seen? How do they live? What are their secrets to a long and satisfying life? The right genes must be in their favor, but are there other factors? What lessons can we learn from centurions that will help our lives? I am fascinated by people who live 100 years or older. What have they seen? How do they live? What are their secrets to a long and satisfying life? The right genes must be in their favor, but are there other factors? My husband likes to quote Richard Bland, “Experience is the master teacher, his road was hard and rough. But, wisdom sat back and watched him, and said to watch him was experience enough.” By watching these centurions we may learn some of their secrets to longevity – and perhaps improve our own lives…
I have learned lessons on longevity from Sadie Delaney (1889-1999) and Bessie Delaney (1891-1995) in the book “Having Our Say.” This book is packed with longevity secrets!! The main lessons on longevity are these. The sisters lived a life of purpose! Their daddy taught them, “to reach high!” and they did! They had a reason for “getting up in the morning.” The grocery man used to call the sisters the “vegetable ladies.” And, of course, they had a sense of humor. Bessie said, “I used to try to change the world, then I tried to change myself, and honey that isn’t easy either.” The sisters also exercised faith in God.
I have learned lessons on longevity from Okinawa. On the small island of Okinawa reside some of the longest-lived people in the world. Their death rates from diseases that plague Westerners are some of the lowest recorded. Theirs is a history of aging slowly and of delaying or even escaping the chronic diseases of aging such as dementia, cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease and stroke) and cancer. These people who live well over 100 years are lean, youthful-looking, energetic, and had remarkably low rates of heart disease and cancer, even stomach cancer, which claims many mainland Japanese.
What do the Okinawan people eat? The average Okinawan citizen consumes at least seven servings of vegetables daily, and an equal number of grains (most of them whole grains in the form of noodles, bread, and rice). Add to these two to four servings of fruit, plus tofu and other forms of soy, green tea, seaweed and fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids (three times weekly). Sweet potatoes, bean sprouts, onions, and green peppers are prominent in their diet. Vegetables, grains, and fruits make up 72% of the diet by weight. Soy and seaweed provide another 14%. Meat, poultry, and eggs account for just 3% of the diet, fish about 11%. The emphasis is on dark green vegetables rich in calcium (Okinawans, like other Japanese, do not eat much dairy). When older folks in Okinawa meet their children and grandchildren after a time apart, their greeting is likely to be, "Are you eating good food?" Eating good food means eating so as to take care of your health. "Kusuimun," which means “healthy food with curative powers.” They are encouraging one another to eat foods that will help prevent illness and disease. See http://www.okinawa-diet.com/ to learn more.
And I have learned lessons on longevity as a Seventh-day Adventist. The November 2005, The National Geographic magazine states: “From 1976 to 1988 the National Institutes of Health funded a study of 34,000 California Adventists to see whether their health-oriented lifestyle affected their life expectancy and risk of heart disease and cancer. The study found that the Adventists’ habit of consuming beans, soy milk, tomatoes, and other fruits lowered their risk of developing certain cancers. It also suggested that eating whole wheat bread, drinking five glasses of water a day, and, most surprisingly, consuming four servings of nuts a week reduced their risk of heart disease. And it found that not eating red meat had been helpful to avoid both cancer and heart disease. In the end of the study reached a stunning conclusion, says Gary Fraser of Loma Linda University: The average Adventist lived four to ten years longer than the average Californian. That makes the Adventists one of the nation’s most convincing cultures of longevity.” Please see http://www.llu.edu/llu/health/
The National Geographic story writer, Dan Buettner, states it best: “After interviewing more that 50 centenarians on three continents, I’ve found every one likeable; there hasn’t been a grump in the bunch.” What a powerful lesson on longevity!!
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” Albert Einstein –
By: Susan Singer MPH,RD
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