Longevity Series Continued – Eat This, Not That

If you clicked on this newsletter expecting a spreadsheet of foods to eat and ones to avoid…you'd be wrong. It's not that simple, in fact it is so complicated that foods can react in a positive way to one person and a negative way in another. This is why diet is one of the least understood topics…think about all of the contradictory studies out there – depends who funds them! A topic for another day, along with your microbiome - what goes in your mouth and the key to all that goes on in your body … let's move on.

Instead of giving you a list, let's look at one of the areas of the world that is home to some of the longest living people – Okinawa, Japan. Researchers have racked their brains and come up with a few reasons for this outlier of longevity. For starters, the people of Okinawa abide by the 80% rule - small plates! And only eat until you're 80% full. In addition, the majority of the diet is made up of vegetables, a small proportion of rice/grains and a small amount of meat/soy products. Last on the list is calories from alcohol.

If you're interested in what the typical diet might look like, see below:

• Vegetables (58–60%): sweet potato (orange and purple), seaweed, kelp, bamboo shoots, daikon radish, bitter melon, cabbage, carrots, Chinese okra, pumpkin, and green papaya
• Grains (33%): millet, wheat, rice, and noodles
• Soy foods (5%): tofu, miso, natto, and edamame
• Meat and seafood (1–2%): mostly white fish, seafood, and occasional pork — all cuts, including organs
• Other (1%): alcohol, tea, spices, and dashi (broth)

One common overarching theme is the lack of processed foods. Instead, we should be thinking of eating foods that are closest to their natural form. Food is the fuel for our bodies, including our brain. There are a number of studies confirming that excessive exposure to ultra processed foods will contribute to cognitive decline.

In summary, reduce processed foods as much as possible and limit yourself to 80% - stop before you're full. You're not going to be perfect, accept that and start making incremental changes today. If you're interested in tracking calories to better understand the numbers, myfitnesspal (https://www.myfitnesspal.com) is a great place to start.

Our quote this week comes from Michael Pollan:

"Don't eat anything your great-great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food"

Or as Harry was told by his doctor “don't put anything in your mouth that is the colour white”

Sources: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/okinawa-diet#foods-to-eat