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Product Description
There is nothing more universal than the desire to slow down the aging process, to live a long, full life with health, energy, and independence. The Okinawa Program presents the first evidence-based program to make this possible. Authored by a team of preeminent medical and scientific experts, this breakthrough book documents the diet, exercise, and lifestyle practices of the world's healthiest, longest-lived people and reveals how readers can apply these practices to their own lives.
In Okinawa, the occurrence of heart disease is only one fifth that of American levels. The rate of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers is less than a quarter of American levels. And the number of centenarians per hundred thousand is six times that of the United States. Most important, Okinawans have the world's longest disability-free life expectancy.
Concluding a long-term, collaborative scientific study, The Okinawa Program clearly and expertly explains the reasons for this remarkable successful aging phenomenon. With a realistic four-week Turnaround Plan for diet, fitness, and psychological well-being, this book offers nearly one hundred easy, fast, and delicious recipes, as well as a moderate exercise routine derived from the former island kingdom's unique martial arts. The authors introduce the cognitive and spiritual practices that have emerged as crucial to the overall health of Okinawan elders and also include resources and an extensive reference section for further information.
Accessible, authoritative, and comprehensive, The Okinawa Program can help readers minimize their risk for heart disease, breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancers, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's disease, as well as maintain healthy body weight, reduce stress, and develop more satisfying personal relationships. The Okinawa Program is a life-changing guide to increased health and youthful vigor at any age.
Amazon.com Review
If ever there were a prescription for longevity, the folks of Okinawa, a collection of islands strung between Japan and Taiwan, have found it. 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 America and other industrialized 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? In The Okinawa Program, Bradley J. Willcox, M.D., D. Craig Willcox, Ph.D., and Makoto Suzuki, M.D. reveal the islanders' age-defying secrets. 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 Program is 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 fiber 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 favor. --Norine Dworkin
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