Micronutrients in traditional Okinawan Diet

[Elie]

Okinawa is considered to be on of the 5 "blue zones", a term assigned to places with the highest percentage of centenarians.
I stumbled across this paper and this table. Interesting.

Within the context of the debate that is currently taking place on the forum, to me the calcium and vitamin a intake was of particular interest.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5403516/

 

[InChristAlone]

They don't know exactly how much vit A is in their liver though. If their diet consisted more of beta carotene than retinol then it is possible a lot was not absorbed.

 

[bruschi11]

They don't know exactly how much vit A is in their liver though. If their diet consisted more of beta carotene than retinol then it is possible a lot was not absorbed.

They ate tons of sweet potatoes so Beta carotene is what they eat.

 

[Veritas IV]

Okinawa is considered to be on of the 5 "blue zones", a term assigned to places with the highest percentage of centenarians.
I stumbled across this paper and this table. Interesting.

Within the context of the debate that is currently taking place on the forum, to me the calcium and vitamin a intake was of particular interest.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5403516/

View attachment 61759

Thank you Dr. Elie. The broader topic of actual achieved longevity, especially at the society level, is of interest to many. Will pass your information on.

They don't know exactly how much vit A is in their liver though. If their diet consisted more of beta carotene than retinol then it is possible a lot was not absorbed.

The measured amount of RE is still of significance and specific enough. As for Carotenes, that lush palm oil is filled with them, which begs the question(s)... Is that the oil these islanders use, if so in what average quantity, has it benefitted them, benignly neutral, is carotenosis a concern at all? Is it their main precursor source of converted RE? They do eat a lot more red meat than the Japanese so maybe they're getting ample preformed RE also? I tend to have more questions than the time to search for answers ...

Edit: lots of colored tropical fruits seen here: Nature’s Bounty—Island Fruits | VISIT OKINAWA JAPAN | Official Okinawa Travel Guide

Edit: apparently they have indigenous palm and coconut oil production but are net importers overall. As for common oils used, it seems to be palm, coconut, sesame and lard. That's after a quick skim of about a dozen sites using an international search engine. Sweet potatoes do seem to be populat too btw, i wonder how that may affect them hormonally...

 

[hierundjetzt]

They don't know exactly how much vit A is in their liver though. If their diet consisted more of beta carotene than retinol then it is possible a lot was not absorbed.

Then why limit coloured vegetables? They only have beta carotene which now you claim won't get absorbed. A bit contradictory, wouldn't you say?

 

[InChristAlone]

Then why limit coloured vegetables? They only have beta carotene which now you claim won't get absorbed. A bit contradictory, wouldn't you say?

I think beta carotene is safer on a low fat diet, but you won't know how much you are absorbing without testing for it. Some absorb easily, others not so much.

 

[David PS]

It may be sulfur in the volcanic soil. Typically, sulfur is not tracked in the US databases. Seneff has a 2010 blog about sulfur. Here is a deep link.

Stephanie's Page

stephanie-on-health.blogspot.com

 

[InChristAlone]

It may be sulfur in the volcanic soil. Typically, sulfur is not tracked in the US databases. Seneff has a 2010 blog about sulfur. Here is a deep link.

Stephanie's Page

stephanie-on-health.blogspot.com

Didn't read the link, but does she talk about how we need to be able to make sulfate using molybdenum? Excess hydrogen sulfide and sulfite are huge burdens. I think most people get enough sulfur from meat not to mention onions and garlic. Sulfate on the otherhand may be lacking due to molybdenum deficiency.

 

[mosaic01]

I stumbled across this paper and this table. Interesting.

Okinawa diet intake: "Calculated from U.S. National Archive, archived food records, 1949."
Japanese diet intake: "Calculated from the Japan National Nutrition Survey and the Statistics Record of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Government of Japan, 1950."

Impossible to use this as a foundation for any discussion around the effects of vA on longevity. But the problem here is larger.

The topic of longevity is a complex one. I think the blue zones are probably mostly fake. Okinawa was/is the poorest region of Japan. It does not make sense that people are healthier there, or live longer lives on average.

Japan has the longest life expectancy at birth (LEB) in the world. Okinawa, Japan's poorest prefecture, previously had the highest longevity indices in the country. However, the latest LEB for men in Okinawa is no higher than the national average

Longevity and diet in Okinawa, Japan: the past, present and future - PubMed

Japan has the longest life expectancy at birth (LEB) in the world. Okinawa, Japan's poorest prefecture, previously had the highest longevity indices in the country. However, the latest LEB for men in Okinawa is no higher than the national average. The purpose of this study is to examine why the...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

“So Okinawa, for an example, is world famous for having this extreme longevity. But if you look at the statistics from within Japan, they have the shortest average lifespan, all the provinces of Japan, they also have the highest murder rate. They have one of the worst economies. And of course, one of the most heavily bombed during the war.

Dr. Saul Newman: debunking the 'Blue Zone' longevity myth

A new study from Dr. Saul Newman, a researcher at the Australian National University, suggests the concept of age-enhancing 'Blue Zones' might in fact be fraudulent.

www.rnz.co.nz

So you have the worst place in Japan, having the lowest average lifespan, bad economy. Eating toxic sweet potatoes probably doesn't help either. The "Blue zones" is all just made up, stuff like this comes from people who like to sell books and ideas. They are not interested in the truth, they are just interested in coining a new thing.

According to Dr. Newman, the reasons for the many centenarians in Okinawa are fraud and data error.

The observation of individuals attaining remarkable ages, and their concentration into geographic sub-regions or ‘blue zones’, has generated considerable scientific interest. Proposed drivers of remarkable longevity include high vegetable intake, strong social connections, and genetic markers. Here, we reveal new predictors of remarkable longevity and ‘supercentenarian’ status. In the United States, supercentenarian status is predicted by the absence of vital registration. The state-specific introduction of birth certificates is associated with a 69-82% fall in the number of supercentenarian records. In Italy, which has more uniform vital registration, remarkable longevity is instead predicted by low per capita incomes and a short life expectancy. Finally, the designated ‘blue zones’ of Sardinia, Okinawa, and Ikaria corresponded to regions with low incomes, low literacy, high crime rate and short life expectancy relative to their national average. As such, relative poverty and short lifespan constitute unexpected predictors of centenarian and supercentenarian status, and support a primary role of fraud and error in generating remarkable human age records.

Supercentenarians and the oldest-old are concentrated into regions with no birth certificates and short lifespans

The observation of individuals attaining remarkable ages, and their concentration into geographic sub-regions or ‘blue zones’, has generated considerable scientific interest. Proposed drivers of remarkable longevity include high vegetable intake, strong social connections, and genetic markers...

www.biorxiv.org

Social cohesion has been cited as the primary factor in healthy or long-lived communities. Without a sense of purpose, humans have a problem. But the focus on centenarians is already a wrong way to look at things. Markers of physical and mental health would be more interesting.

Average lifespan in a given region is a well-known and reliable statistic. And this data shows that people live the longest in the wealthiest regions in a given country. But I guess saying that money makes people live better lifes goes against the agenda of the elites to keep the masses poor and helpless. Rather they love to shift the blame towards individuals. Peat also wrote several times about how governments oppressing people plays a big role in keeping people sick.

I think the reason for the Japanese longevity lies in the social and ethnic cohesion (Japanese don't like foreigners), the wealth, and the slow and introspective spirit of the culture that also manifests in the cuisine and food choices.

 

[J.R.K]

I think the reason for the Japanese longevity lies in the social and ethnic cohesion (Japanese don't like foreigners), the wealth, and the slow and introspective spirit of the culture that also manifests in the cuisine and food choices.

But it is not a secret that the Japanese do also have one of the highest suicide rates per hundred thousand.

Japan: suicide rate 2023 | Statista

The suicide rate in Japan increased once again in 2023, interrupting the overall downward trend of the past decade.

www.statista.com

 

[mosaic01]

But it is not a secret that the Japanese do also have one of the highest suicide rates per hundred thousand.

Japan: suicide rate 2023 | Statista

The suicide rate in Japan increased once again in 2023, interrupting the overall downward trend of the past decade.

www.statista.com

That's the dark side of cultures that put strong emphasis on the role of the individual within the larger group, when the larger culture is in a state of decay. In Japan, suicide is also historically seen as a way for the individual to keep face (Seppuku).

The japanese society of 100 years ago does not exist anymore, and I suspect things were a bit better when Japan was still flourishing. Japan is dying, see birth rate.

What I heard from japanese people is that japanese society is completely broken nowadays.

 

[J.R.K]

That's the dark side of cultures that put strong emphasis on the role of the individual within the larger group, when the larger culture is in a state of decay. In Japan, suicide is also historically seen as a way for the individual to keep face (Seppuku).

The japanese society of 100 years ago does not exist anymore. Japan is dying, see birth rate.

What I heard from japanese people is that japanese society is completely broken nowadays.

My understanding is that the corporation now serves in lieu of the emperor’s of the past. Complete service to the work with work taking priority over everything else. Not much meaningful experiences in life.

 

[Elie]

According to Dr. Newman, the reasons for the many centenarians in Okinawa are fraud and data error.

Supercentenarians and the oldest-old are concentrated into regions with no birth certificates and short lifespans

The observation of individuals attaining remarkable ages, and their concentration into geographic sub-regions or ‘blue zones’, has generated considerable scientific interest. Proposed drivers of remarkable longevity include high vegetable intake, strong social connections, and genetic markers...

www.biorxiv.org

Interesting article about Dr. Newman's findings.

Non the less, what stood out to me, even looking further into countries with the highest life expectancy, they weren't consuming high levels of calcium, not very low levels of vitamin A.

Off course, there are multiple factors that affect longevity, with one of the most relevant one being social connections.