The Unusual Foods and Longevity of Okinawa

Goya - more Vitamin C than Lemons

Okinawan Sea Grapes - sometimes called Vegetarian Caviar

Agu - local pig, often displayed wearing sunglasses (Really!) Noses sold separately

Shiikuwashi Juice - yummy citrus, sitting in a vending maching

Beni Imo Posing on a Sidewalk

The Real Beni Imo, Waiting to be Eaten

On the island of Okinawa, Japan, people eat big gooey purple sweet potatoes called BENI-IMO. They are made into candy and ice cream; they are sliced thin, salted and fried (think Terra Chips); and they are modeled into 4 foot high plastic replicas that stand outside shops on the streets of Naha. Beni-Imo supposedly is exceptionally nutritious, with very high beta carotene and 150% of the antioxidants of blueberries. For a relatively small island of Japan, Okinawa makes a big splash with its distinct foods.

There is a delicious little citrus fruit called SHIKUWASA, also native to Okinawa. It looks like a small lime, but its meat is orange and it is delicious - kind of like a mandarin orange. It's also sold in vending machines as a canned juice.

At Teppan Yaki restaurants (think Benihana Japanese steak house style), there are two kinds of meats unique to Okinawa. AGU is the local pig and ISHIGAKIGYU is the local beef which is very marbled (i.e. fatty) and extremely delicious.

OKINAWAN SEA GRAPES are gorgeous and tasty. They are a type of seaweed that are light green in color and glisten like little crystals. We had them served to us on the side of a sushi dish. The sea grapes are little plants in the form of balls clinging to a stem, spaced evenly along the length. When you bite into a branch, the little balls burst and squirt salty water into your mouth. I heard sea grapes described as vegetarian caviar. Perfect description.

TACO RICE is just funny. Some restaurants catering to Americans seem to make stuff up. Like most restaurants, the ones serving American dishes post photos of the dishes with name labels so you can see what you would get if you ordered a particular item. The first time I noticed taco rice on a menu, I saw a photo of a circle of white rice topped with some ground meat in the center, and some green chopped garnish. The taco rice offerings at some restaurants ballooned to the point where they warranted a whole section of the menu, vying for the same status as a food group along with meat and fish. Taco rice dishes even included "Abocado Taco Rice" - misspelling and all.

You either love or hate GOYA. It looks like an overgrown cucumber with pimples. It is a very bitter gourd with claims of great properties for health. It is claimed to have three times more vitamin C than lemons, to reduce blood sugar levels and that it lowers high blood pressure. I liked it only when it was sliced paper thin in small pieces. Otherwise, in big clumps, it's gross.

I am not the only one who wonders whether the foods on Okinawa have any relation to the fact that Okinawa has more centenarians per capita than anywhere else in the world. I googled longevity and Okinawa and found that the island of Okinawa is the best place on earth for healthy aging. The Okinawans have:

* more people over 100 years old per 100,000 population than anywhere else in the world
* the lowest death rates from cancer, heart disease and stroke (the top three killers in the US)
* the highest life expectancy for both males and females over 65
* females in Okinawa have the highest life expectancy in all age groups.

They must be eating something right.