As a follow up to the International Symposium on Longevity, hosted in Nago in November 2001, an International forum on Okinawan Traditional Dietary Culture and Longevity was held in Naha. Speakers included Dr Gary Andrews from Flinders University, Adelaide, who focused on different aspects associated with ageing such as recent increases in longevity in different parts of the world. In the last fifty years, the average lifespan of people living in developed nations has increased by twenty years, and average lifespans in developing countries is also rising just as rapidly. In contrast, birth rates in developed nations have dropped significantly, and developing countries are beginning to follow suit. These trends suggest that by 2050, the largest proportion of people globally will be aged over sixty. Japan has the highest international average longevity and Okinawa has the highest average longevity in Japan. By 2050, most of the people aged over a hundred will be living in Asia. The second panelist, Dr Kyung-Soo Chun an archaeologist who has conducted extensive research into traditional Okinawan diets, presented parts of his research. The traditional Okinawan diet is largely made up of legumes, with the main source of protein in the diet coming from pork. Dr Naoto Minami, talked about the changing trends of human fatality over the course of the 20th century, drawing on Germany for his data. While death caused by disease has decreased considerably over the last hundred years, deaths related to cancer and psychological conditions have increased. Dr Hiroko Sho, former Vice Governor of Okinawa, presented a history of food sources in Okinawa. Pork was apparently introduced to Okinawa from China in 1329, and prior to this natural food sources were scare and could only sustain a small population. The second big food influence occurred in 1609 with the arrival of the Satsuma clan, who introduced the yam to Okinawa, causing many sugar fields to be cleared for the farming of these legumes. These yams originally came from Mexico in the 1560's, were introduced into the Philippines in 1571 and China in 1578. These yams then made their way from Fujian Province in China to Japan before arriving in Okinawa.
It was widely agreed that diet is only one component of longevity, and other factors such as level of daily activity, and stress levels all have an impact on how long one lives. The predominant use of pork in the Okinawan diet seems to be at odds with western perceptions associated with high cholesterol. The way the Okinawans cook pork is very different from Western countries. Okinawans boil the pork, extracting all of the fat from the meat, and then eating the remaining gelatine. However, there are also accounts of Okinawans regularly using lard in their cooking which seems to counter balance the benefits of boiling out the fat.
Goya, or bitter melon is a hallmark of Okinawan cooking ingredients. This fruit is also found throughout South East Asia and is widely believed to possess medicinal qualities. Okinawans prepare the melon, first by soaking it in salt and water, to remove the bitterness and then frying the flesh with tofu and egg. They discard the seeds. Koreans on the other hand discard the fruit and eat the seeds, while Cambodians are known to remove the seeds and stuff the insides of the bitter melons with meat.

Paul Saeki

An Okinawan favourite; Goya Chanpuru- goya fried with egg, spam and tofu.