Customer Reviews

The Okinawa Diet Plan: Get Leaner, Live Longer, and Never Feel Hungry

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm an Okinawan-American...which means that I've eaten all of the recipes in this book and I tend to like the taste of them. Eating traditional Okinawan food is not strange for me, but it can be for people who are not accustomed to it. For example, Okinawans eat a lot of kelp, but the slimy texture and the resultant bowel movements from eating too much at once might turn some people off of this diet.

I don't like the way that the authors try to paint their diet and research as unassailable, especially since there are other diets out there that are also good. If you don't want to spend money on exotic foods from ethnic supermarkets, you can just eat vegetarian and get a good effect. Even though the traditional food of Okinawa is healthy, saying that you will live a long time just because you imitate the habits of a different culture is not so sound. For example, if you eat all Okinawan foods and yet still subject your body to the hectic stresses of daily life, you're not doing much good. I mean, you can eat what the goat farmers of the Steppes eat, but you're not in their environment, so you probably won't see the same results they do.


In short, check the book out at a library, first, and see if the odd foods are something that you can really stick with. Then, follow the advice to destress and get more into family and friend connections. After that, you'll have what it takes to help live a good life, I think.


As for me...I still like hamburgers and fries, every now and then.

I am a Japanese registered dietician (RD) and nutrition researcher (PhD) living in the U.S. and I recently discovered this wonderful book. The Okinawa Diet Plan is without a doubt the best diet book I have seen. It offers easy to follow dietary advice that teaches the reader how to choose the healthiest carbs, proteins and fats. Great recipes too! It is by far the best diet plan for long-term health, it is high in antioxidants and suggests new foods that promote healthy weight and longevity. I lost 30 pounds over 8 weeks without any major life changes, just some simple rules for eating. And I have KEPT the fat off. I have never felt better!!

One thing that concerns me about some of the reviews for this book is how some people in the US call themselves nutrition experts or dieticians without proper training and then profess to know something about the Okinawan eating habits because they read a few research papers and got confused about the data.

Some even say that soy might have adverse health effects. While we should always try to look at all the evidence this is not very likely. The Okinawans have eaten more soy that anyone in history and are the world's healthiest people. That should say something. Until recently the second most common occupation of Okinawan women was tofu maker. Many of the centenarians in Okinawa used to be tofu makers. That would suggest soybean curd (tofu) is pretty good for you.

Unfortunately, soy consumption has been declining in Okinawa for the last few decades--mostly among young people. This, I believe, is one of the reasons that younger people in Okinawa are less healthy than the elders. I think it is because they eat LESS soy, less vegetables, and MORE red meat than the elders. The Okinawans were never vegetarians but they always ate lots of veggies, legumes (like soy), fish and used small pieces of lean meat as a garnish or in stir-fry dishes, like the Chinese have traditionally done. Soy is the elders' main protein.

The average soy consumption (tofu, miso, etc) was around 75 grams per day in the old days but some people ate more, up to 120 grams per day. Currently, young people are eating less soy at only 25 or so grams per day but the high consumption in older people brings the population average up. Perhaps that is one reason why young people are not as healthy as in the old days but older people, who still eat a lot of soy, are the healthiest in the world. I say all this about soy because several reviewers seem confused about what the elder Okinawans eat and what the younger Okinawans eat.

Also a comment on longevity genes. Genes are important for ANY population for longevity. Perhaps up to a third of lifespan is genetically determined according to Drs Willcox and Suzuki. Of course, centenarians are more likely to have better genes than most of us since people with bad genes generally die younger---unless we have a very healthy lifestyle. So why so many centenarians in Okinawa? Add the healthiest lifestyle in the world to good genes and you get an amazingly healthy population. It's the best combination for longevity.

This simply means that those of us who are not genetically blessed have to pay more attention to our lifestyles. A thorough read of the Okinawa Diet Plan will help you either way BUT especially if you have bad genes. That's the whole point of the book. It will get you lean, healthy and long-lived despite your genes (while eating plenty of calorie light tasty food)!

I also read that some people think that Okinawans eat a high fat and high meat diet. That depends on your perspective. Okinawans USED TO eat lard for fat in the old days. But overall fat in the diet was so LOW (less than 10% of calories) that they really needed it. Fat is essential in any diet. The body needs fat to make hormones, cell walls, etc. Japan began to import a soy/canola oil blend in the late 1970s and early 1980s which was easier to use and tastier than lard (and much healthier) so everyone began using that, including Okinawans. Not surprising since rapeseed plants (where canola comes from) have been eaten for centuries in Japan. Meat consumption is higher than the old days when they may have eaten meat once a week at best. It is now only about 100 grams per day, which is much lower than the 200 or so grams per day in Americans. Again the elders eat much less and young people more than this average. Meat is still used mainly as a garnish in stir-fry meals in the elders not as a main dish.

So what is the take home message? Eat lots of soy if you like it because it's a very healthy protein. Use canola oil, or olive oil or another healthy type of oil in moderation (see Okinawa Diet Plan for other healthy oils). And if you eat meat, don't overdo it. Try one of the Okinawa doctor's rules---the plate should be 1/4 or less animal products and 3/4 or more plant products and not the other way around. And of course use lots of antioxidant-rich healthy Okinawan herbs and spices like turmeric, peppers and mugwort. It's all about balance--that's the Okinawa Way. Nuchi gusui (Food is medicine!).

Anyone who has dieted knows diets don't work. They don't work because diets consist of temporary changes to one's typical dietary habits. This inevitably results in temporary weight loss because as soon as you reach your weight loss goals and start letting some of those former eating habits creep back into your life, guess what? You start to gain back all the weight you lost.

By intentionally marketing diets as a quick fix, commercial diet plans have been designed to keep you stuck in this vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting that keeps you coming back to them again and again. A few commercial diet marketers realized that consumers were beginning to catch on to this little scam, so now they have "maintenance" phases that promise to help you keep that weight off for life. There's just one catch: these maintenance phases are designed to turn you into a life long consumer of their endless supply of prepackaged, processed foods designed to "help" you keep that weight off.

This is the sort of "help" I expect from a crack dealer, not from someone promising to improve my life.

The Okinawa Diet Plan is not about any of that. This book is all about giving you the tools to learn how to eat and live in a way that will keep you lean and healthy for life. And that lean, healthy life is likely to be a very long one because the Okinawa Diet Plan is based on evidence taken from studying the longest-lived people on the planet.

It seems most commercial diets are built on a business plan rather than on research. Not so with The Okinawa Diet Plan. The Okinawa Diet Plan grew out of nearly 30 years of solid research from an international team of highly respected doctors and scientists. How many commercial diets can say that?

The ongoing Okinawa Centenarian Study, from which this diet plan is derived, is the most extensive and respected study of its kind. It has produced and enormous amount of research, showing how Okinawans manage to stay naturally lean, fit and healthy up until their final years (often exceeding 100). Like the cover of the paperback edition of this book says, this is "the only diet with 100 years of living proof."

This is not hype. I've seen people attempt to discredit this book in reviews here; but if you look closely at these smear tactics, they invariably turn out to contain spurious and misleading charges from individuals with questionable reputations who are often aggressively promoting their own books and agendas that the evidence uncovered by the authors of The Okinawa Diet Plan tends to disprove.

Yes, I am obviously a big fan. I have struggled with my weight all of my life and have been waiting for a long time for a book like this to show up, so it ticks me off when people slam this book by spreading lies.

Thanks to The Okinawa Diet Plan I am continuing to shed pounds at a healthy, steady pace: I've lost 43 pounds since adopting the recommendations in this wonderful book. I am now more fit, healthy and have more energy than ever before in my life. I have now learned to put my health first and I no longer strive to look like the anorexic models and body builders that commercial diets use to sell their products. I look great, I feel great and I'm well on my way to outliving any bodybuilder or model.

If you still think that the Okinawa Diet Plan is just like any other diet, do what I did: give this book to your doctor to read and then ask him or her if this is a diet plan worth following. My doctor is now huge fan and tireless supporter of this book.

So say sayonara to South Beach and adios to Atkins -- I've tried most of them and this is simply the best diet book on the market, period.

I really wanted to give this 4.5 half stars and the only reason that i'm not giving it five is that I think that the Willcoxs' first book The Okinawa Longevity Plan is better. It covers total mind body giving a more complete picture of the contributing factors that lead to a longer healthier life. Also included in the longebity plan is what the authors call "east-west fusion" recipes that are more palatable to western tastes.
Now that aside I did like the recipes and half tried almost 2/3 of those. My favorite is the red curry. So often when i'm looking for a curry recipe it calls for coconut milk. I was very pleased to find a curry recipe based on tomatoes. I also like the sweet-sour mustard baked tofu. Talk about Fast! wow! The recipes do really taste good, but I did find that some of the ingrediants were had to find locally in Michigan, but there are very good interet stores that will ship.
So give it a try. I really think that you'll enjoy it.

I've done low carb (Protein Power) for 2.5 years. I lost 30 pounds in the first 6 months, no longer needed any asthma or high blood pressure medications, which I had to take daily before. I gained back 15 pounds and was really unhappy with my eating. My blood pressure went up, my asthma returned (slowly). I had migraine headaches. I truly prayed for some direction - what was I doing wrong? I read plan after plan, Zone, Atkins, South Beach, vegetarian, juicing, but none of it fit.

The Okinawa Diet Plan found me when I was in the public library. I have since ordered my own copy. It was the answer to prayer - simply that. I have been following the Eastern path (there are plans for purely eastern diet or eastern/western mix, or western so even if you want to continue eating only American food this will help you). I love Okinawan food anyway, so this is a perfect fit for me.

I found the explanations in the book to be very clear and easy to understand, the voice with which the authors speak is relaxed and friendly and knowledgeable. I would recommend this book to anyone who is tired of being fat, sick, low in energy.

The examples of the Okinawa centurians is the final proof - we don't have to guess IF this way of eating works!

Tipping my cup of jasmine tea to your health,

:> earthmom

A wonderful book!!!
I have been following the basic ideas in this book regarding diet, exercise, focusing on vegetables, fiber, and ways to classify foods (I admit I haven't had a chance to try the actual recipes, not being much of a cook, but when I read them they seem manageable, and I intend to try some soon.) I have already lost five pounds in half of a month - without feeling hungry or cranky. Even if you're a microwave meals in minutes type, the basic ideas in this book can work. In accord with the author's suggestions, I just substitute soy burgers for hamburgers, nonfat or soy cheese for regular cheese, bean burritos for regular, up the veggies and fruits and cut down on the desserts - and it is pretty much painless.
I strongly recommend this book, and it seems much better than the wacko diet of the week books that seem to be dominating the market. And you can't argue with results - the examples of the Okinawan centurians are inspirational, and show that with proper diet, exercise and attitude, old age can be an enjoyable and healthy part of life - disability and sickness are not inevitable.
I would also recommend the companion book, The Okinawa Program. From my experience so far, I believe these two books together can change your life.

The author describes both macro and micronutrients. Macronutrients provide energy for the body. Micronutrients
deliver vitamins and mineral content for our health. Carbohydrates, protein , fats and alcohol are also macronutrients. A PWV index was devised to measure increased blood flow through the arteries. Cardio biomarkers are anti-oxidants, veggies and Vitamin E. Omega 3 lowers LDL and increases the HDL. Conversely, deep fried foods increase LDL and
decrease HDL. The author describes how eggs increase protein levels, B12, D and folate. Tumeric eliminates excess fat and
acts as a powerful antioxidant to reduce inflammation.
This book is a treasure chest of alternative medicinal information written for the benefit of the layperson.

I am a physician and have an interest in anti-aging medicine and holistic care. This is definitely a book I will recommend to patients. The medical and scientific data presented is sound and done in such a way that it makes sense! The key they say is to healthy eating and exercise as well as spiritual health. We all know that. Here they address some ways in how you can restrict calories yet feel satisfied and eat foods that will make you healthier. The recipes in general are great but I have found a few that I will not do again. The most important thing is that you can take the concepts from the book and apply it. You don't need to follow their plan exactly. There is even room for 1-3 "sweets" a week. To find better health one needs to look at diet, activity level, and mental health. This book encourages that. Highly recommended.

The 25-year study upon which this book is based proves the adage that we should "eat to live" rather than "live to eat," which accounts for so much obesity in the U.S. And live these Okinawans do -- the greatest concentration of 100 year old people in the world. Proof of their lifestyle as the reason for this longevity is that when they leave their homeland and adopt a typical western diet, their health and lifespans start emulating those of their new home.

But it's more than just diet, of course. It's exercise, portion size and moderation. In our culture, the fast-food approach permeates every facet of family life. Mom and dad are both working, so the question of "what's for dinner" is often answered late in the day with a stop at Mickey Dees or the pizza joint. At school, the lunches are often served by franchise operators who serve much the same menu. Vending machine cuisine is too often the only thing available when we're all running as fast as we can to keep up with the world.

The key is eating smaller meals more often, carrying emergency foods such as an apple or banana, making better food choices(veggie pizzas on whole wheat crust) and adopting a better lifestyle one step at a time instead of trying to do it all at once. It's all about looking better, feeling better and living longer.

Diet books tend to be serious business, but for those who need a good laugh while they're pursuing a more healthful lifestyle, there's The Duct Tape Diet, which is written by registered dietitian/nutritionist Theresa Malysz. It relates to every frustrated dieter out there who has heard the call of those late-night goodies that cause us to fall off the wagon. The author works with overweight men and women everyday in a hospital setting, and offers up some real-world strategies that make sense to those who've tried every fad diet out there and ended up fatter than ever. Her patients often have to lose weight -- they have no other options -- so the content of the book really works -- and it provides a foundation for long-term weight management.

This is why I highly recommend the Okinawa Diet Plan. It's based on real-world research and provides an effective plan for living a longer, healthier life.

I got this book yesterday and am now on Chapter 4. Even though I have had to do a lot of wasted reading, I have been able to get the information I wanted so far.

I am tremendously impressed with the Okinawan diet and I am very excited to begin following it and making it my way of life, too! It's really pretty simple to follow, and seems to be inexpensive and practical for a busy everyday kind of life! Very healthy, too, as the Okinawan Centenarians have proven! The authors have so far explained it very well, so I am happy with that part of the book. There is some really good information here with data and graphs about the Okinawans and how their health compares to Americans.

It's just having to decipher what the Okinawans actually do and what the authors' opinions are about everything diet-related is very frustrating and annoying! I expected the book to be exclusively about the Okinawans and especially centering on THEIR diet. The authors of this book have done that, but there's so much of their own theories, opinions and recommendations that I am getting frustrated! I want to know how the Okinawans eat; I don't want another dietary recommendation by "experts"! The Okinawans are whom I am interested in because their ways of eating have obviously been proven to be the healthiest!

Here is just one example of the conflicting messages I am having to deal with as I'm reading this book:

"The traditional Okinawan diet contained only 8 to 10 percent protein in the old days,"(That's what I wanted to know!) "and allthough it's now closer to 15 to 20 percent,"(Confusing! What diet is this?) "the protein is still mostly from plants. Ten to 20 percent protein is considered very healthy by most experts," (I don't care what most "experts" think,; that's not why I bought the book.) "and far below the 50-plus percent recommended by some popular diet books." (Now who are you blasting?)

What I want to follow is the traditional Okinawan diet, (the one that has been proven to work for long-lasting health and vitality) not the "experts" recommendations! I've read plenty of diet books written by "experts" and they all disagree with each other.

Furthermore, the authors of this book continually blast every popular diet out there. It's like the authors have some personal agenda to prove everyone else wrong! I wouldn't mind if they did it a few times and left it at that, but they don't! It is just continually blast, blast, blast! All through the long four chapters I have just read.

This is, unfortunately, the only book I have found that explains the Okinawan's diet, so it is better to buy it and learn about the Okinawans than to go on living the deadly Western lifestyle that is our culture. Just be careful to sift between the authors' opinions and what is actually traditional Okinawan.

Believe me, learning about them and their diet is worth having to put up with these over-zealous, self-obsessed authors!

However, If you find a better book that is based solely on the traditional Okinawan diet and lifestyle, buy that instead! I wish I could have!

Meanwhile, back to the grind...