‘I explored island named land of immortals and found out why folk live so long’

A man who travelled to what's widely regarded as the "healthiest place on earth" has said he was "stunned" to discover why locals live so long.

Okinawa, a Japanese prefecture made up of more than 150 islands situated between Taiwan and Japan's mainland, has been dubbed "the land of immortals".

It's one of the five regions in the world known as blue zones, where residents live exceptionally long and healthy lives in comparison to the rest of the world's population.

READ MORE: Inside creepy 'Island of Death' haunted by plague and 160,000 lost souls

The prefecture is home to more centenarians, people who live to 100, than anywhere else in the world and a 2020 census found women there were living to an average age of 87.44 years while men were living to an average of 80.27 years.

It marks a significant increase from the life expectancy in the home country of American YouTuber Drew Binsky, with the US average sitting at 79.1 years for women and 73.2 years for men.

Texas-born Drew, who's travelled to every country in the world, set about on a trip to Okinawa's main island — Okinawa Island — to discover what their secret to a long life is.

He documented the journey on his YouTube channel, starting the video by telling his fans: "I came here to find out why Okinawans are able to live such long and healthy lives and what I discovered will leave you stunned."

As soon as he got there he started to get a glimpse of the healthy lifestyle led by locals as he came across a 6.30am exercise class for elderly people, with one woman telling him she felt "wonderful" after the class.

As he was invited into her home he started to discover more about the key to their long lives.

When asking the woman, who's in her late 80s, why people in Okinawa live so long, she replied: "Even when inside the house they move, they're always moving around inside of the house."

He pressed her for details about the elderly population, asking: "In the US it's very rare that somebody lives to 90, for you is it normal, like most of your friends are still healthy, do you actually know people that are over 100?"

She revealed her own mother-in-law passed away at the age of 105.

When asked what the key to living a "long and happy life" is, she responded: "Feeling excited and doing many things with people around me."

The YouTuber then sat down with her for a meal consisting of lots of small plates.

"Japanese food is the best of the best and it's gonna be a great meal," he said.

The spread included dishes of miso, rice, sashimi mackerel, stir fry pumpkin with pork and potato with seaweed.

Some local friends took Drew to get some more Okinawan food during his trip and he learnt their cuisine is made up of plenty of fresh vegetables, local meat and seaweed.

"When you see a plate like this it begins to make sense why Okinawa's the healthiest place in the world," he said as he showed the camera a delicious-looking plate of healthy food.

He revealed Okinawans also follow an important rule called "Hara Hachi Bu" when it comes to how they eat.

Drew explained it translates to "stop eating when you are 80% full" as he revealed they follow the rule because it takes 20 minutes for your stomach to signal to your brain that it's full.

And their healthy diet doesn't stop at food, they also drink "incredible homegrown tea" all over the island.

One tea shop owner told him: "All these medicinal herbs that grow in the wilderness they're very very strong and will live no matter what, so by drinking them we get that power from nature as well".

Even their local liquor is healthy. While Sake is known as the traditional Japanese alcohol, Okinawans drink something called Awamori.

It's made from rice and a type of bacteria and is sweet without needing any sugar because of how the rice is broken down.

Drew noted that in Okinawa, something "just feels different" to the rest of Japan.

While Japan might bring to mind big, busy cities, neon signs and natural landscapes made up of cherry blossoms or green forests, Okinawa features idyllic white sand beaches, hot springs and dazzling turquoise waters.

"Okinawa is both a cultural phenomenon and tropical wonderland," Drew said.

The prefecture, which has a population of 1.4million, has hundreds of centenarians, and Drew met with one of them.

As he arrived at her house, the elderly woman was at home alone and doing chores by herself.

When asked how it feels to be 100, she simply replied: "We naturally turn 100 years old."

She revealed she stays busy day to day by "mowing the grass and ironing and washing the clothes" and has bought a stepping machine to "train the muscles in her legs".

At 100, you'd expect an elderly person to need help with basic tasks like bathing, getting dressed, cooking and doing the shopping, but she revealed she does "everything all by herself".

As he continued to explore, Drew noticed just how active the elderly population was.

He said: "Everywhere I go here in Okinawa I see plenty of elderly people just walking around the streets, doing tai chi at the park, riding bikes or playing this croquet-like game and it makes me think, maybe getting old isn't so bad after all?"

Among one of the most popular sports is Karate, which was invented in Okinawa.

Drew witnessed one class attended by a man who'd been doing it since he was 50 — now he's 74 and still going at it passionately.

But the locals' long and happy lives aren't only to do with their diet and exercise, socialisation also plays a huge part.

Drew explained Okinawans also have something called Moai, which is a tight-knit community of five or more people who regularly meet up for things like shopping, eating or sports, which helps locals maintain a social life into their old age.

He found the elderly people are "very social" and after spending three days in Okinawa he understood just why they live so long.

"They live so happy, healthy and carefree in this beautiful land with rich soil," he said.

He added: "In a world where we're all so scared to get old and die it's exactly the opposite in Okinawa, old age is celebrated and it actually gives me hope for the future."

Follow the Daily Star US on Facebook

All the news, entertainment, sport and fun stuff you love about the Daily Star, brought to you by our American team.

Give the Daily Star US Facebook page a follow to make sure you're not missing out.

Source: Read Full Article