Ogimi village on Okinawa island in Japan is where there is a maximum elderly population. People easily live upto the age of 100 and happily! It has estimated population of 3,000.
So what is the secret to their long lives?
First – Ogimi’s climate is warm which allows people to spend a lot of time outdoors, indulging in as much physical activity as they can. You would rarely find one sulking indoors, living a sedentary lifestyle.
Second, they eat healthy. Their diet is full of meats, seaweed, green and yellow veggies (upto three times higher than the rest of the world), legumes (mainly soyabeans – that is 1.5 times higher) and a lot of fruits. Their salt intake is also only 9gms per person, per day.
Thirdly, they socialize, interact and live as a community that does away with the feelings of being lonely and leads to higher emotional adaptability.
There is a fruit named ‘Shikuwasa’ that is known as their jewel of longevity. It is the original species of mandarin orange. It is rich in vitamins and citric acid.
Also, the village is surrounded by nature. 76% of the total area surrounding it is a forest. There is a folk tale that a fairy named ‘Bunagaya’ lives in these forests. The people of Ogimi believe that these fairies are the spirits of nature and look forward to befriending them!