Okinawans & Soy

[Guest guest]

Before we get too excited about the Okinawan diet:

" Scientists working for the U.S. National Institutes of Health and

Japan's Ministry of Health have been following oldsters like Toguchi

since 1976 in the Okinawa Centenarian Study (OCS) and they've learned

that he's typical. Elderly Okinawans tend to get plenty of physical

and mental exercise. Their diets, moreover, are exemplary: low in fat

and salt, and high in fruits and vegetables packed with fiber and

antioxidant substances that protect against cancer, heart disease and

stroke. They consume more soy than any other population on earth: 60-

120 g a day, compared to 30-50 g for the average Japanese, 10 for

Chinese and virtually 0 g for the average American. Soy is rich in

flavonoids—antioxidants strongly linked to low rates of cancer. This

may be one of many reasons why the annual death rate from cancer in

Okinawa is far below the U.S. rate. "

[source: Time Magazine, How To Live To Be 100, Aug. 22, 2004]

No doubt, the phytoestrogens in the soy are highly probable to be

giving the Okinawans some cancer protection. The majority of breast

and prostate cancers seem to be estrogen-receptor positive and highly

probable to be a result of " bad " estrogen buildup in the body.

Perhaps supplementing with DIM is an acceptable and superior

alternative to eating so much soy. But what effect does this large

soy intake have on life extension, if any?

However, I vaguely seem to recall that the Okinawans dramatic soy

intake was actually a myth and they actually eat a lot of fried

pork. And that their sweet potato was not like the American sweet

potato/yam, being a different color and also higher in hyaluronic

acid. Anyone?

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