"Blue Zone" and Okinawa's "Nuchigusui"

March 20, 2019

COLUMN

"Blue Zone"
This term refers to areas where many healthy, long-lived people live.

There are five Blue Zones in the world.
Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; Loma Linda, USA; and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica.

Okinawa is the only blue zone in Asia.

The term "Blue Zones" was coined when a Belgian demographer and an Italian doctor decided to mark areas on the Italian island of Sardinia with a blue color to indicate areas with high longevity.

Since then, experts have been sent to areas with demographically significant longevity to conduct further research, and four new Blue Zones have been discovered.

The team from National Geographic, which discovered the floating city of Machu Picchu and the sunken ship Titanic, is also actively participating in this universal research theme of "getting closer to the secret of longevity."
It is said to be one of the hottest topics in the world right now in the field of wellness.

This is a photo of Loma Linda, one of the Blue Zones I visited recently in the US.

Located about an hour's drive inland from Downtown Los Angeles, this is the only Blue Zone that is not on the ocean.

At first glance, this area seems to have nothing in common with Okinawa, but there are actually some similarities between the lives of the people here.

The nine characteristics of centenarians (people over 100 years old) who live in the five Blue Zones are said to be as follows:

1. Move your body
2. A vegetable-based diet
3. Drink alcohol in moderation
4. Eat only until you are 80% full
5. There is a way to relieve stress
6. Having a purpose in life
7. Be part of a community
8. Participate in religious activities
9. Maintain strong family ties

In your daily life, exercise moderately, eat a diet centered on vegetables, and enjoy alcohol in moderation so as not to feel stressed.

Cherish your family and friends, never forget to be grateful, and live a purposeful life.

It seems that valuing the ordinary things and living each day carefully leads to a long life.

It's kind of amazing to think that this has been scientifically proven.

"Nuchigusui" is a word I heard in Okinawa.
In Okinawan language, "nuchi" means life and "gusui" means medicine, so the word means medicine for life.

It does not refer to medicine that you buy at a hospital or pharmacy, but is a word used to describe things that warm and soothe the heart, such as a mother's love, delicious food, and other people's kindness.

Quote: Beautiful Island Story Shimakutuba

I felt that the people of Okinawa have a very rich sense of perception; they live their lives without overthinking, simply thinking about what brings them joy as a living being and setting such things as their own personal tape measure.

Okinawa's island vegetables and wild plants can withstand strong ultraviolet rays, hot and humid environments, and the strong winds and heavy rains of typhoons.
I felt something similar in the strength that is combined with generosity that I sense from the people of Okinawa.