Yesterday, I uploaded a video about the longest-lived village in Japan.
Today, I would like to share with you a little more about Takayama Village.
Along with the seven factors I shared with you in the following video about Nagano Prefecture,
there are three more factors that make people in Takayama Village live long.
Polyphenols from Fruit
Takayama Village produces a lot of apples and grapes and the residents consume them a lot, too. Both apples and grapes are famous as superfoods. Just like a saying an apple a day keeps the doctor away, apples are supposed to be good for you. Apples contain apple polyphenols which have antioxidants.
Grapes are known for having resveratrol which is said to have an anti-aging effect. That is why red wine is considered to be healthier than other alcoholic drinks. However, David Sinclair now says that the amount of resveratrol a glass of wine contains is not enough at all, and to have an effect, you need to take supplements.
Nevertheless, I still think regular consumption of grapes is good for you since it can provide you with some amount of resveratrol, and combining with other polyphenols from different fruit and vegetables, it can give you more benefits than not consuming them.
Fiber from Vegetables
People in Nagano consume the highest amount of vegetables in Japan each day and that applies to the people in Takayama Village, too. That means they eat a lot of fiber and fiber can be good feeds for the gut microbiomes. Most people in Takayama Village grow their own vegetables and that means they eat local and seasonal vegetables. It is wonderful from Shindofuji’s point of view. Shindofuji is a concept I introduced in my book and it comes from the Zen Shojin Diet. It means to eat locally and seasonally. Local vegetables contain local bacteria and they are more suitable for your physical makeup. Seasonal fruit and vegetables are more appropriate to your condition at that particular season. That is why you avoid eating tropical fruit in the macrobiotic diet if you don’t live in the tropical zone.
Fermented Foods
People in Takayama Village consume a lot of fermented foods. They consume miso every day and they also eat a lot of pickles. Fermented foods are another great feed for gut microbiomes.
So, to sum up, to live long, you can eat a lot of local and seasonal fruit and vegetables, as well as eating a fair amount of fermented foods.
You can drink red wine, too-haha. As for wine, it isn’t as effective as grapes since it has alcohol, and yet, if it makes you feel happy, it has a psychological effect, and I personally prioritize it over the negative effect of alcohol provided that you limit it to one or two glasses. For more details, please read my book, I wrote about how much to drink, when to drink, and how to drink, as well as how to drink it when you practice intermittent fasting.
The Ikigai Diet: The Secret Japanese Diet to Health and Longevity
POD Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4991064864
Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JGB45HF
Even if you don’t grow your own, it is better to buy fruit and vegetables from local farmers.