by Bradley J. Willcox

The elders of Okinawa, Japan, are among the leanest and longest-lived people on earth. These Okinawans--many in their eighties, nineties, and beyond--maintain an unprecedented quality of life. More than any other population, older
Okinawans are slim and agile, and their minds are clear and lucid. Few suffer the lifestyle-related diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity that are so common in their western counterparts.

In their New York Times bestseller The Okinawa Program, Drs. Bradley and Craig Willcox and Makoto Suzuki shared important insights about these unique and amazingly healthy people from their landmark twenty-five-year Okinawa Centenarian Study. The latest findings from that study are proving even more surprising: the elders do not gain weight with age.

The secrets behind this discovery are twofold: the Okinawans' calorie-light diet and their active lifestyle, which results in leaner and more "metabolically efficient" bodies that stay slimmer, healthier, and more youthful as they age. In The Okinawa Diet Plan, Drs. Willcox, Willcox, and Suzuki adapt traditional Okinawan dietary principles for a delicious blend of East and West so that anyone can reap these very same benefits. The authors' Caloric Density Index and the Caloric Density Pyramid, developed from the study's latest findings, debunk the myths of trendy diet gurus and provide a revolutionary approach to eating, health, weight loss, and weight maintenance that is easy to follow and simple to maintain. This approach allows Okinawans to eat more food than the typical American diet, and still weigh less--and you can too. With more than 150 delicious recipes that incorporate foods low in caloric density, The Okinawa Diet Plan offers dozens of satisfying meal options. Conveniently divided into three tracks--western, eastern, and fusion--and with healthy options for both vegetarians and meat eaters alike, their program provides all the benefits of calorie restriction without deprivation. With dietary guidelines, cooking techniques, an eight-week turnaround plan, and other unique resources, The Okinawa Diet Plan is a breakthrough concept in healthy weight loss and maintenance.


From the Hardcover edition.