Rikio Yokoda, 82, kneels effortlessly on the floor as we share an early dinner and tells me about his family and work. His joints are strikingly mobile; he sports a fine head of hair; and his eyes sparkle as he recounts a day spent working in the fields, growing mushrooms and potatoes. He lives in Okinawa, Japan with wife Etsuko (73) – and the couple are part of a community of other seniors who are all ageing with few health problems and seemingly endless energy.

Rikio puts his good health and long life down to eating plenty of vegetables, taking three-hour naps and working long days in his garden. I can’t help comparing him to my grandma, who loved a Mars bar and was pretty much housebound from 75 despite two knee replacements.

Then again, she wasn’t living in a Blue Zone. Okinawa is one of the pockets of the world where scientists have identified unusually long life expectancies – the Blue Zones – and residents commonly live to over 100, often avoiding chronic diseases. There are five Blue Zones in total – Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece and Loma Linda, California – and all share similar lifestyle habits. So, what are they – and can we really replicate these healthy living habits at home? Here’s what I learned – and the changes I’ve put in place at 55.

Keep moving; avoid too much sitting

Perhaps my number one takeaway. The Okinawans I met had one thing in common – they were rarely still and spent their days tending their gardens and growing their own food well into their 70s, 80s and 90s. Fitness and joint health isn't just about strength training in the gym and tough cardio workouts; consistent movement can be enough. I met one remarkable 84-year-old, glowing with vitality, who had recently laid a steep, uphill path leading from his garden to the road. ‘Older Okinawans are active walkers and gardeners,’ says Dan Buettner in his book Blue Zones: 9 Lessons For Living Longer From The People Who’ve Lived The Longest. ‘The Okinawan household has very little furniture; residents take meals and relax sitting on tatami mats on the floor. The fact that old people get up and down off the floor several dozen times daily builds lower body strength and balance, which help protect against dangerous falls.’ I fall very short on this metric of longevity. At 55, I work eight hour days at a computer, commute - sitting - for 3 hours a day; and collapse on the sofa in the evenings. I have worried about my sedentary life for too long now, and I vow to do better. Since returning, I am trying to move more... kneeling on the floor to watch TV and switching to a standing desk.

Eat seaweed – lots of it

The Okinawans have seaweed for breakfast, seaweed for lunch and seaweed for dinner, served in a variety of ways… with miso, with pickles, with pork, with noodles. They are particularly keen on kombu, a nutrient-dense kelp seaweed. It’s exceptionally rich in iodine and essential for thyroid function, metabolism regulation and energy production.

Kelp isn't the only healthy addition Okinawans make to their diets. According to Drs Bradley and Craig Willcox, authors of The Okinawa Way, the elders consume an average of seven servings of vegetables a day, including plenty of purple sweet potato – which research suggests may help reduce blood pressure, enhance immune function, improve digestion and lower blood sugar levels. Okinawans also eat two servings of flavonoid-rich soy products a day – think miso or tofu; omega-3 rich fish several times a week and minimal dairy products. They snack on tiny homegrown satsumas, known as shikuwasa, plucked directly from a garden tree - and seem to eat very little sugar. My diet is fairly good, but I supplement healthy meals with too many biscuits and cakes I make for the children. Can I go sugar-free? I'm aware of sugar's inflammatory properties (and aware of my aching joints), and decide to give it a go. I also stock up on miso soup, and sprinkle salads with nori. If I struggle to eat well – and rest effectively – I resolve to supplement. My consumption of oily fish is woeful so I order Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplements; to improve my energy levels, I start taking Solgar's Cellular Energy capsules once a day.

sarah maber in okinawa
The Fourth Angel

Drink jasmine tea

In Okinawa, jasmine tea - not standard Japanese green tea - is the most popular drink. But they’re still reaping all the goodness… jasmine tea is made from green tea leaves, packed with potent polyphenols. An easy change to make back home, but it is an adjustment - the slightly bitter, thin taste doesn't compare favourably to my hot drink of choice, a flat white.

Avoid stress

There’s a stark difference between the pace of life in Okinawa and the pace of my life in London. ‘Okinawans like to use the term taygay to refer to people or their society in general,’ say Bradley and Craig Willcox. ‘It’s a word from the Okinawan dialect that can be translated as ‘easy-going’ or ‘laid-back’. Social relations in Okinawa tend to operate on this principle, in that they lean toward a flexible, non-hierarchical, loose style. Nothing seems to be set in stone.’ The antithesis of our ‘hurry-sick’ Western culture, their research found that Okinawan centenarians scored extremely low in ‘time urgency and tension’ – and high in self-confidence and unyieldingness – or determination.

Clearly, we can’t banish all stress from our lives, as much as we might like to. But learning to meditate is something we can do; guided meditations through an app like Headspace are a good place to tart. ‘Slowing yourself down to reduce stress and its negative effects is learned behaviour,’ say Bradley and Craig Willcox. ‘We can learn how to unlearn Western time. This doesn’t mean that we have to be half an hour late for that important business meeting. It simply gives you a choice between feeling in control of time or feeling controlled by it.’

Find your ikigai

‘Ikigai’ is a powerful sense of purpose that Okinawans feel well into old age. Rikio found his ikigai in his garden, tending his crops. Etsuko, his wife, visits people in the community who need help. When interviewing people for his book Ikigai: The Japanese Secret To A Long And Happy Life, co-author Héctor Garcia says: ‘When we asked what their ikigai was, they gave us explicit answers, such as their friends, gardening and art. Everyone knows what the source of their zest for life is and is busily engaged in it every day.’ Your ikigai could be your work, your family, your garden, your movement, your faith, your community... and if we don't have one, we're missing vital piece of the longevity puzzle. I'm committed to finding mine... are you?

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