You don’t need to be living in Okinawa, to enjoy good health and vitality.

The question of why we want to put off the negative effects of growing old and why we want to make improvements on looks and vitality may sound vain. But we’ll see that there is much more to it than just that.

Ageing has its virtues in that, gaining experience through time; you become wiser, and that is most of what can be said about it in a positive tone.

On the other hand, wrinkles, hair loss, flabby arms and eunuch kind of sex drive are hardly things to look forward to.

We can take some inspiration from the inhabitants of Okinawa, a Japanese island with a world-record on longevity. People there do not just exist for longer.  The Okinawans are renowned for radiating vibrant health, vitality and mental wellness right into their nineties.

What we can learn and take away from the Okinawans in the way of attaining a similar state of being? Admittedly, living our lives in our hectic metropolis doesn’t make it easy for us to replicate their lifestyle. Still, we can identify some patterns from the Okinawans lifestyle that when applied -  even in our personal circumstances – can have positive results.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Much progress has been made in the understanding of why we age, how we age and what we can do to slow down that process. And of course, what I am talking about here has nothing to do with the knife or Botox.

What I’m talking about here are some things that anyone can do, and you don’t have to shell out thousands of pounds to do them. Once you start, you will be amazed!

And it will be better starting today, because time will continue on without you. It doesn’t make any pits stops because you haven’t decided what you want to do.

Believe it or not, there are ways that you can be 60 in age and look 40 in your mind and body! These processes have nothing to do with buying any expensive creams that may or may not work for you. There are more productive and normal ways available to you in order to regain your youthful years without having to sacrifice lots of money or time in doing it.

The respected ragtime pianist Eubie Blake once said, “If I had known I was going to live so long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” And that is exactly the point: we should live our lives as if we will never die. In other words, we should live our lives taking care of our bodies, emotions and spirituality.

According to some agreement in scientific research, at present our potential life span is of about 120 years. And the beauty of it is that we can actually enjoy those many years of life with a lot of energy and joy. It doesn’t have to be and existence of aches and ailments. In short, we can stay younger for longer.

As we will see studying the examples of the people of Okinawa and other world’s longevity spots, one of the fundamental components of health and longevity is what we put inside our bodies. Just as we are careful of putting only high octane fuel in our cars for optimal performance, we should choose carefully the food we eat.

Yes, the right diet is essential to prevent age-related diseases, together with some light daily exercise and subsequent relaxation to avoid stress.

In line with this blog’s theme, future posts will be revealing the “secrets” behind these people’s exceptional good health and longevity. And as I already mentioned, there aren’t really secrets, but principles that, when applied, can make a huge difference.

Of course, I am going to discuss some specific things that I discovered are really helpful. For the time being, let me just say in general that fresh food, an active lifestyle, lots of fresh air and a positive mental attitude are all part of it.

Most of us don’t live in Okinawa, but with a little knowledge and an adventurous spirit, we can gradually incorporate these ideas in our daily routine.

It is true that some of the things I will be suggesting we can buy from our local supermarket or a health-food shop, some other we can order from the Internet. There are some things that we can’t possibly buy anywhere, such as a happy relationship with our partners and our children. But even in these areas there are things we can do to reduce stress and enhance our happiness and that of others. I’m going to touch on each of the things that helped me in all these areas.