People who live for a long time all claim that the secret lies in how and what you eat. The people who have the world record for longevity are the Japanese from Okinawa. They swear by three golden rules to keep them in good shape and the grim reaper at bay.

Firstly in Okinawa very few people are overweight and obesity is almost unheard of with nearly everyone staying trim and slim all through life. It is not due to anything except the simple fact that the people of Okinawa eat a low calorie diet and make sure that they exercise and move around enough to keep burning all the calories off. The best way to keep the calories down is to eat small portions of food rather than by eating lots of low calorie food. The Okinawans eat about 50% in quantity of a standard UK meal.

The second Okinawan trick is not to eat alone. Research shows that people who eat alone tend to eat more. This is maybe because the lack of social interaction focuses the mind more on the food and thus you eat more and faster. Slow eating is the best way to eat as you savour each mouthful more and if you are with people you enjoy it more.

The last factor that is very evident in Okinawa is the fact that the people there eat seasonally. This means that they only eat certain things at certain times of the year. This can heighten the enjoyment of a meal and create a sense of drama and expectation with certain fruits and vegetables. It is easy to eat seasonally if you take fruit and veg from your own garden or you shop at a farmer's market.

Today supermarkets tend to have all fruits and veg at all times and so it is more difficult in western societies to live and eat like this nevertheless it is healthy to vary and rotate your diet to keep it healthy and balanced.