It has been said that longevity can be
attributed one third to our genes and two thirds
to lifestyle. Nutrition is an important part of
lifestyle and the consumption of fruits and
vegetables is the major dietary component for
which there is most evidence of health benefit.
The risk of many of the chronic diseases of old
age, e.g. heart disease, cancers, macular disease
etc, is lower in persons who consume higher
intakes of fruit and vegetables. These foods are
important dietary sources of specific vitamins
and other micronutrients with antioxidant
properties. One of the contributory factors to
ageing is believed to be due to ongoing free
radical activity contributing to accumulating
risks of tissue damage and disease. It is believed
that protection against such free radical
activity may be assisted by the antioxidant
micronutrients. Some of the main dietary
antioxidants are vitamins E and C, the
carotenoids, flavonoids, polyphenols etc, and
body status of these nutrients is influenced
strongly by the intake of fruit and vegetables.
Plasma concentrations of some of these nutrients
are a good indication of vegetable and fruit
intake e.g. the carotenoids and vitamin C. The
plasma carotenoids, in particular, turn over
relatively slowly hence they provide useful longterm
indicators of dietary patterns. Vitamin E
is believed to be the most important biological
 

antioxidant but plasma concentrations tends to
be more strongly linked to cholesterol. Two
to three years ago we had the opportunity to
compare plasma carotenoid and vitamin E
concentrations in healthy Okinawan subjects
aged 47 to 57 years with those of first generation
Japanese immigrants in Brazil, who were
originally from Okinawa. There is a 3-4 fold
difference in age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality
between these two groups. What was particularly
striking about the current Okinawan residents,
were high concentrations of lutein (green
vegetables) which were approximately double
and cryptoxanthin (yellow fruits) and carotene
(fruits and vegetables) which were around 25%
higher than those in the Brazilian Japanese.
Lycopene (tomatoes) was no different between
the groups and lower than found in many
European studies. Lutein is a useful biomarker
of vegetable intake as very little is believed to
be metabolised during absorption in comparison
to carotene. Lutein is also important in the
macula of the eye and high intakes may be
protective against age-related macular disease.
In this talk I will discuss the health-related
components potentially available from a high
vegetable intake and compare plasma
carotenoids in the Okinawan people with those
reported in other Asian and Western
communities.