Vegetables as Medicinal Food
Eating Lots of Vegetables:
 The islands of sun-drenched Okinawa are lush with rich green vegetation. Deep, green healthy vegetables abound. The surrounding clear ocean waters and coral reefs make island soils rich in minerals, which promotes good crops. Vegetables and medicinal herbs that will not thrive in mainland Japan grow readily in Okinawa.
Yet, the habit of eating vegetables raw has never taken hold in Okinawa. Instead, vegetables are cooked with pork and tofu in Chanpuru, or eaten in Nbushi boiled dishes or used in abundance in soups and for tempura. By cooking the vegetables, more can be eaten than if they are consumed raw. Especially in a dish like Chanpuru, where vegetables are the main ingredient, regularly available vegetables and seasonal vegetables of all kinds are combined and eaten any number of times a week. Carrots, cabbage, bean sprouts, etc., are staples in Chanpuru dishes. As a result, Okinawans end up consuming twice the amount of vegetables eaten by mainland Japanese, according to a national nutrition survey. The inclusion of pork and tofu makes for an exceptional degree of nutritional balance.
The variety of vegetables in Nbushi dishes and soups is less than in Chanpuru, but they use plenty of pork and tofu, so the nutritional balance is maintained and taste is enhanced.
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