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Mainichi
Daily News
Special diets, nutritional supplements and
specialized training have all been cited by many as
secrets to longevity. But getting too close to 100 is
not an easy task for the average person, and staying
healthy after more than 90 years is harder still.
This doesn't seem to apply, though, to Keizo Miura,
who at 99 still spends the six months from November to
May each year skiing overseas and in Japan. Last
season he skied for the first time in Canada. Sapporo
and Mount Hakkoda, in Aomori Prefecture, were also
among his skiing destinations. This year, to celebrate
his 99th birthday, Miura made a trip to the Alps' Mont
Blanc with four generations of his family, including
his 3-year-old great-grandson.
Miura is not new to the sport. He first took an
interest in skiing while working at the Aomori
forestry bureau. After retiring from the bureau, he
continued to pour his efforts into skiing, working as
a member of the technical committee for the Ski
Association of Japan. His son, Yuichiro, is also known
as an international skier.
Miura is of a relatively small build, having a
height of only 148 centimeters and weighing 51
kilograms. He says he began training and adapting his
diet so he could ski after he turned 50.
But exactly what is it that keeps Miura in shape?
No doubt one thing is his nutritious choice of food.
His main diet consists of unpolished rice mixed with
whole rice, which becomes sweet if it is chewed well.
He also eats fish, preparing it in a pressure cooker
to make the bony parts soft and edible. To help his
body absorb the calcium from the bones, he says he
eats wood ear mushrooms, which are rich in vitamin D.
Other items on Miura's menu include hijiki, a type
of edible seaweed, and fermented soybeans. He says he
tries to eat several kinds of foods in each meal.
After breakfast and dinner he has a nutritional drink
containing sesame seeds, soybean flour, yogurt and
milk.
But Miura doesn't get by on food alone -- he also
takes care to exercise. Every morning he moves his
neck left and right about 100 times, opens his mouth
wide and sticks out his tongue to train his face and
mouth muscles. He says this is to prevent bagginess
around the mouth, which is prevalent among elderly
people. He also does squats and other exercises to
strengthen his body, and walks about 3-4 kilometers
each day.
As a result of his efforts, he has continually had
good cholesterol, neutral fat, blood pressure, heart,
liver and kidney readings in his yearly health
examinations.
Profile:
Keizo Miura was born on Feb. 15, 1904, in Aomori.
He worked at the Aomori forestry bureau after
graduating from Hokkaido Teikoku University (now
Hokkaido University), and joined a forestry bureau ski
club. Miura served as technical committee member of
the Ski Association of Japan, and is now an honorary
member of the Japan Alpine Photographers Association.
His wife, Mutsu, died in 1993 at the age of 80. He has
four children, seven grandchildren, and three
great-grandchildren.
The Mainichi Daily News: March 6, 2003
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