Thursday, November 11, 2010

What can we learn from the traditional Japanese Diet?


Did you know that the average life expectancy of a Japanese woman is 86 compared to 8O for those from countries like the UK and USA and that on average they live 75 years of those healthy and free of disabilities.

Japan also has the lowest rate of obesity in the developed world. This isn't simply down to their genes its mainly down to their diet.

The big thing with the Japanese diet is that they eat with their eyes meaning they like their dishes presented well in decorative small dishes arranged for optimum attractiveness. Eating this way encourages you to eat less as you savour what you are eating thus you eat slower which gives your brain time to realise your full.

The Japanese also tend to eat a lot of rice - 6x more than the UK. Rice is low fat and filling so eating a lot of it ensures that you eat less of other more fat based foods.


Another staple of the Japanese diet is vegetables. They often have 4 or 5 different vegetables witha meal. Not only are they good for your health as they are high in vitamins and minerals, they are also great for healthy hair, skin and nails.

Fish is very popular in Japan, in fact they consume 10% of the worlds fish. Particularly those fishes high in omega acids like salmon and tuna. Omega acids are well known for helping you achieve a healthy heart. Eating lots of fish also means they consume less red meat. Eating vast quantities of red meat can block your arteries and cause heart disease.

Then we come to soy which is in tofu and edamame beans. Its eaten a lot in Japan and its high in protein and very low in saturated fat so its very good for your health as we all know saturated fat is bad for your health.

Japanese food is brimming with beauty and taste and of course is supremely healthy. Its a good way to eat and of course Japanese food is delicious and gaining in popularity almost everywhere. I would recommend it for any of you who want to live longer and healthier lives. It is of course also good for staying slim but to me the health properties is the most important aspect.

11 comments:

  1. very interesting and informative post :)

    we can all learn from the Japanese diet and had bits of it here and there in our diet ^^

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  2. Amen to that!

    Haha, thanks for the info. I always thought it was the amount of fish they consume as well as green tea but I never did think of savouring small amounts of food. That does make me re-realize how crazy American portions are and don't forget the always available super-size option.

    And p.s. this may be weird but I thought your writing was well done not that I have any right or qualifications to judge people's writing but it seemed professional like that of a journalist :) I don't know why but it makes me happy to read well written things especially in today's world where English is deteriorating.

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  3. thx hun. im tryin 2 do more proper writing on my blog :)

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  4. awww thx soo much. when i first started blogging my writing was appalling but its slowly improving :)

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  5. Japanese food are all plated very well and tasty. Everything they eat are super healthy and I love rice too!!

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  6. Love this post...all so true. I love Japanese food because as you noted, it is art in itself, clean, and healthy. Uh, I think I need sushi for lunch tomorrow!


    ♥ V
    http://www.gritandglamour.com
    twitter: @gritandglamour

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  7. sure but... that was then, this is now... what you're describing is "traditional" japanese food. the japanese people of today eat fried foods all the time (katsu-anything), eat mcdonalds, KFC and other american fast food brands, and i dunno where you heard that scoffing down globs of rice was healthy but.... it's not!!

    i'm not trying to slam into you or anything, i'm just saying. also, obesity is on the rise in Japan, and Japanese people (from what i've seen) eat a lot. they eat smaller portions, but they eat a lot of really fatty foods! and the reason most of them don't get fat is - i'm pretty sure - their awesome genes. eating like them for the last 2 years, well, i've gained about 20 lbs, so... :(

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  8. actually all those stats are current and like any way of eating it won't work for 100% but for the majority it will.

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  9. they certainly know how to present food :)

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  10. im big fan of sushi too, writing this post made me crave japanese food.

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  11. I'm a big fan of sushi and I'd love to try more Japanese dishes. There is a local Japanese restaurant that I want to try where they cook the food in front of you. My old work mate' sister used to live in Japan and when she went over she tried some fish that if it's not prepared properly can kill you.

    www.arashmazinani.com

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