Food Lessons from Japan

Healthy Food Lessons from Japan

      In Japan, people tend to live long, healthy lives. Cultural values certainly play a role – the Japanese emphasis on moderation extends to meal times, where the widely followed cultural maxim instructs you to stop eating when you feel 80% full. But the food itself plays an even bigger part: the Japanese diet is incredibly rich in seafood and vegetables prepared in ways that make for healthy eating.

                        

But, you don’t have to be a Japanese-style cook to take advantage of the key ingredients that make Japanese food healthy for seniors, or to prepare delicious recipes like the three included here.

Keys to a Long Life

Perhaps the simplest way to evaluate the healthiness of a given culture’s diet is to measure the life expectancy of people in that culture. Think about it: If diet and exercise are the two most important factors in lengthening lifespan – and they are – then it stands to reason that we can identify healthy diets by finding people who live unusually long lives and taking a look at what and how they eat.

Indeed, Japan is home to the world’s highest proportion of people who live 100+ years (when the oldest living man on earth, who resided near Kyoto, passed away in 2013 at 116, his title went to a 115-year-old man who lives in Osaka). Which brings us to the question: How do they do it?

An Ocean of Options

The Japanese diet offers seniors a path to nutritional health in two ways: by what it includes and what it leaves out. As for what it leaves out, red meat is rarely eaten, dairy is almost nonexistent, and diners aren’t served large portions – instead of getting one giant plate of food set before you, portions are served in a series of small plates and bowls, which means taking more time and care with your food and, as a result, eating less. As for what the Japanese diet includes, let’s take a look at the foods that are daily staples:

• Fish: Lots of it, especially fatty fish like tuna, mackerel and salmon, which are a tremendous source of the omega-3 fatty acids that have been demonstrated to play an important part in promoting heart and brain health. Also other seafoods, like squid and octopus.
  

• Vegetables: Most often served lightly steamed, stir-fried or simmered in a seasoned broth, veggies are frequently served at all meals of the day and have a high variety, including green beans, eggplant, tomatoes, carrots, spinach, bamboo sheets, mushrooms, seaweed, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, onions, lotus root and much more.

• Soy: Foods like tofu and edamame offer a great source of protein, which in turn cuts down on the need for red meat.

• Fruits: When dessert is served, instead of a pie or a plate of cookies, it will frequently be an attractive arrangement of sliced fruits.
  

• Rice: White rice is far and away the most commonly served form of rice in Japan, and while it does offer a low-calorie way to fill you up, we recommend using brown rice, which is high in the fiber that so many American diets lack.

• Tea: A cup of green tea marks the end of many Japanese meals.