The Japanese diet - healthy diet

The Japanese diet - healthy diet
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Japanese diet Submissions Westerners Japanese - is a nation that is fed in accordance with all the rules of a healthy diet. Their diet is low in fat, a lot of complex carbohydrates and proteins, and their sources are mostly natural foods. It is believed that due to this relatively rare Japanese people are overweight, heart disease Heart disease - symptoms of heart disease , Osteoporosis, breast cancer Breast Cancer: Myths and Facts and prostate, and in general live longer than many Europeans, and helps them to the Japanese diet. In these statements, there are at least some truth, although the link between diet and the Japanese spread of certain diseases is more complex than it seems at first glance.

Fundamentals of the Japanese diet

The main source of carbohydrates in the Japanese diet is, you guessed it, Fig. For poor people, it is also a major source of calories. However, a staple in the diet of Japanese - it's still not rice and fish. Every Japanese person on average consume about seventy kilograms of fish a year - nearly 230 grams per day. They eat like fish caught in the territorial sea waters of Japan and brought from remote corners of the world. Also popular and freshwater fish - such as carp. Fish is eaten fresh, salted, dried, baked, or fried. As a rule, the Japanese eat at least two fish meals per day, one - hot, the other - cool.

One of the traditional Japanese fish dishes - hoshizakana - prepared as follows. Fish for twenty hours, pickled in soy sauce mixture and the sweet white wine, then one day air-dried, and then baked and served to the table without any dressing.

Fish soups, which are used for the preparation of not only meat but also bones with internal organs, strengthening food considered very useful in anemia. Carp soup traditionally fed women after childbirth - it is assumed that it stimulates the production of breast milk.

The Japanese diet includes other foods of animal origin, such as beef, pork, chicken, duck. They are usually grilled and served with sauces, which include soy sauce and some other ingredients, such as sweet wine, sake and vinegar.

Soy - another staple in the Japanese diet. It is a component of most sauces and marinades, and tofu - an ingredient of the set of Japanese dishes.

The soybeans used in Japan for the preparation of various products are subjected to careful treatment, whereby they are removed from almost all the toxins. This is, in part, contributes to the fact that in Japan less than in many European countries suffer from certain types of cancer.

It is believed that the Japanese eat few dairy products, but statistics say otherwise - every Japanese person consumes about 84 kg of milk and its products for one year - less than the Europeans consume, but it is still a significant figure.

Finally, the Japanese diet includes plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits and mushrooms. Very common dish of spinach, as well as from a variety of seaweed - is a product that in the diet of most Europeans is very small.

Food for the Brain

The Japanese eat a lot of eggs - one person accounts for about 18 kg of eggs per year. In Japan, the eggs are considered the best food for the brain. It is known story about a woman whose husband died in the war. She had a small child, and over the years it has gradually sold off all their furniture and many other things only for her son could not eat one egg a day and go to college. The boy grew up smart kid, and eventually as his mother wanted, graduated.

Another food for the brain in Japan believe the algae - it is an important ingredient in soups national cuisine, and is known around the world of sushi Sushi - Japanese delicacy . All this makes for a moment to reflect on whether there is a connection between the technological advances of the Japanese and their diet - in particular, the fact that they were deliberately trying to provide your brain it needs nutrients, and regularly eat omelets and soups and other dishes whose ingredients are eggs and algae. Widely known fact that these products contain substances necessary for the normal functioning of the thyroid gland. From the way the thyroid gland works, it depends largely on the work of the brain, so that the Japanese theory about food for the brain, appears to have a firm scientific foundation.

Fats and oils

The Japanese diet traditionally includes a variety of fats and oils. Vegetables and fish, for example, fried in sesame and rapeseed oil, as well as whale fat or lard. However, today the Japanese are increasingly using cheaper vegetable oils, margarine, although, unlike Westerners, they are rarely used.

Since the Second World War fat consumption in Japan has changed significantly. So, the Japanese began to use three times more monounsaturated fats - this is due to the growing prosperity of the country. Unfortunately, at the same time there was a decrease amount consumed fatty acids (e.g. omega-3). Many scientists have linked this with the fact that in recent decades in Japan is becoming more common heart disease, asthma, allergies, and other health problems.

Monosodium glutamate

Although the Japanese diet, according to popular belief, is an example of proper nutrition, it is in Japan appeared one of today's most popular nutritional supplements - MSG. This substance, which is initially made from seaweed, activates glutamate receptors on the tongue, so that the body "thinks" that it is fed with meat. Today most of the world used in monosodium glutamate is still produced in Japan, but now it is obtained not from natural raw materials. It is used for the manufacture of cheap soy sauce and other products, many of which are sources of carcinogens.

At present, more and more Japanese are aware of the danger of monosodium glutamate and selling there products that do not contain this additive. However, this substance is still a part of many Japanese products (including those sold outside Japan) - and they can hardly be classified as healthy food, even though they are part of the Japanese diet.

Beverages

Drinks are also an important part of any diet, so can not be said about them. For any dish usually served in Japan, a weak green tea, which is brewed at the rate of one teaspoon of tea for six cups of water. In addition, the Japanese often drink black tea, coffee and milk. Most often give milk to schoolchildren - is that it improves health and helps Japanese children grow higher than the previous generation.

In hot weather, the Japanese also drink hot green tea, as it promotes sweating and helps to quickly cool the body. In winter, add ginger tea - it is perfectly warm in cold weather. But plain water Japanese drink rarely, because they believe that it contributes to weight gain.