The modern world isn’t at its healthiest point by far. Our fast and stressful lives take more and more time more from the one we should spend cooking. Instead of spending an hour or two cooking a healthy meal for ourselves and our families, we rather watch TV or scroll through our social media, and then go by a drive through and pick up some fast food. The statistics clearly show us where we stand and it is not a pretty sight:
Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2009–2010) show the following trends:
- More than 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese.
- More than 1 in 3 adults are considered to be obese.
- More than 1 in 20 adults are considered to have extreme obesity.
- About one-third of children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 are considered to be overweight or obese.
- More than 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be obese.
These are scary stats that are increasing and that need to be taken more seriously. It is not only the trans-fat that is detrimental to our health, but sugar and processed carbs too. All of this may sound depressing, but by modifying our eating habits and exercising regularly, we should be able to live a full and healthy life. Japanese cuisine is one of the most healthy diets you can have. The benefits are many and we would like to summarize some of them.
From Japan with love
People in Japan have a high protein diet same as in America, but the difference is that they consume fish mostly. By avoiding red meat, they decrease the chance of heart disease. Raw, poached, grilled, fried, and baked are just some of the ways they prepare it. Soy is the main ingredient in Oriental cuisine, a great source of protein without the cholesterol and saturated fat that comes with red meat. A trademark a Japan’s eating habits are the fact that they eat everything in smaller portions and they spend more time savoring the food rather than just binging it. Their servings are half of what we consume in the west, which highly discourages overeating. Last but not least, people in Japan include green tea in most of their traditional foods. Containing half the caffeine that coffee has but having the highly-praised EGCG polyphenol, it also helps break down fats in the digestive system. Keep this information at hand and start changing your eating habits; you will notice the benefits right away.