Is Japanese food so healthy?

[DanTonosaki]

Hello my new friends.

Last time I wrote a forum item, I got in a lots of trouble for mentioning something not allowed. I won't do it again. So I'm sorry.

So now I want to know about Japanese food. I heard it's very healthy. Is that true. Some articles were saying recently that a woman in 98 years old and got 10th dan in Judo. It's amazing!

What food does she eat to reach that level?

Thanks for your diet advice.

Dan T

[Columbine]

Originally Posted by DanTonosaki

Hello my new friends.

Last time I wrote a forum item, I got in a lots of trouble for mentioning something not allowed. I won't do it again. So I'm sorry.

So now I want to know about Japanese food. I heard it's very healthy. Is that true. Some articles were saying recently that a woman in 98 years old and got 10th dan in Judo. It's amazing!

What food does she eat to reach that level?

Thanks for your diet advice.

Dan T

No food anywhere EVER is going to make you a 10th dan at 98. That's a life-time of healthy activity and achievement, pretty much.

Japanese food is pretty healthy, it has to be said. Smaller portions, less meat and less fat really help, and it's high in stuff like sea vegetables (good for iodine), tofu and whole-grains like soba. More oily fish and egg. Obviously eating deep-fried food and if you eat it in huge quantities (like mega ramen bowls) all the time, it's not good, and it's pretty high in salt too, so you tend to see a lot of people with blood pressure issues later in life. The main thing is that a lot of Japanese people regularly walk/cycle and have pretty active life-styles.

[Gokiburi]

Quantity, quality, freshness, preparation....

You can take perfectly good groceries and make a mess out of it.
You can take the same good groceries and make a meal out of it.

The movie documentary 'Supersize me' demonstrates one, Japanese cuisine the other end of that very wide spectrum.

[Sangetsu]

Traditional foods are healthy, but the long life expectancy of Japanese has less to do with the food than it does to the amount of food they eat. Most of the people in the current old generation (in their 70's and upwards) lived during a time when food was expensive and scarce. Obesity is not a problem in Japan as it is in other industrialized nations. This isn't due to the food; rice is no less fattening than potatoes or bread, and fish eaten in the same amounts as pork, beef, or chicken is no less fattening.

Your average Japanese nowadays earns a bit less than your average American, but food in Japan costs about 40% more than it does in America. For example, a Double Quarter Pounder meal in America is $5.99, while in Japan it is 780 yen. 780 yen is the equivalent of about $10 USD. How many Double Quarter Pounder meals would you eat if they were $10 a pop? A Double Whopper meal is more than 1000 yen, or about $15. A watermelon costs about $15 to $50 (depending on how pretty it is), while being only half the size of an American watermelon. A steak in a grocery store costs about 4 times as much as it would in America.

As for salt, there is not a good study which shows salt consumption in any way increases risk of heart disease. The study upon which this assumption is based consisted of feeding rats 500mg of salt per day. That is the human equivalent of eating 1000 McDonald's hamburgers per day. Japanese are among the highest consumers of salt in the world, yet they have the highest life expectancy, which is reason enough to suspect the salt/heart disease link.

If you want to live as long as the Japanese, the simplest way is just to eat less food.

[Gokiburi]

Ten bucks for junkfood...

I haven't been to Japan yet, so what would these ten bucks get me in terms of decent food at an average Japanesee diner, like say a goodsized bowl of rice with some veggies and maybe a few morsels of animal protein (poultry/fish/meat) ?

[JBaymore]

Originally Posted by Gokiburi

Ten bucks for junkfood...

I haven't been to Japan yet, so what would these ten bucks get me in terms of decent food at an average Japanesee diner, like say a goodsized bowl of rice with some veggies and maybe a few morsels of animal protein (poultry/fish/meat) ?

Of course it depends a BIT on if you are out in the boonies or in the center of Tokyo.

For one example, you could get a lunch of zara soba and some green tea for less than that. It will consist of a decent sized plate of cold soba with some shredded nori on top, soy based dipping sauce, likely a small serving of some pickles, and some bancha/sencha or mugicha. That might be in the 600 to 700 円 range. Add a side of a few pieces of tempura and that might get the combo up to 1000 to 1200 円...slightly over your budget at the crappy aproximate 75 円 to the $1.00 exchange rate you probably will get these days.

For about that same "ten bucks" you could likely get a serving of oyakodonburi....... an omlet of scallions, chicken pieces, and egg, over a bed of rice in a deep bowl, with a sweet soy-based sauce. And likely a cup of tea and maybe some pickles.

At some of the really cheap kaiten sushi (conveyor belt) places (97 to 100 円 a plate) , that $10.00 would get you all the green tea you can drink, all the pickled ginger you can eat, and about 14 pieces of nigiri sushi. If you are used to American sushi at a lot of places, this cheap stuff will likely be as good as at home. (In Japan... it is "floor sweepings.)

I am sure others will have some examples for you too.

best,

..............john

[JBaymore]

Originally Posted by Columbine

No food anywhere EVER is going to make you a 10th dan at 98. That's a life-time of healthy activity and achievement, pretty much.

Darn... thought I had found the foolproof "short cut" in my study of Iaido.

best,

...........john

[BobbyCooper]

Originally Posted by JBaymore

Of course it depends a BIT on if you are out in the boonies or in the center of Tokyo.

For one example, you could get a lunch of zara soba and some green tea for less than that. It will consist of a decent sized plate of cold soba with some shredded nori on top, soy based dipping sauce, likely a small serving of some pickles, and some bancha/sencha or mugicha. That might be in the 600 to 700 円 range. Add a side of a few pieces of tempura and that might get the combo up to 1000 to 1200 円...slightly over your budget at the crappy aproximate 75 円 to the $1.00 exchange rate you probably will get these days.

For about that same "ten bucks" you could likely get a serving of oyakodonburi....... an omlet of scallions, chicken pieces, and egg, over a bed of rice in a deep bowl, with a sweet soy-based sauce. And likely a cup of tea and maybe some pickles.

At some of the really cheap kaiten sushi (conveyor belt) places (97 to 100 円 a plate) , that $10.00 would get you all the green tea you can drink, all the pickled ginger you can eat, and about 14 pieces of nigiri sushi. If you are used to American sushi at a lot of places, this cheap stuff will likely be as good as at home. (In Japan... it is "floor sweepings.)

I am sure others will have some examples for you too.

best,

..............john

Great to know, thanks John

I heard about the 100 Yen Sushi before ^_^

[Kayci]

I dunno about expensive food, I just came from there, and in the market, I think the price of food was cheaper than it is with fish and stuff for my store.

But then, hey.

[Columbine]

At present, food prices are probably a little higher than normal because of the earthquake and tsunami.