Unveiling the secrets of how Japanese elders manage their diet !
The longevity of the Japanese has ranked first in the world for 20 consecutive years.
What's more, they are not only long-lived but also generally appear very young, and they rarely suffer from age-related diseases.
How do Japanese elders manage to be both young, healthy and long-lived? The most significant factor is their dietary habits.
1、Eating fish crazily
As the saying goes, "Live off the mountains, eat from the sea",
Japan has a wide variety of fish species and has a long-standing tradition of making a living by fishing. Even fish is regarded as the main food.
According to data, each Japanese person can consume 60 kilograms of fish per year, making it the country with the highest fish consumption in the world.
It is said that eating fish can nourish the brain, and fish meat is rich in various nutrients and trace elements, which can enhance the vitality of brain nerve cells.
And the Japanese's favorite seafood such as octopus and yellowtail are even more nutritious than river fish. They contain rich oleanolic acid, which helps lower cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.
Moreover, scientific research has shown that people who eat fish regularly can reduce their risk of death by 15%.
It can be imagined that loving seafood is one of the key reasons why Japanese elderly people live long and have fewer diseases.
2、Eating a wide variety of foods
Eating 30 different ingredients in one day is the dietary goal advocated by a Japanese organization.
This concept has become very popular in Japan.
To achieve a balanced diet, Japanese people will vary the combinations of meat and vegetables in each meal.
A meal may include rice, fish, meat, beans and potatoes, pasta, vegetables, miso soup, and many other foods.
Besides, whether they are at school or working, they are accustomed to bringing their own lunch boxes. Every time they open the lunch box, they can see a variety of colorful ingredients. There are fish, shrimp, eggs, flatbread, rice balls, sushi, and so on.
By eating a variety of foods, Japanese people can obtain all the necessary nutrients for their bodies every day.
3、An extremely disciplined eating habit
The self-discipline of the Japanese can be summarized in three words:
First, "eat less". The amount of food consumed by the Japanese is extremely small. They have taken the concept of "eating small portions frequently" to the extreme.
Usually, a table is set with a full array of exquisite small plates, but each plate contains only a few bites of ingredients. This is because the Japanese highly value the dietary philosophy of "eating until 80% full", meaning to eat only until you feel moderately full.
When you feel that you have eaten enough, you will put down your chopsticks. This "unfulfilled desire" of restraint is precisely an important factor that modern scientific research has proved can reduce the burden on the digestive system, delay aging, and even prevent various chronic diseases;
The next point is "eating slowly". Japanese people pay great attention to chewing food thoroughly and eating slowly, because in their culture, gulping down food is considered impolite. Over time, they have developed the habit of eating slowly.
The third aspect is a simple diet consisting of "plain food". The daily diet of elderly people in Japan is very simple.
The staple food is brown rice and mixed grain rice, combined with a large amount of vegetables, an appropriate amount of soy products and fish, and the intake of red meat is generally low.
This diet structure, which is high in fiber, low in fat, rich in plant protein and beneficial bacteria, is precisely the healthy model advocated by modern nutrition science.
4、Eat fresh
The Japanese diet places greater emphasis on the natural taste of the food.
They usually cook food by steaming, boiling, or even eating it raw, and use very little seasoning.
Once, an elderly Japanese person posted a picture of his dinner on a social platform. It was all white rice and white tofu, with not a single drop of oil visible.
Cooking mostly by steaming can effectively reduce harmful substances and also maximize the nutritional value of the food.
5、You can never imagine that
In Japan, you rarely see obese people because their obesity rate is only 4.3%, making it one of the countries with the lowest obesity rates in the world.
If you think they maintain their figure merely by following a light and low-calorie diet, you are completely wrong.
The Japanese government's enthusiasm for controlling the weight of its entire population is also the highest in the world. The government has taken action to personally oversee the weight loss efforts of the people and even introduced relevant laws.
According to the regulations of the Japanese government, enterprises are required to conduct a waist circumference check for their employees aged 40 to 75 once a year.
For men, the measurement must be less than 90 centimeters, and for women, it must be less than 85 centimeters.
If the measurement exceeds the limit, tests for blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipids, etc. must be conducted.
Once a certain value does not meet the standard, not only will the employee who exceeds the limit be classified as a "person at risk of metabolic syndrome", but the enterprise will also be subject to a fine.
This is a rare occurrence worldwide, but Japan is such a remarkable country.