5 Healthy Habits We Can Learn From the Japanese

Know the secret about a healthy diet

My Grandma lived for 93 years and we are soon going to celebrate the 100th birthday of my cousin’s grandpa.

No matter in which country you are living, there was something beautiful about our forefathers' simple and profound ways of life. They did all work by hands and ate fresh foods made at home as there were no smart appliances at that time.

But our generation has immense health issues and we get tired easily. Research by CDC states that 90% of Americans don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, and according to CNBC — 90% of Americans don’t cook at home, which means people eat outside more.

All these cause health issues. But Japanese are different in Okinawa Island where most people live for 100+ years.

There is something we can learn from them and the Japanese diet. So, let’s see what they do differently.

Buy fresh food items

Fresh food is a part of a wholesome and nutritious diet.

People in Japan go to the local market several times a week to buy fruits, milk, veggies, fish, and many other products. Research says that eating fresh products leads to a healthy lifestyle and reduces the risk of chronic disease.

People in Japan prefer seasonal foods and avoid packaging refrigerated food.

What do we need to change?

At my home when I was a little girl my Grandpa used to go to the market to buy fresh fruits every single day but nowadays everything is the opposite.

We all prefer packaged foods and buy groceries for a whole week. I know due to pandemic it’s hard to buy fresh fruits but even before that, we were doing the same.

But we can do the following changes:

• Replace junk food with fruits.
• Stick to seasonal and local items.
• Buy fresh items as much as possible.
• Buy nuts, yogurt, eggs, and dried fruits for a healthier option.
• Stay away from frozen dinner and lunches instead make your own food.

Eat only 80%

Japanese use a sentence — ‘ Hara Hachi bun me' which means stop eating your food after your belly is 80% full.

Research shows that people of Okinawa who prefer this technique have a long lifespan and have the lowest rates of illness.

What do we need to change?

We always overeat. According to the survey, 2.8 million Americans binge eat. When we have tasty food on the table we can’t stop and keep on eating until we feel full. Moreover, it often takes our brains 20 minutes to tell us that we are already full! Source.

This has deleterious health effects. So, start doing this to eat only 80% of the food.

• Eat slowly — because your stomach will give a hint that you are not craving anymore.
• Eat at the dining table so you focus mainly on food and not on sofas while watching TV.
• Put your spoon down after every bite.

This is going to be hard. I tried it but sometimes I can’t control myself if my favorite dish is on the menu. I am still working on it, and hopefully, I will able to master that in autopilot mode.

Eat balanced food based on guidelines

In Japan, the ministry of health organization has created a food-based dietary guideline that people should follow. The guidelines suggest the following consumptions of food everyday:

5–7 portion of Grain dishes — rice, bread, noodles and pasta.

5–6 portion of Vegetable dishes — salads, soups and cooked veggies.

3–5 portion of fish, eggs and meat dishes.

2 Milk and 2 fruits portion.

All these foods are consumed in small amounts on daily basis. For example, the Japanese lunch includes — rice as a main dish, vegetables, soup, milk, and seasonal fruit.

What do we need to change?

We need to start including a variety of foods in our diet. That doesn’t mean we have to eat a lot of food. It means we have to include a portion of every food so that we feel energized throughout the day.

Eat a small portion of food on small plates

Japanese people eat all colors and make their food decorative and for this, they used different sizes of small plates.

Small plates mean less food and more variety to taste and this way they eat the right amount of food which leads to a healthy lifestyle.

It is said that the Japanese eat 30 different foods in a day which contains carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, calcium, and all these leads to health benefit.

What do we need to change?

At my home, all food items are served only on one plate, and even when I go to restaurants I need to wait hours for each food item to come. We can’t change the restaurant policy but we can eat different variety on different small plates at our home.

Research shows that on average Americans eat 3800 calories of food each day while Japan eats only 2800 calories. According to American dietary guidelines, men should eat around 2000–3000 calories and women around 1600-2400 calories each day. Research by Harvard Medical school says eating fewer calories helps you lose weight.

Means many people overeat and we need to think about that.

Prefer a traditional-old drink — Green Tea

Japanese drink green tea daily from morning to afternoon breaks and even serve tea to visitors as a part of hospitality.

As a ritual Japanese also celebrate a tea ceremony in early October. According to Harvard Medical school:

Tea, especially green tea, is often said to be good for your health. Tea contains substances linked to a lower risk for heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

What do we need to change?

To start consuming green tea in our diet and stop drinking coca-cola and other beverages which are harmful to our health.

Conclusion

We all can start adopting the Japanese diet in our life and it’s never too late to start. We can start with small and work for our healthy body because if well-being is good everything else is good. Apart from that Japanese also do the following things.

• They do less snacking and eat homemade food.
• They educate children about food from the beginning.
• They prefer physical exercise and walk everywhere possible.
• They consume less sugar.