What Is a Traditional Japanese Diet? 5 Health Benefits (2024)

FAQs

What is the traditional Japanese diet? ›

What is the traditional Japanese diet? The traditional Japanese diet is largely fresh and unprocessed, with very few refined ingredients and sugar. In fact, it isn't that dissimilar to a traditional Chinese diet, with staples including rice, cooked and pickled vegetables, fish and meat.

Why Is the Japanese Diet So Healthy? Japanese diet mainly relies on plants and seafood for proteins, good fats, vitamins, and minerals. Moreover, they take a limited portion of carbohydrates, spices, and salt. Such a diet prevents them from getting harmful diseases, delays aging, and prolongs their healthy lifespan.

The Japanese diet is a type of diet that consists of eating few meals per day in small portions. It eliminates the consumption of dairy products, sugar, fatty and processed foods. This diet is rich in fresh vegetables, soy, fish and seafood that promote optimal functioning of the intestines.

The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese: washoku) is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, and vegetables cooked in broth.

Generally, the traditional Japanese diet follows the so-called “soup and three” rule. It means that you can consume one main, protein-rich dish, accompanied by two side dishes (fresh or fermented vegetables) and a bowl of soup. Your meals can also contain small amounts of dairy products, eggs, and meat.

A traditional Japanese diet is well balanced. It contains more fish than red meat, plenty of vegetables, pickled and fermented foods, and small portions of rice. Raw fish in dishes are also common. The diet involves little highly processed food and lower overall sugar intake.

The most common are edamame, tofu, miso, soy sauce, tamari, and natto. Fruit and vegetables. Usually, fruits are eaten raw or pickled while vegetables are steamed, sautéed, pickled, simmered in broth, or added to soups. Seaweed.

However, certain elements are commonly found in a typical Japanese breakfast. These include steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish, pickles, natto (fermented soybeans), tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), nori (seaweed), and a variety of side dishes such as vegetables, tofu, or salad.

An Active Lifestyle Goes a Long Way

I bet you it's not all that often. Japanese people eat healthy, but they also stay active, which helps them stay lean. For instance, public transport use and walking are very popular ways to get to work or school in Japan.

Sushi is full of anti-inflammatory ingredients. Seafood like tuna, salmon, or mackerel; seaweed and brown rice; vegetables, included pickled ones; and even wasabi, are all anti-inflammatory.

What is the Japanese rule when eating? ›

Eating Etiquette

Before plating yourself, make sure to start the meal by saying “Itadaki-masu,” which means “I gratefully receive.” After, you may begin dishing up. Remember to only take what you think you will eat, as leaving food on your plate is considered wasteful and impolite.

Japanese people stay lean despite eating lots of white rice because they're unafraid of it. They have a relationship with it where it neither scares nor intimidates them — instead of avoiding it, they enjoy it in moderate portions, with different vegetables, filling fats, and nourishing proteins.

We can enjoy them boiled, fried, scrambled, steamed, or mixed together with other ingredients for even more possibilities. But what about enjoying them raw? You may notice that raw eggs appear more frequently on a Japanese menu compared to elsewhere.