Sweeteners (was Re: Guilt, satiety, calorie restrictio...

[Guest guest]

Just a few inputs on modern Japanese diet from me. I lived in Tokyo

for 5 years and am married to a Japanese.

" wtsdv " <liberty@p...> wrote:

> I'm not sure why you have such an idealized picture of

> the Japanese. Though they are not as fat as Americans

> on average, they are certainly not the healthiest people

> in the world.

Their health problems are increasing with an increasingly

westernized diet though. Also, they are using more and more

processed foods with additives, preservatives, flavour

enhancers,etc. Typical problems among children is what they

call " atopi " (Atopic Dermatitis) which I think is an allergic

reaction to all the chemicals as well as to pasteurized milk and

refined wheat products.

[just as an aside, the younger generations are much taller - this is

attributed to the introduction of dairy into the diet. However,

studies on bone density show that historically, Japanese in ancient

times had much greater bone density than they do now.]

> But as I said before, the Japanese _do_ eat wheat, and

> typically every day. Rent the movie " Tampopo " from the

> international section of your video store to learn about

> Japan's national obsession with wheat noodles.

I agree they eat a lot of wheat. Not just wheat noodles. The

majority (at least of all the people I met in Tokyo) eat white bread

for breakfast. Refined wheat products are huge there.

> > . . . and the average Japanese office worker isn't exactly

> > toiling in the field, . . .

>

> Don't many Japanese walk or ride a bicycle to work? The

> Japanese in general are known for being very industrious

> people.

Not really. Most ride or walk to the station if they live near or

catch a bus if they live further then catch a train or 2 or 3 to

work (in all the cities at least), then in the towns they generally

drive. The typical " salaryman " has a really unhealthy lifestyle

working 12 to 15 hour days and often going drinking after work.

Convenience stores are everywhere and convenience foods are used by

most people. Japan is now the land of processed foods. I think the

only people you'll find still on traditional diets are farmers and

probably some really health conscious people.

> How much do they really eat per day? We westerners

> associate Asians with rice, but does that really mean that

> every Asian eats it by the bucketful? Several times at

> Japanese restaurants I've been served only a small bowl

> with the meal. Also, a good Korean restaurant I've been

> to, specializing in tofu soups, serves one small bowl of

> rice with a large bowl of soup made of tofu and your

> choice of a variety of seafoods and other meats, along

> with the option of a raw egg broken into it at the table.

> I'm just estimating, but I would say that the soup contains

> at least 30 grams of protein, and the rice about 50 grams

> of carbohydrate. That's certainly more than I consume,

> but it's not the outrageous amount most Americans typically

> consume, nor do Japanese typically eat as many sweets

> as Americans do either. When one factors in the fact that

> these people have had thousands of years of evolutionary

> adaptation to a rice-based diet, and are typically much

> more active than the average American, the case is not

> so clear.

When I first arrived in Japan I lived with a Japanese family for 3

months. I had rice 3 times a day - the traditional diet but it was

only a small bowl as you said. Then I realised the family were

actually having bread for breakfast but my host mother thought she

should feed me a traditional breakfast of rice, miso soup, salad and

grilled fish. I was so bloated with this sudden increase in rice in

my diet that I asked to have bread like them (they had white

doorstopper bread but when I went with her to the bakery pointed to

the brown bread and asked for that). Anyway, I would say most

Japanese have rice at least for lunch and dinner. For my husband, a

meal is not complete without rice or noodles.

I think they do eat a lot of sweets but in small amounts. Cake

pieces there are half or a third the size of the cake slices I was

served in America. Western-style cakes/sweets including chocolate

are not as sweet as in America or Australia. Traditional Japanese

sweets are MUCH sweeter but eaten in very tiny amounts. They don't

usually have dessert. Sweets are often eaten in the afternoon after

coming back from work. Fruit is usually eaten after dinner but one

large apple will be cut up and shared amongst the whole family so

you only get a piece or two.

> But there are societies, including the Japanese, who

> have gluten and also seem to do O.K., or at least they

> don't give obvious evidence of over-eating, like obesity.

But they have other problems. My Japanese teacher's husband is a

typical example of an overworked salaryman who smokes and has to go

out drinking with his bosses. He's slim except for a bit of middle

age spread but looks really unhealthy and has bad gout among other

problems. You see lots of puffy eyes there and huge bags under the

eyes.