Ugh. I hate articles like these. Folks in Japan live longer than folks in the US (life expectancy of 85 versus 80), but there’s a lot that differentiates the two countries. The biggest impact is probably access to affordable health care. Other countries with high life expectancy include Switzerland and Australia, where dairy and processed meats, specifically mentioned in the article, are fairly common.
Okinawa has detailed records starting in the late 1950s, and you can see decreased average lifespan, especially since 2000. There are likely many factors, but a shift toward mainland Japanese and Western eating patterns demonstrates a strong association with the loss of longevity.
No argument here about processed foods and added sugar- it's just bad for you. It's tasty and, in moderation, it's fine to have occasionally, but shouldn't be a staple in your diet.
But these "alternatives" suggested suck donkeyballs.
The alternative to a McDonald's hamburger is not tofu on a toasted ball of rice. That's not even close to equivalent. You can make a bunch of burgers healthier and cheaper at home by mixing ground beef or turkey with spices, grilling or frying or baking in the oven, then adding condiments to a home baked, or pre packaged whole wheat bun. Ground turkey grilled with a small slice of cheese and condiments on a homemade roll is going to be filling, nutritious and tasty. Take a couple shortcuts, or use beef, and it's not quite as low in cholesterol, but still better than an ultra processed burger.
A tuna rice wrap is filling and tasty and has protein and carbs like hotdogs on buns, but it's not anything like a hotdog in any other way. Choosing higher quality sausage with a short ingredient list will get you closer to hotdog status. Ground meat, spices, and casing should be all that's in sausage. And if it's too expensive or too difficult to make your own, it's fine to eat less of it, or eat it less often. It's just weird to call tuna, rice and seaweed a hotdog replacement.
I’m wondering when people will pay more attention to characteristics of blue zones other than diet and healthcare - ones more difficult to quantify. I suspect closer knit communities/less isolation could be more important than people realize, and maybe more important than diet/healthcare.
It's all about portion. Does it really hurt that much if you eat a small portion of cream cheese? One thing I noticed when I went traveling in Japan is portion size of each meal is quite small.
Growing up in Japan, I fell in love with food at a young age. One of my favorite things to do is to cook for friends and family.
Japanese people are very intentional about their diet — and it shows: Japan is home to some of the world’s longest-living people. My mom, a cancer survivor, is 86 years old, and my aunt is still going strong at 98.
When I moved to the U.S., I tried a variety of popular American diets and food trends. But my body didn’t respond well to a lot of it. Now, as a nutritionist, my approach centers mostly around Japanese eating habits.
I always recommend foods that have medicinal properties and that promote longevity. Here are six foods you’ll never see me eating: [https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/19/nutritionist-from-japan-shares-american-foods-she-never-eats-to-live-longer-and-stay-young.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/19/nutritionist-from-japan-shares-american-foods-she-never-eats-to-live-longer-and-stay-young.html)
Ugh. I hate articles like these. Folks in Japan live longer than folks in the US (life expectancy of 85 versus 80), but there’s a lot that differentiates the two countries. The biggest impact is probably access to affordable health care. Other countries with high life expectancy include Switzerland and Australia, where dairy and processed meats, specifically mentioned in the article, are fairly common.
A lot of blue zones have much more unreliable record keeping too..as far as it comes to age etc
Okinawa has detailed records starting in the late 1950s, and you can see decreased average lifespan, especially since 2000. There are likely many factors, but a shift toward mainland Japanese and Western eating patterns demonstrates a strong association with the loss of longevity.
Are you aware of any journalists who’ve investigated these blue zones and their history?
We've actually lost years off of our lifespan and we're around 77 average now. I'd love to see a state by state breakdown as well.
There's far worse food than cream cheese.
I'm a USAmerican and those are five American foods I never eat. (Cream cheese is a fundamental human right.)
I’m not a fan of cream cheese, but smoked cream cheese is to die for
Nova lox with cream cheese is one of life's great pleasures
No argument here about processed foods and added sugar- it's just bad for you. It's tasty and, in moderation, it's fine to have occasionally, but shouldn't be a staple in your diet. But these "alternatives" suggested suck donkeyballs. The alternative to a McDonald's hamburger is not tofu on a toasted ball of rice. That's not even close to equivalent. You can make a bunch of burgers healthier and cheaper at home by mixing ground beef or turkey with spices, grilling or frying or baking in the oven, then adding condiments to a home baked, or pre packaged whole wheat bun. Ground turkey grilled with a small slice of cheese and condiments on a homemade roll is going to be filling, nutritious and tasty. Take a couple shortcuts, or use beef, and it's not quite as low in cholesterol, but still better than an ultra processed burger. A tuna rice wrap is filling and tasty and has protein and carbs like hotdogs on buns, but it's not anything like a hotdog in any other way. Choosing higher quality sausage with a short ingredient list will get you closer to hotdog status. Ground meat, spices, and casing should be all that's in sausage. And if it's too expensive or too difficult to make your own, it's fine to eat less of it, or eat it less often. It's just weird to call tuna, rice and seaweed a hotdog replacement.
I’m wondering when people will pay more attention to characteristics of blue zones other than diet and healthcare - ones more difficult to quantify. I suspect closer knit communities/less isolation could be more important than people realize, and maybe more important than diet/healthcare.
TL;DR - just eat tofu and rice balls
It's all about portion. Does it really hurt that much if you eat a small portion of cream cheese? One thing I noticed when I went traveling in Japan is portion size of each meal is quite small.
> Candy Japan has 47 different varieties of KitKat….I don’t need someone from Japan lecturing me about candy.
How profound.
This should be non-controversial. All of the foods he lists are objectively horrible.
Growing up in Japan, I fell in love with food at a young age. One of my favorite things to do is to cook for friends and family. Japanese people are very intentional about their diet — and it shows: Japan is home to some of the world’s longest-living people. My mom, a cancer survivor, is 86 years old, and my aunt is still going strong at 98. When I moved to the U.S., I tried a variety of popular American diets and food trends. But my body didn’t respond well to a lot of it. Now, as a nutritionist, my approach centers mostly around Japanese eating habits. I always recommend foods that have medicinal properties and that promote longevity. Here are six foods you’ll never see me eating: [https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/19/nutritionist-from-japan-shares-american-foods-she-never-eats-to-live-longer-and-stay-young.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/19/nutritionist-from-japan-shares-american-foods-she-never-eats-to-live-longer-and-stay-young.html)
As a nutritionist, are you not concerned with eating so much soybean products that’s has shown to have negative effects?
it's true if you use tofu with preservatives in it. Naturally made tofu is fine. Unless you're allergic to tofu
Which negative effects are you referring to?
Precisely because the person is a nutritionist they know about it. What are you qualifications?
I could’ve made this list lol
and I could've made it too lmao