I know rice is only a small part of Japanese food and that idea is precisely a Western bias.
Yet we tend to consider rice as a healthy food, heightened by the image Japanese people are seen as healthy and thin people. Furthermore, I was raised Catholic and remember that we had to fast for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and the school cafeteria only served us… a bowl of rice. Not a good way to get into Lent from a glycemic index point of view…
What am I missing? My guess would be that the answer is food portion. Anything else to explain that stereotype on Japan?
Edit: I would like to thank all the lads for their answers and I just want to specify that I’m not dogmatic with carbs. Because of my personal background, I’ve become a moderate carb consumer and that helped to solve the mystery of why I was still fat before. I did not realize what a carb was. Yet, one of the main lessons of life - which could be remembered with the question I asked here - is that a healthy diet is first a balanced one. Then I believe that only a Sith deals in absolute and that carb remains essential as a source of energy. Just know where you are, where you walk, where you want to go. Reddit helped me many times to find my way.
It’s more to do with what they put with rice and the rest of their diet. They don’t consume excess sugar in everything they eat. A lot of people in Japan will eat rice 2-3 times a day, but in combination with lots of vegetables, lean meats, and fish/seafood.
So many people knocking rice these days.
Another consideration is higher consumption of fish, veggies and well, smaller portion sizes, at least compared to the US.
Another thing I noticed when there is the large amount of people who ride bikes and walk (i.e., don’t own cars), compared to the US. Go to a train station, thousands of bikes.
While this isn’t necessarily rice related, the Japanese diet is really high in fermented foods. They likely have very healthy gut microbiomes which improves overall health and is a huge reason their life/health spans are greater than most other cultures.
I lived in Japan for two years and I will say this. Eating plain rice from a hole-in-the-wall diner in Japan is actually very satisfying to the senses, even from the beginning seeing a chef pull dry grains out of a burlap sack, to the final intangible feeling of goodness you get like when grandma makes your favorite as a kid. This also applies to bigger chainy-er restaurants as well. Never have I felt that way about plain white rice in the US.
They also don’t overburden food with sauces loaded with sugars like we do. Idk if it’s because food is less processed requiring less outside taste influences like sauces or.. That’s probably it. I’ve visited Italy as well, at least to me it seemed like they used less sauces on most dishes and let the actual food do the talking.
Side note about Japan, at least in the Tokyo statistical area, I would argue finding an American fast food chain like McDonald’s is just as easy to find as it is in America. This isn’t BS either, but Big Mac sandwiches and fries taste like actual food. I felt like I wasn’t eating trash dressed up as a hamburger.
I feel like the common denominator between US food and the rest of the world boils down to one word: processed. Alas, I know commercial food always has to be processed for safety reasons, but it’s the level at which it’s done.
CARBS ARE NOT BAD FOR YOU!
Its not that Japanese food itself is inherently healthy, it’s not; it’s that the typical Japanese diet and lifestyle is healthy. The Japanese tend to practice relatively strict portion control when compared to most of the world, so they generally don’t overeat. They also tend to walk everywhere, so they get plenty of exercise. Add these two things together and you get relatively good health.
Just because there is something that isn’t perfectly healthy doesn’t mean the entire diet is ruined. Japanese food provides most nutrients because of its variation of whole, unprocessed foods, and small portions.
The mindset that something is either entirely healthy or entirely unhealthy is not an accurate mindset.
Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, etc, all have obesity rates lower than 5%.
Vietnam also has the lowest obesity rate in the world at 2.1% of the population.
I’m Korean-American and almost all the Koreans I know eat white rice roughly 3 times a day, every day. They are some of the healthiest, slimmest and fit people I know. I’m sad that people think white rice is unhealthy, but at the same time happy because more for me :D.
I would disagree with you that the idea of rice being a large part of their diet is a western bias. I have lived in Japan and am there frequently for work- just last week even. Rice IS a huge part of their diet. It’s not uncommon to have rice with 2-3 meals per day! And many of their foods are made with rice flour.
They also eat fish, seaweed, bone broth, etc.
Personally I think carbs are perfectly healthy in the right balance and people endorsing the Keto/ paleo diet in the US are largely wrong.. although everyone’s body is different.
As someone who has been to Japan:
Rice is not a calorie dense food.
> My guess would be that the answer is food portion. Anything else to explain that stereotype on Japan?
I will just asume that you are from the US.Also sugar content in countries outside of the US is MUCH lower. Especially in Japan.
Thats another guess I think.
In traditional Japanese diets there is no presence of hyper processed foods and industrialized oils.
This video ponders the same question you have. Along with the follow up.
If you were to factor in western foods, they wreak havoc on (anyone) the Japanese. As a result diabetes has become far more prevalent among the Japanese population. Lastly, they may appear healthy but they tend to be TOFIs (thin outside, fat inside) and accumulate more visceral fat as opposed to adipose fat (study. So they could LOOK healthier but that might not be the case. This image from this article provides a visual of what I’m discussing.
Sugars are not the enemy. Overeating is. Generally a small portion of rice, potatoes, corn, oats, fruits, etc is not an issue. Eating candy, cake, ice cream, bread, sweet drinks etc is typically not a good choice because they’re not filling and people tend to eat too many carbs that way.
American foods is just garbage compared to Asia and other Countries. Many American foods are banned in healthy eating countries. Start with comparing the school lunches. Big plus they eat normal portion sizes and see how big Americans are.
The average Japanese person has normal insulin sensitivity. Westerners do not because we send our blood glucose and therefore insulin skyrocketing-crashing on a daily basis with high consumption of ultra processed food. So in short we can’t handle white rice as well. This was from an endocrinologist working in London who runs an obesity clinic.
One thing I would add is that the Japanese have been eating rice for 10,000 years, so they have adapted to it the way people in the Solomon Islands have to eating plantains, tubers and starches. People tend to talk about nutrition like everyone is the same. Try to think about what your own epigenetics are as pertains to food when you think about what to eat. If your family is from that part of Asia, then there are probably epigenetic reasons why you can eat tons of rice, whereas I gain weight just looking at the stuff.
My experience is limited, I lived with a Japanese family for a year in Japan: Japanese generally eat a lot of rice. We ate 3 or 4 bowls per meal. The word for “meal” or “food” in Japanese is the word for rice, “go-han.”
Your question is right on: the Japanese do eat a lot of rice, doesn’t this conflict with the current low-carb focus of dieting?
As an Americanized Asian, rice is still my go-to choice of carbs when possible. If I had an immediate assortment to choose from amongst other kinds of carbs, and rice is one of those options, then I would without hesitation request the rice.
Remember what rice is and isn’t when compared to other carbs. It does not require flour, sugar, yeast, or other ingredients in order to create the final product. But it does allow increased surface area when cooked with oils and other ingredients to create a “rice dish.” So portion control, health concerns, diet management all still falls upon you and the decisions you make.
Rice can be bad or good as it will ultimately depend on how you consume it. That is why you will find Asian countries like Japan include rice as their primary carb, but also consume it plain without any further preparation than the rice cooker.
I’m from Vietnam, which also has rice-baser diet. My father told me that Asian gene and bodies also have more enzymes and science stuff that help us process rice better. That’s why I can eat a lot of rice every day and don’t get fat.
Also you need to know different types of rice as some has much more carb than others
This is barely discussed anywhere and significantly complicates most nutrition advice, but east Asians had thousands of years to genetically adapt to rice. For example, this study provides evidence that asian flush emerged as a genetic adaptation to rice: https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2148-10-15.
Rice is a high GI food, and it would be a problem were it not for the protein and fiber in the meal. They always eat chicken/tofu/natto/pork/eggs with veggies on the side and often rice(something noodles).
Portions are also pretty small, and a common way of thinking there is to eat until 80% full.
I think you are only looking at one component of the meal. Japanese along with rice eat many variety of side dishes (including vegetarian and meat based), so it’s a complete meal. Maybe that’s why it’s considered healthy.
I googled “Japanese rice consumption” and found out that
>Back in 1962, every man, woman, and child in Japan consumed approximately 118.3 kg of rice each year. In 2005 the among was only 64.9 kg. By 2015 that figure had fallen to only 56.4 kg
https://japaninsider.com/pandemic-fuels-increase-in-rice-consumption-in-japan/
There were many other results from the search. I also recall reading something recently that poor people didn’t consume as much rice in bygone decades because it was expensive, but I couldn’t tell that was a relative or absolute issue
And I wonder if the Japanese are that healthy; a long average life span might not be the best indicator
Indian food consists of rice! My grandpa who lived 95+ years, had rice all his life 2-3 times a day.
but important is what goes with rice! Usually food would be something like Rich, very thin curry made of veggies & maybe with A tea spoon of oil and herbs (almost like minestrone soup), with a side of fermented mango pickle, cut cucumber-tomatoes-White onion & side of lentils. In summary: Rice, Thin curry to flavor rice, dry season veggies tossed in oil (table spoon or less!)
I have to say Indian food isn’t what they serve in America! That’s mainstream Indian food that we don’t eat that kinda food unless we have something special or we just want to change a palate or if we going to restaurant.
Mainly it is high carbs, medium protein, low fat meal! So you balance out macros & calories!
Were as we here in west world, eat High Carb, High fat, High Protein & high sugar in some cases diet!
I would think the larger amounts of protein and fiber counteract the rice in terms of glycemic index.
As a Vietnamese person, our dinner table would consist of a protein (bbq short ribs, pork, fish), a combo stir fry, and a soup or stew. Everything at some form of protein and tons of fiber and the most bowls of rice I would consume would be 2. Let’s also remember that Asian rice bowls are what Americans would consider like… condiment bowls. So daily rice yes, but it’s not the main dish. And even our desserts can have some protein ingredient - they’re definitely way less sweet than Western desserts and rely more on the natural sweetness of a fruit. Even as I make, for example, strawberry compote today, I either add only a tbsp of sugar to accentuate the flavors or none at all depending on the quality of the strawberries; whereas, a typical compote recipe may have at least 1/4 cup of sugar added to the fruit.
All this to say, as a kid, I kicked off body fat easily. It wasn’t until I found a White partner and started eating mostly carbs and sugar that weight became an issue.
The “idea” of rice being heavily consumed by the Japanese isn’t some kind of “western bias” - they do consume plenty of it, and regularly, and generally don’t consider a meal to be a proper meal unless it has rice. So much so that they struggle to comprehend that any human could eat without a rice-equivalent (which is why they often ask/assume foreigners “eat bread” with every meal).
Having said that, the Japanese diet is unhealthy not because of rice but because of things like the large amount of fried foods they eat (even “traditionally”, such as tempura or kara-age) and in particular because of the ridiculously small portions of vegetables they consume. To name a couple.
Rice is healthy you idiot.
Stop avoiding carbs because of what some sham nutritionist told you.
Carbs are vital to a healthy diet.
Japanese people exercise (aerobically) at a much higher rate on average than any other 1st world country. They need plenty of carbs to fuel that
Just so there is no confusion because a lot of people haven’t clarified…Not all Carbs are good for you, but carbs from Whole Foods are especially those with fiber…not all rice is created equal..for example Wild rice is better than standard white rice.
Another fun fact, the longest living people in Japan usually come from a village that produces purple yams and is a staple in the local diet…this food is very good for you and very high in fiber!
High fiber/carb whole food is extremely healthy, most countries with long lifespans have high fiber diets with lots of Whole Foods…
There’s a difference between rice served with lots of fat, and rice with very little. Carbs and fat are a bad mixture. Notice, they eat modest amounts of food, high in vegetables? I think it plays a part.
As someone who currently lives in Japan, the food standards here are incredibly strict. Some places even serve raw chicken. Eggs for the most part can be eaten raw with almost no risk of illness. The meats, fruits, and vegetables are also fresh with no preservatives used. Which is fantastic, but also means that you need to go to the grocery stores 2-3 times a week because nothing lasts longer than a few days.Another part of Japanese culture is having to walk everywhere. For those that don’t have cars, you could be walking a couple miles just going to work and back. It’s hard to not be thin when you’re doing that every day.
This is where our society has gotten it wrong.
Carbs are not bad. Excessive carbs are bad!
Most Asian countries eat a lot of fresh vegetables and meats. Seafood and chicken are also more prominent in most Asian countries, where as the U.S has an obsession with beef and pork.
It really comes down to portion size and what you are putting with it. A serving size of jasmine rice (for example) is 1/4 cup at 160 calories. Do you ever see anyone eat a proper serving of rice?
You also have to look at what most people do. Easily a whole cup of cooked rice in a bowl/plate, piled with sautéed vegetables with lots of additives and sweet sauces (sweet and sour chicken at a restaurant for example). A whole cup of cooked rice alone is 640 calories!
Moderation is key!
I’m Indian, and we eat a rice (white, brown and red) heavy diet too! It is however, supplemented by lentils and veggie sides, so it’s pretty filling! Think the key is not making the meal rice heavy, and instead eating it in moderation per meal :)
I don’t think Japanese food nor Japanese food culture (LOTS of overeating) is particularly healthy. The Japanese, are, however generally healthy. Genetics plays a bigger role than anyone ever wants to admit
I think eating rice, meat, vegetables, seaweed and Broths/soups every day would be much better off versus the 7/11 breakfast burrito, McDonald’s lunch, and pizza hut dinner you get in America. (Obviously not everyone eats like this all day, just making a point)
As others have said, high amounts of rice isn’t that bad when the rest of the diet doesn’t contain high amounts of added sugar, fat, and salt.
