The Basics Of Japanese Food

1. A wide variety of fresh ingredients are available

Japan is a group of islands ranging from the island of Hokkaido in the north and Okinawa in the south, an island country surrounded by the sea. For that reason, you can incorporate fresh fish, shellfish, seaweed, and other vegetables, fruits, mushrooms and mountains, and a lot of ingredients from marine products.

Also, the main cooking methods are simmering, steaming, baking, stir-frying, frying etc. There are abundant cooking methods, there are dishes that made use of ingredients.

2. Utilization of ingredients tailored to the four seasons

Japan has four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter, and there are dishes that made use of the seasons of ingredients. Seasonal ingredients not only express the seasonal feeling but also are delicious and nutritious.

3. Ideal dietary balance

Each stuff supplements with one meal because there is one starchy and staple food, main dish, side dishes, and soup.

4. Specific event food

Annual events such as New Year and Setsubun have close relations with food. Through the event, we deepen our ties/relationships by eating with families and relatives.

Why is Japanese food (Japanese food) the ideal meal for healthy longevity?

The main feature of Japanese food (日本食（和食の特徴は) is a staple food, main dish, side dishes (2 items), soup broth, and three vegetable meal style. The staple food is rice, which contains a lot of carbohydrates to be an energy source, the main dish is protein, which becomes the material of muscle and blood such as meat and fish, soy products etc, soak in the side dishes, boiled, boiled, It also supplements dietary fiber that is useful for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases, because vitamins, minerals, and miso soup will also supplement vegetables or seaweeds. It is an ideal balanced diet because it supplements five major nutrients with one meal.


Fermented food supplements

We eat a lot of fermented foods such as miso, soy sauce, vinegar, mirin, and other seasonings, natto, bran pickles, sake and so on. Especially vegetable lactic acid bacteria such as natto and rice bran is relatively strong against stomach acid, and it reaches the bowel alive as it is alive. Fermented foods are useful not only for adjusting the intestinal environment but also for health promotion such as improving immunity.

Low fat, low calorie

Steaming, cooking, baking, and cooking are low calorie because the amount of oil used is small. The oil contained in fish is DHA or EPA, Omega 3 fatty acid. They work to lower cholesterol and become a good quality oil as fat that acts to prevent arteriosclerosis.

By using "sushi" 's "umami" which is taken from kelp and bonito etc. well, it is useful for Japanese longevity and obesity prevention because of meals with low animal fat such as butter and lard.

According to the Japanese meal intake standard (2015 edition), the balance of the meal of Japanese food (Japanese food) is said to be ideal with 60% carbohydrate, 15% protein, lipid 20% to 25% among total energy 2).


Although Japanese food (Japanese food) is an ideal diet with balanced nutrition, there is also a slight problem in that calcium is low and salt intake is high.

Lower calcium intake (カルシウムが少ない)

Calcium is a mineral that becomes a material of bones and teeth. Foods rich in calcium are dairy products such as milk and yogurt, small fish, green-yellow vegetables. Small fish and green-yellow vegetables are used in Japanese food, but calcium absorption is poor compared to dairy products, resulting in calcium deficiency.

Also, because the water in Japan is soft water, it does not supplement calcium from drinking water because it is hard water abroad and so does not contain minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

Salt Intake(slightly high) (塩分の過剰摂取)

For Japanese food (Japanese food) there are many dishes that use condiments containing a lot of salts, such as miso and soy sauce. Also, by eating Umeboshi, pickles, Tsukudani etc., which have a higher salt content, at meal time the intake of salt is increased.

According to the National Nutrition Survey, yearly, the average salt intake is 9.9 g, 10.8 g for men and 9.2 g for females. Ten years ago the average was 11.5 g, so the intake is decreasing year by year. However, according to dietary intake standard 2015, the intake target amount of salt is 8.0 g for males and 7.0 g for females, so we are taking more intake. An excessive intake of salt may also cause high blood pressure.

But, overall Japanese food dishes are some of the healthiest you can eat. Why don't you try some today!