I was going through my email because I have 6,000+ on my phone through some weird glitch and I’m trying to do it as a personal challenge but I might give in to some tool… Anyway, I was going through my emails and saw a link to an article on “9 weight loss tips from the Japanese diet.”
What is the Japanese diet? What specifically do Japanese people and their diet have to offer that differs from the rest of Asia or coastal Asia? What special things constitute Japanese food? To be honest, I thought they were going to be talking about that chopstick thing and I almost gagged but clicked through the mini crisis.
There’s some helpful information in the article that I would recommend to clients and others like eating at regular intervals, not stuffing yourself, eating fermented foods, switching to a mostly plant based protein consumption, and being more active in general. But many of those things are either practical life advice Japanese people have no unique influence over (like eating to 80% fullness or plant based protein consumption), or true for much of Asia like fermented food consumption. The spotlight was on Japanese food but it didn’t have to be so it feels strange.
So really, don’t call it the Japanese diet. This bothers me because it feels like people are taking Japanese culture and stripping it down to whatever they think is useful while ignoring the rest. Well… They are? There’s a way to point out the cultural influence or what cultures do well in terms of health but it doesn’t have to be “Japanese diet” or “Mediterranean diet”- shh. Unless this was part of a series of articles spotlighting different cultures and their health and wellness practices, it seems very misplaced.
Especially when you consider that Japanese people eat a lot of rice and other refined carbohydrates because of the government’s decision to participate in globalized commerce as well as colonialization following world war 2. Refined carbs even in moderation are arguably unhealthy. But… Ignoring the history of Japanese food and the modern Japanese diet, it’s easy to pick apart some of the differences in diet and food consumption to Western nations and say “it’s a diet that’s healthier” as an outsider who doesn’t really care or understand but just wants to be in tip top shape. Sure, most Westerners would probably lose it should they be served that amazing fermented soy: natto. Or they would think they know everything about fermentation and its benefits after a round of kombucha (a Japanese thing btw). I think it’s great to be keyed in to other cultures and try and enjoy a wide variety of foods, just discuss it in an honoring way.
I mostly agree with what was said but I really want to point out to consume media with a discerning eye. If you ate what most people consider Japanese food to be, you wouldn’t be healthier. Sushi isn’t that healthy. Tofu made commercially is trash and you should really only eat fermented soy. Soy sauce is fermented soy but it’s super high in salts. Japanese people also use MSG (your opinion on that inserted here) as it was discovered there (re: aginomoto) in a lot of dishes where you’d raise an eyebrow on necessity. Ramen is hella fatty and kinda junk food- it’s not really the go to dish for traditional Japanese folk or people trying to eat healthy- but these are all foods westerners equate with Japan.
I’m not saying it’s a trash article because it’s well written and helpful. I’m just saying take this and the rest of these culturally inspired diets with a grain of aginomoto and just eat healthy. Honor other cultures without using them as learning tools for your own benefit while ignoring the cultural implications of that. Japan has caused its own problems but its reliance on eating in certain ways comes from its history which should be honored not taken out of context and used as fitspo.
sarahmascarah 
Posted on July 11, 2016
0