Are Japanese foods particularly helpful in weight loss ?

Traditionally, Japanese foods consisted in large part, of fish and rice.

These days, the modern Japanese diet has strayed and the Japanese medical community recently have been warning its community about the potential health risks. Many nutrition experts, not only in Japan are recommending that their clients go back to the old ways of fulfilling their nutritional needs and adjusting them to their modern lives.

In answer to the question, is a japanese diet helpful in weight loss, my personal opinion is yes. The reason I say yes, is for it's particular health benefits, rather for any fat burning properties that it might have. When it comes down to it, health should be your prime objective, rather than the pursuit of a perfect body.

There are three basic benefits that I see in eating traditional Japanese food, I say, traditional, because most commercially available Japanese foods (in Western Countries at least) have been altered to suit western tastes, and has lost most of it's health-giving benefits.

Low Glycemic Indexes:

Japanese rice can have low glycemic loads.

For example. A meal consisting of sushi, roasted sea algae, vinegar and Japanese rice has a low GI (Glycemic Index) of 55, while a meal consisting of low protein white rice and dried sea algae has a GI of 70.

An Example of Japanese rice is Koshikari (Japonica) rice, GI of 48+/-8 while some types of white rice can have a GI that range from 56 to 104.
The Japanese Diet Is High In Soy Proteins:

Tofu (soy-bean curd) is an integral element in the Japanese diet, and has gained popularity also in western cultures, so what has this to do with weight loss - well. Again, soy is a topic that many have argued about as to whether it is even a health food - many have sited that its excessive consumption can have adverse effects.

Research published this year indicates that when a high soy protein and low fat diet are consumed, especially when combined with exercise, body fat mass decreases. It was also noted that a significant improvement was made in lipid and glycemic levels. If that wasn't enough, researchers also noted that while body fat mass had decreased there was no change in muscle mass. While significant conclusions can't be made on the basis of one study - I do regard this as encouraging, because of course, a person who has more muscle will burn more calories than a person with less muscle, even if they eat the same diet.
High Micro-nutrient Content:

When a meal is consumed, a myriad of vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants (micro-nutrients) are consumed. The natural food chemicals that make up these micro-nutrients are thought to play an active role in protecting the human body from common ailments such as cancer. Eating a variety of foods, means that an increase in micro-nutrients will help to protect your body from disease.

Japanese food has been traditionally regarded as "medicine" and is embedded into their culture. Surveys conducted in 2001 of older Japanese people found that they ate high amounts of fish, and / or shell fish, as well as vegetables and fruit which provided sufficient vitamins and minerals to keep them healthy. Also I found interesting that their diets consisted of 16% protein, 58 - 62% carbohydrates and 22% fat.

So given these benefits, that a Japanese diet is high in micro-nutrients, high in soy protein which may have a positive effect on metabolism and depending on the foods eaten, have low glycemic indexes, on a general basis, Japanese foods can be beneficial for weight loss but more importantly for its health-giving properties.

References:

[1] Truswell AS. Practical and realistic approaches to healthier diet modifications. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998 Mar;67(3 Suppl):583S-90S.

[2] Larsen HN, Christensen C, Rasmussen OW, et al. Influence of parboiling and physico-chemical characteristics of rice on the glycaemic index in non-insulin dependent diabetic subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr 1996; 50: 22-7.

[3] Sugiyama M, Tang AC, Wakaki Y, Koyama W. Glycemic index of single and mixed meal foods among common Japanese foods. Eur J Clin Nutr

[4] Pereira MA, Swain J, Goldfine AB, Rifai N, Ludwig DS. Effects of a low-glycemic load diet on resting energy expenditure and heart disease risk factors during weight loss.

[5] 5. Sho H. History and characteristics of Okinawan longevity food. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2001;10(2):159-64.

Prawn Sushi Japanese Foods For Health
An informative resource and probably provides a more indepth look at Japanese food itself, that has been afforded here.

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