Japanese food is attracting attention around the world as a healthy food. This blog also introduces the health benefits of Japanese food. However, in fact, Japanese food also has its drawbacks. In this article, we will delve deeper into the points to keep in mind when eating Japanese food. By knowing both the good aspects of Japanese food and the points to be aware of, you can make the most of the health benefits of Japanese food.
Disadvantages of Japanese food
1 Excessive salt intake
When we think of Japan, we think of Japanese food. One of the most representative foods of Japanese cuisine is miso soup. Miso soup is such a soul food that many Japanese families drink it every day. The miso used in miso soup is extremely nutritious and is said to have various beneficial effects, such as regulating the intestines.
The only drawback, however, is the salt content. Even though miso soup is good for your health, drinking too much every day can lead to excessive salt intake. One cup of miso soup (about 150 ml) contains about 1.5 to 2 g of salt. The recommended daily salt intake in Japan is less than 7.5g for men and 6.5g for women; the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily salt intake of less than 5g.
In other words, one bowl of miso soup provides approximately 25-30% of the recommended daily salt intake. In addition to miso soup, many dishes are prepared with soy sauce, salt, and miso. Long-term preserved foods such as pickled plums and tsukudani are also frequently eaten as accompaniments to white rice, and we find ourselves on a high-salt diet.
Ramen is also very popular among foreign tourists, but if you drink up all the soup, you will quickly exceed your daily salt intake. For example, one serving of the famous Ichiran Ramen souvenir set contains 7.3 g of salt (including soup).
Salt reduction measures
The key to reducing salt in Japanese food is to make good use of the umami of dashi (Japanese soup stock). Salt and umami go well together, so by reducing the amount of high-sodium seasonings such as soy sauce, salt, and miso, and actively incorporating the umami of dashi broth, you can increase the deliciousness of your food while reducing salt.
Also, choose ingredients that are high in potassium in their ingredients. Potassium is a mineral that plays a very important role in the human body.
Potassium helps to regulate and maintain constant osmotic pressure in body fluids and to remove sodium. These functions help control salt intake. Foods high in potassium include, for example, taro and other potatoes, pumpkin, eggplant, and cabbage. All of these foods are perfect for miso soup.
When eating ramen or other soupy Japanese dishes, it is very effective to be conscious of not drinking all the soup.
2 Too much iodine
The next point to be noted in Japanese food is the iodine contained in seaweed. Seaweed has various health benefits, such as reducing the risk of myocardial infarction and controlling high blood pressure.
On the other hand, eating too much seaweed can lead to excessive iodine intake. Iodine is a mineral found mainly in kelp, wakame seaweed, and nori, and is essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormones in the body. Japan is the country that consumes the most iodine in the world. Iodine is an important mineral essential for life, but there are reports that excessive iodine intake can cause thyroid cancer.
According to the “Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese People” published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the estimated average daily requirement for iodine is 0.095 mg and the recommended amount is 0.13 mg per day. In Japan, however, the average daily intake is approximately 1-3 mg due to the dietary habit of consuming a lot of seaweed and seafood. Even though seaweed is said to be good for one’s health, we should be careful not to eat too much.
3 Excessive carbohydrate intake
White rice is an essential staple of the Japanese table. Low in fat and filling, rice can be served with a variety of Japanese dishes, but one must be careful not to eat too much. White rice is a carbohydrate and a source of energy for the body.
However, Japanese food also contains many carbohydrates in dishes other than the staple food. For example, sugar, sake, and mirin (sweet cooking sake), which are essential seasonings for Japanese food, also contain carbohydrates. Potatoes, taro, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin, which are often used in simmered dishes, are vegetables that contain a lot of carbohydrates. Too many second helpings of rice and other dishes, even though Japanese food is delicious, can lead to a high-carbohydrate diet.
Of course, the sugars in white rice and sugar are the same carbohydrate but work differently in the body. White rice is a starch (polysaccharide) that takes longer to break down in the body, resulting in a slower rise in blood glucose levels after a meal. Sugar, on the other hand, is more easily absorbed by the body than starch and causes a rapid rise in blood glucose levels after a meal. This causes the body to secrete large amounts of insulin, which is then converted into neutral fat, leading to obesity.
Low-carbohydrate measures
When eating staple foods, brown rice is recommended over refined white rice. The outer layer of brown rice contains vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, while the germ contains most of the more than 40 nutrients that humans need, including vitamins, proteins, fats, and minerals. In addition, brown rice contains 4.7 times more dietary fiber, 8 times more vitamin B1, and 10.5 times more vitamin B6 than white rice. Not only that, brown rice absorbs sugar more slowly than white rice. The GI (glycemic index), which indicates how easily sugar is absorbed, is 58.7 for brown rice compared to 82.5 for white rice.
Brown rice is a “treasure house of nutrition” that can supplement vitamins and minerals that modern people tend to lack.
And when eating side dishes, be careful not to eat too many potato side dishes. In particular, simmered dishes use sugar and mirin (sweet cooking rice wine), which also increase the amount of sugar.
We should not overeat not only Japanese food but also foods that are good for our health. Aim for a diet that is nutritionally balanced while combining a variety of foods.
