accoutrements
March 29, 2004 7:03 PM Subscribe
The Great Citizens Campaign to Lose Three Kilograms. Okinawans have closely adopted the U.S. lifestyle of cars, suburban malls and fast food, and have become Japan's fattest people?
Why anyone would choose McDonalds over Japanese food is beyond me.
posted by cmacleod at 8:23 PM on March 29, 2004
posted by cmacleod at 8:23 PM on March 29, 2004
If you are interested in how modern displacing foods effect native cultures take a look at the Weston A Price Foundation.
posted by stbalbach at 9:26 PM on March 29, 2004
posted by stbalbach at 9:26 PM on March 29, 2004
From Weston A. Price on the traditional Okinawan diet :
And what do Okinawans eat? The main meat of the diet is pork, and not the lean cuts only. Okinawan cuisine, according to gerontologist Kazuhiko Taira, “is very healthy—and very, very greasy,” in a 1996 article that appeared in Health Magazine.19 And the whole pig is eaten—everything from “tails to nails.” Local menus offer boiled pigs feet, entrail soup and shredded ears. Pork is cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, ginger, kelp and small amounts of sugar, then sliced and chopped up for stir fry dishes. Okinawans eat about 100 grams of meat per day—compared to 70 in Japan and just over 20 in China—and at least an equal amount of fish, for a total of about 200 grams per day, compared to 280 grams per person per day of meat and fish in America. Lard—not vegetable oil—is used in cooking.
Okinawans also eat plenty of fibrous root crops such as taro and sweet potatoes. They consume rice and noodles, but not as the main component of the diet. They eat a variety of vegetables such as carrots, white radish, cabbage and greens, both fresh and pickled. Bland tofu is part of the diet, consumed in traditional ways, but on the whole Okinawan cuisine is spicy. Pork dishes are flavored with a mixture of ginger and brown sugar, with chili oil and with “the wicked bite of bitter melon.”
posted by stbalbach at 9:34 PM on March 29, 2004
And what do Okinawans eat? The main meat of the diet is pork, and not the lean cuts only. Okinawan cuisine, according to gerontologist Kazuhiko Taira, “is very healthy—and very, very greasy,” in a 1996 article that appeared in Health Magazine.19 And the whole pig is eaten—everything from “tails to nails.” Local menus offer boiled pigs feet, entrail soup and shredded ears. Pork is cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, ginger, kelp and small amounts of sugar, then sliced and chopped up for stir fry dishes. Okinawans eat about 100 grams of meat per day—compared to 70 in Japan and just over 20 in China—and at least an equal amount of fish, for a total of about 200 grams per day, compared to 280 grams per person per day of meat and fish in America. Lard—not vegetable oil—is used in cooking.
Okinawans also eat plenty of fibrous root crops such as taro and sweet potatoes. They consume rice and noodles, but not as the main component of the diet. They eat a variety of vegetables such as carrots, white radish, cabbage and greens, both fresh and pickled. Bland tofu is part of the diet, consumed in traditional ways, but on the whole Okinawan cuisine is spicy. Pork dishes are flavored with a mixture of ginger and brown sugar, with chili oil and with “the wicked bite of bitter melon.”
posted by stbalbach at 9:34 PM on March 29, 2004
I hope the Okinawans keep to their traditional diets - after all, they live longer than any other group of people on this planet.
One of their reasons for their longevity is that they believe that being 80 percent full is enough. However, it's quite a poor area and is at the mercy of tourism and the 21st century.
Why anyone would choose McDonalds over Japanese food is beyond me.
Me too....
posted by SpaceCadet at 1:26 AM on March 30, 2004
One of their reasons for their longevity is that they believe that being 80 percent full is enough. However, it's quite a poor area and is at the mercy of tourism and the 21st century.
Why anyone would choose McDonalds over Japanese food is beyond me.
Me too....
posted by SpaceCadet at 1:26 AM on March 30, 2004
I hear ya, cmacleod. It boggles the mind. I distinctly remember seeing chubby Japanese kids in and around Tokyo fast food joints and feeling really sad. Guilty almost. McGuilty, I should say. (though I must admit to loving Mos Burger)
Great links, TFYLM. I wonder how long before the South Beach diet is replaced by the Okinawan diet.
Indirectly related, there was a similar study of native Hawaiian's resulting in the "hawaii diet," which naturally promoted a return to native flora and fauna consumption to combat the growing waistlines/wastelines.
posted by shoepal at 10:27 AM on March 30, 2004
Great links, TFYLM. I wonder how long before the South Beach diet is replaced by the Okinawan diet.
Indirectly related, there was a similar study of native Hawaiian's resulting in the "hawaii diet," which naturally promoted a return to native flora and fauna consumption to combat the growing waistlines/wastelines.
posted by shoepal at 10:27 AM on March 30, 2004
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That's an interesting statistic, though - 8.19 hamburger plaes for every 100,000 residents. I wonder how that compares to the U.S....
posted by ph00dz at 7:55 PM on March 29, 2004