Four Foods that Keep the Japanese Thin

My list of 4 foods that keep the Japanese thin: tea, fish, natto, and wakame. These foods are also loaded with antioxidants and amino acids. This could be why the Japanese live longer and look younger. Also, portions in Japan are much smaller than in America; the Japanese care about quality rather than quantity. This is the reverse in America where people just want more [food] for their money.

How about the fact that they walk; work physically. Most other countries people walk, use bikes or walk to public transportation and don't have 2 to 3 cars in their driveway!

Our foods are riddled with growth hormones.. think there might be a link with our population looking the way it does?

I'm not impressed by this article. During the 90s I traveled to Japan twice a year for a week to 10 days each trip. I never put on weight while I was there despite the prodigious amount of beer & sake we'd consume. The dishes mentioned here weren't something I'd see often, and I don't like them all. Japanese are slimmer because they eat much less wheat, beef, poultry & dairy than we do; they eat more rice, fish & vegetables. Their desserts were good but not over-overpoweringly sweet. Japan has many more healthy fast options for meals on the go than in the US. You can get fabulous noodle bowls or pick up a nutritious bento box lunch anywhere. Here your options are salty fried foods, greasy burgers or tacos and the bread is appalling. I keep trim by cooking at home as much as possible, brownbagging lunch often and always leaving the table a little hungry.

Sheeit son, their portions are smaller and balanced w/ veggies. Here, most GORGE on meats. Doubt if there's many ALL YOU CAN EAT $4.99 BUFFETS either

Their portions are small....and they do not overeat. Do you see the Japanese how they eat, they take their time, give a little respect for the food, it is part of their tradition...THAT is the big difference!

My husband has discovered miso soup, wakame and bonito flakes and makes his soups of these ingredients and is really losing weight 175 down to 166 lbs so far. You have to have a taste for it, though. Try it at a sushi restaurant first and ask the sushi chef about it.

In other words; fish, rice, vegetables, and fruit!

Tomorrow's headline, " Four foods that keep the Americans fat'"

or you could just eat less calories than you need,choke down a fresh green salad, stop thinking of cake as a food group, get outside once in awhile, an maybe stop ordering food by the pound or foot. Why do I always see articles like "Your house is making you fat, or is it your job etc" Why is there never a story IT'S YOU MAKING YOU FAT!

It is almost a requirement to have a PhD to be able to read and decipher the contents of most American food in the grocery stores.

dam i could of had a v-8

The Japanese are also a lot smaller than the average Westerner. A short person who is overweight is still going to be several sizes smaller than a tall person who is overweight. That being said, the Japanese diet is generally healthier than ours, although laden with salt which can lead to hypertension and stroke. Many of them also practice hara hachi bu, the notion of ceasing to eat when you are 80% full, instead of stuffing themselves as many Westerners do.

i live in japan... and maybe eating rice and just smaller meals and more vegetables does it too... im lean and stayed lean since i have been here,,, i have been here since 12 years!! and natto is soooooooooooooo great for skin and health.... if you can find the freeze dried one ..all the better..tastes better :)

4 Foods that keep Americans Fat... Fast, Processed, Microwaved and Snack

Okay...I get the general gist of the article the Japanese have a healthier diet, but there are aspects of the article to which I take exception. One, the Asian physique is different than the European physique. I am white and have two sisters who were adopted from Korea. I am five feet and eight inches tall. My oldest sister is five feet tall. My other sister is four feet ten. In order for me to be the same size as my sisters, I would have to be anorexic. A sweeping generalization noting the size of clothes as a comparison is ridiculous. Two, are these products offered in most grocery stores? If not, then the article is not much help. I am a busy mother of three teenagers. I do not have time to go running around to find speciality items which are not carried at my local grocery store. For all the health benefits these products may provide, the information is of little use if the items are not convenient. I am starting to wonder if many of the food articles offered by Yahoo are written by single foodies who reside in metropolitan areas because the articles do not seem to be written by someone who has a family with normal financial concerns, multiple responsibilities, and children who would likely look at much of what was offered in this article and say "No thanks, Mom."

Authentic Asian cuisine, not the Americanized Chinese foods loaded with grease, is generally much healthier than traditional American diet. It would take quite a bit of time to get away from burger and fries and replace it with sea weeds/tofu/yuba...etc...

Generally Japanese do not consume huge amount of alcohol and do drugs like we do, that is why they stay healthier. If it is not for their grueling work hours and the drive to compete in academics and work they will live longer than they do now.

And portion size ! the portions here are very small. It takes a bit of time to get used to the smaller sizes

I do not eat grocery store sushi any more. Most make me sick. I do buy the Wasibi Peas and the Japanese Green Tea and carry these items both around with me and have them at home.

I would be having my dinner every day they are open at the Japanese places I like in Chattanooga and other meals at the German place if I could afford to eat at these places every day. These are my treats.