Japanese Women's Recipe of Longevity

The elderly citizens are more common than young people in Japan. The population of Japan is comprised of more people over the age of 65 than any other age group since many Japanese live to be well over 100 years old (Cirelli). One factor attributes to their longevity is their low calorie and fat diet. For example, The Okinawans believe that one mixture that they drink can cause them to live longer made of a mix of honey, garlic, aloe vera and turmeric along with a native liquor. Moreover, the diet of Okinawans is mostly vegetarian. This healthy diet helps Japanese citizens maintain a healthy weight, not to mention low cholesterol and blood pressure.

According to Delia Quigley from Care2.com, there are several reasons why Japanese people, especially women achieve longevity in their lives. The ingredients used in a Japanese kitchen are a simple variety of foods eaten on a consistent and daily basis, such as fish, soy, land and sea vegetables, rice, fruit, and green tea. All these ingredients are considered healthy, since they are high in protein, vitamin and minerals, and also low in fat. The second factor of why Japanese people longevity is that they eat more fish that the rest of the world do  and eat 5x more vegetable than Americans.

Japanese people emphasizes greatly on the freshness of their food ingredients. They believe fresh is best, and also they serve food in great display and smaller portions than food in America, because they believe less is more (Quigley). I think what it means that with smaller potion, people try to eat slower and enjoy the savory of their food more. Food preparation is also an important part of keeping the food healthy. Techniques commonly used are steaming, pan grilling, sauté, simmer or quick stir fries in a wok using heart healthy oils and flavored broth to season a dish. And though the meal is light people feel content and satisfied.

In Japan, breakfast is considered the most important and biggest meal of the day. It can consist of a variety of small courses which include green tea, steamed rice, miso soup with tofu and scallions, small sheets of nori seaweed, an egg omelet or piece of fish (Quigley). Emphasizing on breakfast is not exclusive to Japan of course, as it is a common fact that by eating breakfast, people tend to maintain healthier weight, because they keep their next meal proportion moderately.

Moreover, Japanese people is not overly obsessed with dieting and weight loss like many American women do.  They are encourage to try diverse variation food without concerning too much on dieting, but do be careful to keep everything on small portion. I believe that by not concerning too much on dieting, they can actually enjoy they food and reduce stress; therefore, increasing their lifespan.

References
http://seniors.lovetoknow.com/elderly-people-japan
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-reasons-japanese-women-dont-get-old-or-fat.html?page=1