Eat 30 Different Foods a Day
We are often told to “Eat the Rainbow” (a diet rich in colour) but in considering how to do that it might be worth having a look at the Japanese diet.
Japanese are taught from childhood to eat 30 different foods each day. Eating this wide variety of foodstuffs ensures adequate intake of protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins required for good health. The key is small portions but more variety. Aim for balance, look for variety, practice moderation.
People who eat a wide variety of foods live longer, have better health and suffer fewer chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. And nutrition works as a team – the more nutrients you consume, the more absorption you get from those nutrients. Also, if we eat too many of the same things every day we can develop sensitivities to those foods.
The statistics in Japan confirm the benefits of their eating habits. Japanese have the lowest obesity rate in the developed world: 5%, compared to 23% in the UK. They have the highest rate of centenarians in the world. The rate of diabetes in Japan is 2.4 per 100,000 compared to 24.5 per 100,000 in the UK. Heart disease rates are 31.2 per 100,000 compared to double that in UK – 68.8 per 100,000. Cancer rates are 217 per 100,000 compared to 272 per 100,000 in UK. (Interesting to note that in cancer among women, UK ranks 14th in the world and Japan isn’t even in the top 50!)
Eating so many different food stuffs each day also alleviates boredom. Boredom with food is one of the most common reasons people deviate from a healthy eating plan.
How to get 30:
- The easiest way to boost your food selection is to increase plant foods
- Vary breakfast – try different whole grains, add in a variety of nuts and seeds to your granola, add several different fruits to your yogurt, add more types of ingredients to your smoothies
- Think about where you can slip in more veg – into stir-frys, soups and stews
- Add in herbs – they contain phytonutrients, too!
- Serve salad at every meal – in Japan they eat greens at breakfast.
- Try something new – make a pact with yourself to try a new vegetable, fruit or other plant food each week. Kohlrabi, dudhi, goji berries, kombu, daikon, dragon fruit, aduki beans…all those items you walk past each week at the grocery store – try them!
- Snacks – make some healthy snacks and portion them out: home-made trail mix of different nuts & seeds, kale chips, hummous with a variety of crudité, a handful of edamame, roasted chick peas, etc.