Paul Chong                                      Sunday, 8 October 2017

A Chinese by Descent
An Australian by Consent

 

 

Ambiguously, do we eat to live or live to eat? One thing is certain, we are what we eat. It follows that we should watch our diet, if we want to stay healthy & living long.

In this modern era, everybody is health conscious & is prepared to spend more in buying organic foods, to avoid harmful pesticides & artificial fertilisers. This is but one perspective . . . there are other considerations.

Besides watching what we eat, we must safeguard against the temptation of overeating. The Japanese have an ancient proverb “hara hachi bunme” which says it best: “Stop eating when you are 80% full.” It is recommended to eat in moderation & spread our meals into regular smaller portions.

All overeating build up our visceral fats causing all sorts of ailment. A healthy person should have a rating of 1 -12. Anything above spells risk.

The Japanese, about the most healthy people in the world, eat in moderation avoiding consuming huge quantities of sugar, fat & trans-fat. Nor are they constantly gulping down quart sized cups of sugary soda. They also tend to eat less red meat, more fresh vegetables and fewer processed foods. They also drink a lot of green tea which has substantial health benefits.

One prominent aspect is that they consume a lot of fish. According to new research, a lifetime of eating tuna, sardines, salmon and other fish appears to protect Japanese men against clogged arteries, despite other cardiovascular risk factors. Diet rich in fish and pickled vegetables, may be responsible for Japan’s incredible longevity. Fish is rich in
Omega-3 Fatty Acids. More raw fish is being consumed by the Japanese than any other nationalities.

Japanese people enjoy one of the longest average life spans in the world — 86 years for women and 79 for men versus 80 and 75 respective years for Americans — with far lower rates of obesity and chronic diseases like osteoporosis, heart disease and some types of cancer.

Physical exercise is important.. More Japanese do walking and bicycling; even stair climbing at train stations than western slugs who sit behind their dashboard, then sit at a desk all day, then sit on the sofa in front of the idiot box. Around 70% of Japan is mountainous and even cities have some hills, and that means more legwork for many of them. Many use public transportation on a daily basis, and that means more moderate exercise.

When watching television, most people generally like to munch tit-bits like popcorn & chips, which unknowingly go towards our horizontal expansion.

Lifestyle & habits of eating are difficult to change. We need to look at this positively & emulate the Japanese if we wish to stay healthy & enjoy longevity.