The traditional Japanese diet looks like the ideal of healthy eating: small portions, exceptionally fresh produce, plenty of fish, and no threat of iodine deficiency. Sushi combines all the beneficial aspects of island cooking and therefore gives the impression of proper and slimming food. Is it so? Can sushi and rolls become part of a weight loss diet?
Japanese food will turn a sumo wrestler into a geisha?
The main illustration of the effectiveness of the Japanese approach to food is the invariably smart appearance of the inhabitants of the island state: before getting acquainted with the joys of American fast food chains, the Japanese did not even suspect that excess weight could appear out of nowhere. However, even now the descendants of the samurai perfectly resist burger mania, demonstrating the lowest in the world (less than 3% of the population) obesity rate among residents of civilized countries. Life expectancy in Japan, despite the legendary workaholism of its inhabitants, is significantly above average – the Japanese live for more than eight0 years.

The Japanese for a long time did not know any gluten cereals at all – only rice grew in the island zone of risky farming. At the same time, polished white was available only to the nobility and rich military men, ordinary people were content with unrefined brown, which, as is now well known, although coarser, is much more useful.

Since ancient times, fats have been obtained by the inhabitants of Japan from marine sources, rich in valuable omega-3 acids; The Japanese first tried butter for the first time only in the 20th century, and vegetable oil crops were used very sparingly.
Algae and seasonal vegetables have always satisfied the needs of the inhabitants of a harsh but beautiful land for fiber, vitamins and trace elements, and their special talents in food processing and presentation of dishes have turned Japanese cuisine into one of the most distinctive in the world.
Is sushi the most beautiful and stylish way to lose weight?
Is sushi the most beautiful and stylish way to lose weight?
Fellow gourmets, don’t throw away rice in the theater
Sushi (the correct reading of the combination of these hieroglyphs is sushi, but a distorted pronunciation has taken root in international practice) has been known in Japan since about the eightth century. Initially, it was a way to store fresh fish – it was placed in rice fermented with koji, special molds common in the Land of the Rising Sun. Koji and to this day are used to make sake, miso soup, soy sauce and other Japanese exotic products.

The fish, covered with a “fur coat” of fermented rice, was put under oppression to avoid air ingress. Ready-made “canned food”, or naredzsushi, were edible for several months, while the rice itself, which played the role of a preserving medium, was simply thrown away.

The invention of sushi as a gourmet snack is credited to the Tokyo chef Hanai Yohei: in the 19th century, he first served nigiri sushi (slices of raw seafood on rice boiled with sugar and vinegar, the addition of which imitated the processing of koji) as fast food, appropriate for eating in the whole theater, along with rice. Soon, sushi became a popular offer with street hawkers and turned into a kind of gastronomic symbol of Japan, although it was, in fact, a novelty for it.
The gut is short!
An amazing scientific fact: the small intestine of the Japanese is on average two meters longer than that of representatives of other nationalities. This genetic feature manifested itself among the inhabitants of the island state precisely because of the limited diet and the abundance of rice in it: in order for all the nutrients to be absorbed to the maximum, food needs a longer journey inside the body. In addition, part of the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract of the Japanese are special bacteria responsible for the productive processing of algae and marine food.
Today, rice has become the subject of debate among nutritionists: for example, Margarita Koroleva considers it an indispensable part of a healthy menu, and Alexei Kovalkov is sure that everyone who wants to lose weight should completely abandon white rice. But it’s better not to lean on a healthier brown on a daily basis: frequent consumption of starchy and firm rice can be a problem, especially with a tendency to hold stools.

Therefore, the transition of a European to Japanese food is by and large not a matter of preference, habit or upbringing. Even if you enjoy unusual Asian food, eating too much of it can cause metabolic displeasure on the part of an organism devoid of Japanese genes.

Rice retains water, as does the salty additives often associated with sushi and rolls. For those who are on a diet, this can result in unwanted extra weight, in fact, consisting of excess fluid. Not we should also forget that in Russia the concept of sushi has undergone a serious transformation: we fell in love with sushi and turned the dish, the secret of which is in the excellent balance of simple ingredients, into a festival of diversity. Today, no one is surprised by rolls with bacon or olives, but it is advisable to be aware that such products have nothing to do with traditional Japanese cuisine. In addition, they turn a diet meal (the standard nutritional value of a serving of a roll is 200-300 kcal) into a calorie bomb.
Sushi, rolls and weight loss: what do experts think?
Carol Ann Rinzler, best-selling author of Weight Loss for Dummies, says sushi is a good example of high-quality, low-fat, satiating food. However, if you choose them incorrectly, the benefit risks to come to naught. “To maximize the weight loss benefits of sushi, choose varieties that contain minimally processed large chunks of salmon and tuna,” says Rinzler. The omega-3 fatty acids they contain support brain and heart health, as well as provide you with protein and a large dose of vitamin D. A 30-gram serving of salmon contains four0 kcal, the same amount of tuna – four2 kcal.
American nutritionist Margot Jay Rathban offers her own approach to choosing healthy Japanese snacks: she is sure that the fewer ingredients in a sushi or roll and the less fancy it looks, the healthier it is. Ratban herself chooses sashimi from the entire range of sushi bars – sliced ​​​​raw fish. However, it is important to be one hundred percent sure of its freshness and good origin: unprocessed sea fish can accumulate salts of heavy metals and contain parasites.

Nutritionists agree that you should not make sushi and rolls the main course of your diet if you want to lose weight, but it is quite possible to please yourself with a neat and beautiful portion of this interesting food once or twice a week without harming your figure.

9 rules for choosing sushi and rolls for those who are on a diet
1 Precede your sushi feast with a bowl of miso soup, made from fermented soybeans, seaweed and tofu cheese, which warms and quenches the first “wolf hunger” and also fills the stomach, allowing you to eat less without frustration and struggle with yourself. A serving of miso soup has about 75 calories.
2
Notкоторые суши-рестораны предлагают опцию замены красивого белого риса healthier brown. If your goal is to eat sushi and not harm your figure, choose it: unpolished rice retains cereal shells containing valuable rice oil, and with it magnesium and selenium. Sushi without rice is perfect for losing weight!
3
Ask your waiter for naturally fermented wheat-free soy sauce, and don’t forget that low-sodium sauce has 25% less salt than regular. True, it still remains quite salty, and it should be consumed in moderation. If a restaurant doesn’t have the ability to offer you the best sauce, it might be worth abandoning the idea of ​​dipping sushi somewhere altogether. For those who like to order Japanese food at home, it makes sense to stock up on a bottle of high-quality soy sauce.
four
Remembered the properties of ginger for weight loss and lean on gari, ginger “bonus” to sushi? Not стоит — гари маринуют в большом количестве уксуса с добавлением сахара. This solution not only destroys all the substances that provide ginger with the glory of the first assistant in the fight for a thin waist, but also irritates the walls of the esophagus.
5
Using chopsticks will show your respect for Asian culture, allow for graceful movement, and naturally slow down the process of eating.
6
Cream cheese and mayonnaise toppings (even if the menu and staff claim that this mayonnaise is exclusively Japanese) are not traditional and automatically add unnecessary calories and hydrogenated fats to your healthy snack.
7
Avoid tempura – it’s a real stash of calories! Vegetables and seafood in crispy breading are incredibly appetizing; it is easy to eat a portion without noticing and order more, having received an energy boost comparable to a large lunch in fast food. The same applies to hot rolls and breaded rolls. Not обманывайтесь, считая, что это здоровая еда: по составу и пользе они ближе к чебурекам, чем к суши.
eight
Sushi with vegetable fillings is not as good as it might seem. Due to the proximity to rice, such a dish turns out to be predominantly carbohydrate, which means it saturates slightly and provokes a quick return of hunger. A healthier option is vegetable temaki (seaweed or soy paper cones) without rice.
9
Green tea will not only reduce thirst caused by eating fish and salty sauce, but also give a boost of antioxidants, as well as will take care of the stylistic perfection of your dinner: the Japanese are nowhere without tea!