Understanding how to roll sushi is a skill. As with any form of art, it needs time and a lot of practice. However, most experts are not willing to teach the techniques.

Here are the basics of preparing sushi rolls! Ensure that you have a look before trying a recipe. In this article, you will learn how you can make sushi rolls from your home. For you to make sushi rolls, you will require to have the following:

• Sushi rice
• Seaweed (Nori)
• A dish of water
• Chopping board
• Sharp knife
• Bamboo sushi mat (Makisu)

Here is a guide on how to make the three common types of sushi rolls:

Fat Roll (Futomaki)

Fat rolls are excellent for beginners who are learning to roll sushi. Futomaki is the most common method of rolling sushi in Japan. It enables you to put the maximum amount of ingredients inside the roll, and it brings forth the taste of the seaweed.

For those people who don’t like the taste of the Nori, Futomaki can be rolled with rice on the surface too.

 

Here is the procedure for preparing Futomaki

• A standard version of futomaki is prepared using a full sheet of seaweed.
• Using about two handfuls of sushi rice, spread the rice across the rough side of the nori, leaving approximately 1 inch of bare seaweed on the top.
• Now you can add the right amount of ingredients on top of the sushi rice in the center. Futomaki is the name of particular rolls with particular ingredients. In this guide, we are simply teaching you how to roll futomaki.
• Then you fold your thumbs and place your fingers over the ingredients, roll the seaweed over and compress. At this stage, your roll should be ¾ of the way to the top.
• Dip your hands in water to get the top of the nori moist.
• Immediately continue rolling until both sides of the nori meet and the roll are sealed. Ensure that you do it fast because when the top of the seaweed dries, it will look loose and likely will not seal correctly.
• Leave the roll some time to dry and then continue to cutting. Normally, futomaki sushi is cut into ten pieces.
• Cut your roll into halves and place the halves adjacent to each other. Then cut them four more times from one end to the other.

Skinny Roll (Hosomaki)

Hosomaki is an excellent method of learning how to prepare sushi rolls using one or two ingredients on the inside. It is a traditional way of rolling sushi in Japan, and most of the single-vegetable sushi rolls are made using this method.

• Put a half sheet of seaweed onto your bamboo sushi mat. Ensure that the smooth side of the nori is down.
• With wet hands, spread a slightly smaller amount of rice and spread it across the seaweed.
• When spreading the rice, ensure that you leave part of the nori bare around the top – usually about one centimeter of space on the seaweed.
• Without overturning the nori, place your ingredient of choice onto the rice (try using cucumber for the first few times).
• Dampen your fingers and put a little amount of water on the bare part of the seaweed to make it moist.
• Then tuck your thumbs under the bamboo sushi mat, hold the cucumber with the other fingers, and start rolling. On this one, we want the seaweed to touch the exposed rice and then roll onto the moist nori.
• Apply some pressure on the roll to ensure that it is sealed. Then allow the hosomaki to rest for some time for the damp nori to dry before you proceed to the cutting process.
• Hosomaki is normally cut into six pieces. To cut your hosomaki, ensure that you use a clean, sharp, and moist knife to prevent tearing. Cut your roll into halves and place the pieces side by side. Then, cut the two halves into thirds.

Inside Out Roll (Urumaki)

Urumaki is the most common type of sushi roll found in the United States and is increasingly becoming popular in Japan. Here are the instructions on how to make it:

• To prepare Uramaki, simply put your bamboo sushi mat (Makisu) on a chopping board and place a half sheet of seaweed on its top. Ensure that the smooth side of the nori is down.
• Next, dip your fingers into the water and rub your hands together to make them slightly moist. Take a small amount of sushi rice, about the size of a baseball, and place it on the top of the seaweed.
• Using moderate pressure, spread the rice across the nori. Utilize both hands and ensure that you do not smash the grains of rice.
• After covering your nori completely with rice, flip it over to the other side of the seaweed and get ready to start rolling.
• Now you can place your ingredients of choice on the center of the seaweed. It is up to you to choose the ingredients. You can also search for sushi roll recipes to get a list of ingredients.

• After placing your ingredients, tuck your thumbs under the makisu and put the other fingers on the other side of the ingredients. Then roll your sushi mat and seaweed towards the fingers while applying pressure. Ensure that the rice completely rolls over the ingredients, and nothing is sticking out.
• Lastly, hold the bamboo mat and continue pulling it away from you to finish the rolling process. Ensure that you tuck in both ends to make sure that no ingredient sticks out.
• Now that we have our roll, it is time to cut it into pieces. Mostly, Uramaki is cut into eight pieces. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into halves. Then cut each half into quarters and then cut each of the quarters into halves.
• Then you can arrange your pieces in any manner you would like, garnish suitably, and enjoy!

Making sushi rolls takes some practice – the first few attempts can be far from desirable. However, the outcome is worth the time you invest in practice. Even if the practice is annoying, the failed rolls are still as delicious as perfectly-made ones. Tips: die-hard sushi lovers drink tea to bring out more flavor out of these amazing rolls.

Over the past several years, the community at large has experienced diversity in various routines, including the diet plans. Sushi is one of the foods that have significantly gained popularity, attracting a large number of enthusiasts. Besides offering health benefits, sushi is delicious and a great meal that befits any time throughout the day.

If you are a sushi lover, then definitely any amount can never be enough for you. Whether you are preparing sushi at home or having some in a restaurant, it might be too much to accommodate within one serving. For that reason, you might require to conserve leftover sushi for some other time. Your worry most probably now becomes the aspects contributing to the sushi you stored going bad.

So, how long does sushi last? How do you store it to prolong this period? How do you know that the sushi you stored has already gone bad? Well, these are some of the puzzles that twirl around every sushi lover. This article expounds on these contributory factors, thereby providing information that might help to protect you from consuming unsafe sushi for the sake of your health.

Sushi’s Lasting Period in Storage

If you obtained sushi from a food store, then you must notice that it has an expiry date. Keeping it beyond the date and consuming it can be detrimental and hence you should stick to the expiry date.

If you are preparing sushi at home, then it means that you have control over the lasting period. Usually, sushi should not stay at room temperature for more than 4 hours; otherwise, if left beyond that, it is not good for consumption. If you store sushi in a refrigerator, it can last up to 24 hours.

Some sushi types do not include raw fish, but instead, they have cooked seafood such as smoked salmon for Philadelphia rolls and cooked crabmeat for California rolls. In such a case, they can last for two days when refrigerated.

Storing sushi in a refrigerator ensures that it does not go bad quickly. However, after the storage period, sushi might have a different taste from the one it would have when fresh. This taste is not unpleasant though, but if the sushi is already bad, you will obviously not like the taste, and therefore you should discard it.

Storing Sushi

The storage methods significantly contribute to the period sushi lasts. If the method you choose is ineffective, then you might have your sushi lasting only for a few hours and the vice versa is true. Therefore, you need to select your storage method wisely appropriately.

Just like any other food, preventing sushi from going bad might require you to keep away moisture while storing it. Sushi from a restaurant is usually delivered in a Styrofoam box, and if you are planning to eat your sushi within a short time, then you might leave in the box. However, you must ensure that you eat it within the next 30 minutes to one hour.

Sushi, especially if it has raw fish, is usually highly vulnerable to going bad. If you intend to eat it after more than an hour, then you need first to wrap it in a plastic paper. If it has some palpable moisture, you can wipe with a dry, clean cloth before wrapping it. After that, you should put it in a container which should be airtight.

Warmth influences the availability of microorganisms in food, and so it does for sushi. Therefore, the most effective method of storage for longer lasting is refrigeration. The refrigerator should be at 5^o C, the apt temperature for storage.

Determining Whether the Stored Sushi Has Gone Bad

Now that you know the period sushi takes before going bad after storage, you also need to be in a position to identify sushi that has already spoilt. Sometimes you might lose count of the hours you have left sushi in the refrigerator, which means that you need to tell its status.

Firstly, you need to check on the color change of the sushi. Even though you might need to remember the original color, whether precisely or not, if you notice a significant difference, then it might be a sign of being bad.

The smell might also be essential in signifying the state of your sushi. If you notice a strange smell, then you might have to dump that sushi roll.

If sushi has overstayed, then the signs of badness might be distinctly visible. Usually, you will notice things such as molds that starts growing on your sushi.

Once you notice these signs, it is undoubtedly clear that you need to throw that sushi into a bin. Otherwise, you will be introducing some harmful organisms in your body that may end up endangering your health.

Additional Tips to Make Sushi Last Longer

Below are some additional tips to help you maintain the wholesomeness of your sushi whenever you decide to store it.

• You should ensure that you store leftover sushi within thirty minutes. If you are at home, you should put it in the refrigerator as soon as possible, and if you are out of your house, you can only carry leftovers if you can reach your home within half an hour.
• If you are storing vinegared rice sushi, then you need to prevent it from drying out. You can achieve that by using a dampened piece of cloth where you can wrap it before placing in a container.
• You should remember that the lesser the storage time, the safer it is for consuming sushi and therefore you need to stick to the 24 hours rule. If by any chance you forget the period it has been in that refrigerator, the best option is throwing it away.
• You should store sushi that you are sure of its freshness most preferably one that you have prepared at home. Sushi from a store might not be safe since it may be hard to determine how long it has been on those shelves.

Final Words

Generally, consuming the entire sushi is the safest way, and therefore, you need to buy or prepare enough sushi. If you have to store, then you must be aware of the proper storage methods while you should be cautious not to store it for too long. Sushi is very susceptible to microorganisms, which makes it spoil quickly, but if properly preserved, it could offer the most palatable experience.

In Japan, we have different indigenous food right from salmon to tuna. These edibles are found in the entire country throughout the year, but more importantly, we have the popular food named Sushi.

Sushi generally is seasonal. Tourist visiting Japan for hike and creation, have a chance to explore a variety of restaurant promoting the exploitation of seafood. If you visit the sea shores around Japan in the early morning hours, you will not fail to meet fishers entering and leaving the sea with the solemn aim of fishing for Sushi preparation.

For more details about Sushi, read through our list of types of sushi, and learn a thing or two about this delicacy.

Makizushi

Makizushi is commonly referred to as norimaki among Japanese. This applies to a Sushi type rolled with rice and other ingredients in nori seaweed sheet sliced into small pieces. Makizushi is believed to have come to existence in the 1700s immediately after nori sheet was invented using similar techniques for papermaking. Norimaki comes from two popular words, ‘Maki’ which means to roll and ‘nori’ which refer to a toasted sheet of nori seaweed used to wrap the ingredients.

With Hosomaki which are long thin rolls that features a single ingredient such as tuna strip, pickled daikon or cucumber, Makizushi has the Futomaki. In Futomaki, futo means fat and is generally a thick variety of Makizushi that includes a combination of complimentary ingredients. In Foreign countries, Sushi is less likely to appear in restaurants though it’s found in bento boxes and supermarkets.

 Makizushi has been made modern with the introduction of Uramaki. Uramaki in English is the ‘Inside-out sushi’ invented in California in the 1960s. Uramaki is prepared by laying rice on a bamboo sushi mat and then laying nori sheet at the top. Other ingredients are added before rolling is done. Uramaki is later rolled onto sesame seed that sticks at the exterior rice or topped with tobiko fish egg that gives extra crunch to the food.

Gunkan Maki

Another type of Sushi you will find in Japan restaurant is Gunkan maki. Maki generally means rolled or wrapped and was discovered in Ginza sushi motel around the 1940s. Gunkan Maki is made by wrapping wide nori strip around rice ball and leaving enough space on the top which is filled with ingredients.

Gunkan Maki name is translated as battleship or warship Sushi which comes from its shape that resembling a small ship. The most popular topping of Maki is the uni sea urchin, salmon, squid, potato salad, negitoro, kanimiso, and roe. Gunkan Maki typically is found in takeaways, bento boxes, and most Sushi restaurants.

Nigiri

The original Sushi that is widely known and in the market nowadays in Japan is the Nigiri. Among Japanese natives, Nigiri is known as Edo-mae which means “in front of Edo.” The name generally refers to its place of origin which is Tokyo formerly known as Edo.

Nigiri is made from hand-pressed rice cylinder known as Shari topped with various ingredients like the net. This type of Sushi was initially invented as fast food by a renowned enterprising Sushi chef who was working in Edo areas around the 1880s. Due to the high number of workers in the area, the chef decided to sell freshly made Sushi to workers at a low price since they could not find affordable the cost of food staffs around the city.

The topping of Nigiri is seafood, vegetables, omelets, meat, and tofu. On top of fresh seafood, fish is pickled with soy sauce and sometimes vinegar or boiled together with a blowtorch. Additionally, a pure lining of garnishes and the marinade like spring onions, chives, and shaves onions are added to get more flavor to Nigiri.

Sasazushi

Sasa in Japan is a name from the bamboo leaf where sasazushi is Sushi consisting of rice and bamboo leaves as the toppings. People familiar with Sasazushi claims that this Sushi type originated from Nagano prefecture at the times of Warring States between 1467- 1573. Most old Japanese links the origin of this Sushi to the fact that it was served with bamboo leaves or residents of Nagano were on a mission to find a meal that would impress Samurai warlords and the Uesugi Kenshin at times.

Sasazushi is served with wild vegetables such as toppings like Mugwort and bamboo shoots, miso, shredded fish, mushrooms, salmon and the walnuts.

Narezushi

Before refrigeration was invented, people would preserve fish as well as other products using fermentation technique. Among Japanese dish kept for years using salt and rice on the fermentation method is the Narezushi. This dish dates back to Nara periods of 710 to 794. Narezushi is the original form of Sushi where at eating time, rice was discarded off. Sushi is enjoyed in modern-day Japan is linked to Narezushi Sushi origin.

As time erupted, the period of fermentation becomes shorter, making the rice able to be eaten together with fish. This occurrence gave way to more varieties of Sushi that are present in the present day Japan.

Due to the extreme pungent flavor of Narezushi, its popularity has gone down at an excessive rate among new Japanese generation. Funazushi of the Shiga prefecture that is related to Narezushi is popular and made from Nigorobuna fish found near Lake Biwa. Majority of Japanese refer to Funazushi as a regional delicacy since it takes up to five years of fermentation, making them more expensive.

Kakinoha Zushi

Among the most delicious Sushi delicacy pressed and wrapped with leaves is the Kokinoha Zushi. It originates from Nara region of western Japan which dates back to Edo times. Kakinoha is covered with Kaki leaf for preservation. Since Nara is a landlocked area, fresh seafood during transportation was wrapped in persimmon leaves as a preservative before the introduction of refrigeration technology.

The leaves not only acted to preserve fish together with its antibacterial properties but also added a delicate aroma.  Kakinoha Zushi is made by placing salmon or the mackerel at the top of rice but can include other ingredients such as prawn or the eel. Kakinoha is the most popular Omiyage (souvenir) for a visitor in Japan. Kakinoha Zushi is sold in local restaurants, train stations and local stores of Japan.

Chirashizushi

According to the Japanese language, Chirashizushi means ‘scattered sushi’ and is a rice bowl topped with different ingredients. The topping used include the pieces of salmon, boiled prawns, omelet, squid, shredded, and the cucumber. Chirashizushi is similar to Kaisendon (a Japanese rice bowl topped with seafood) where the significant difference is that Chirashizushi uses vinegar Sushi rice while Kaisendon uses white plain rice already steamed.

Chirashizushi is available throughout Japan in most stores, supermarket and food courts. In most cases, this dish is included as a bento box feature or enjoyed like a stand-alone meal due to its wide range of ingredients. Chirashizushi is decorative and more bejeweled, making it the most famous for serving in celebratory occasions.

Inari zushi

Among all Sushi varieties taken in Japan, Inari zushi is the unique of all dishes. The most notable difference is that it does not contain any fish and has a unique sweet flavor. Inari is like a pouch piece of aburage which is a deep fried-tofu simmered in mirin seasoning, sugar, soy sauce, or the dashi.

Inari Zushi is named from Shinto god, Inari, who has had a fondness for tofu. Inari is seasoned and filled with vinegar with sushi rice that creates a sweet taste delicious dish. Inari Sushi, however, is filled with rice that has a mixture of ingredient or rice topped with ingredients like mushroom, chives, boiled prawns, squids or the shredded omelet. Inari-Zushi has high versatility, portability, and ease the way of making an aspect that makes it the most popular Sushi in Japan.

Temari

Among the less known but more delicious Sushi overseas you will rarely find in Japan restaurants is the Temari. Though this dish is the simplest to make in homes given that it doesn’t take up a technical recipe, it’s still less famous to Japanese.

Temari is made using a small round ball of pressed rice topped using a thin layer of fish or any other ingredients. The name Temari comes from traditional Japanese embroidered ball which generally means ‘handball’. Temari dish is colorful and decorative and is taken mostly in parties, and picnics or made for traditional girls day celebration referred to as Hinamatsuri. When preparing Temari for hiking, it’s advisable to use cured or sometimes cooked seafood instead of raw sashimi.

Temaki

Temaki is another Sushi type that has a shape that looks more of an ice cream cone. During preparation, rice and other ingredients are held in a nori sheet then wrapped to a conical shape. Since Temaki is simple to make, it’s popular in a most Japanese restaurant and domestic homes.

We have various types of Temaki that include Umeboshi, which is pickled plum, negitoro, natto, and the famous omelet that is sweetened.

Oshizushi

Lastly, in our list of sushi types is the Oshizushi, also called Hakozushi or boxed sushi. This sushi type is shaped strikingly with origin from Osaka. Oshizushi is made by placing ingredients on Oshiwaku (a regular box) and later pressing them together. After pressing, it’s layered with toppings and cut into angular shapes such as rectangle, square or triangles.

Oshizushi toppings include fish such as mackerel and gizzard shad or a times decorative edibles like bamboo. Toppings are placed in a particular arrangement, i.e., diagonally, or from end to end of the fish an aspect that makes Oshizushi popular choice as gifts and in bento boxes.

Sushi generally is a delicious food among Japanese that every tourist should have a taste. It’s more nutritious than cooked fish where a single bite guarantees you healthy body throughout. Happy Sushi eating times!

Losing weight is one of the most challenging practices for people who are obese. What many of us use to tackle the extra weight in our bodies is physical body exercises and observing our diets. These two methods can be limiting and strenuous for the body.

The good thing is, you have a less demanding alternative, and that is taking green tea. Research shows that drinking green tea comes with a variety of benefits for the user one of which is weight loss. But how can green tea help you lose weight? If you want to know how consider reading through this article to the end.

What is Green Tea?

Before we can look out on ways through which you can use green tea to cut on your body, it’s better we understand green tea. Note that, all varieties of tea, including black, white, green, and oolong are extracts of the Camellia sinensis plant. The difference with green tea is that it doesn’t go through the fermentation process. As a result, this type of tea maintains most of its nutrients and antioxidants present in the Camellia sinensis plant.

How does green tea help to reduce body weight?

There are a variety of ways why you should consider green tea as an effective way of eliminating extra body weights. These include;

It increases your body’s rate of metabolism on fats

Black tea ingredients include EGCG and caffeine. The two substances work together to increase the rate of metabolism, and therefore, helps to burn more fats towards increasing your body energy levels. The ingredients also heighten the levels of norepinephrine, a hormone that increases the rate of breaking down the fats to provide energy.

It boosts burning off the calories

Another way that green tea helps to reduce body fats is by burning up body calories. Research shows that people who drink 2 to 3 cups of green tea a day boosts their bodies’ calorie burning capacity by $%. That equals approximately 80 to 100 calories within 24 hours. By this, it helps increase available body energy and also cut on calorie storage in the body.

It helps eliminate bad fats

Green tea mostly targets to eliminate bad fats. Much of these fats pile up around body cells. These are the fats responsible for diseases such as heart diseases and type-2 diabetes. It also results in weight gain. Therefore, by eliminating these fats, it helps to reduce weight gains. However, the process is slow and needs you to have patience.

Green tea reduces food cravings

Another way through which green tea helps users to reduce weight is that it keeps you full over an extended period. It reduces your appetite, meaning that, you don’t crave for food regularly. Eating less food means that, you reduce the number of calories you pile in your body. It also cuts on you eating a lot of snacks that increases the fat content in your body. In this way, it helps reduce on gaining more weights.

Know more from the web: The Truth About Green Tea for Weight Loss – Consumer Reports

Things you should know about green tea and weight loss

If you decide to use green tea towards reducing weight loss, you keep these facts in mind;

The process is slow: don’t expect that in drinking green tea you’ll have immediate results. Such will take you into a disappointment. If you want to fasten the effectiveness of the process, consider not to abandon your daily body exercises and a healthy diet. You can also think of practicing other complementary weight loss tips in addition to drinking green tea.

You don’t need to drink a lot of green tea to lose weight: research studies show that taking 2.5 cups of green tea a day will see you reduce your body weight effectively.

Learn how to brew green tea: you should not add green tea into boiling water. Such a practice destroys the catechins which are fine chemicals in green tea.  What you need to do is boil your water then bring it to cool for at least ten minutes. Pour the water over the green tea; brew it for some minutes then serve it to the family. In this way, you keep the chemicals active to facilitate the burning of the fats.

Some varieties are better for weight loss than others: Matcha green tea is one of the best varieties of green tea that helps to cut on body weight. That’s because the type contains a lot of fine chemicals and nutrients that are useful in your body. You, therefore, need to research on which green tea variety is effective in weight loss. On this part, you can consider customer reviews on the products.

Resources from the web: How to Drink Green Tea for Weight Loss

Final Verdict

Now that you know how green tea facilitates weight loss, it’s up to you to consider it as a suitable option. Watch out on the guide part for a chance to make sure that it works for you. Try it today for a chance to experience the magic.

From Sushi, Sashimi, Ramen and Kare-Raisu to Okonomiyaki and Shabu shabu, Japanese cuisines are very popular. The popularity is not only as a result of the delicious taste of the food but also because of the health benefits they provide. Unlike the majority of the modern dishes that other people eat, the Japanese traditional comprises high quantities of grains and veggies, unprocessed foods and very minimal sugar. Refined foods are very little in the diet.  As such, Japanese food has several health benefits including:

• Minimizes risks of some cancers

Research by Okinawa Centenarian shows that people who live in Okinawa (in Japan) are at a very low risk of hormone-sensitive cancers like breast and prostate cancers.  This reduced cancer vulnerability is mainly because these people high-fiber foods, vegetables, fruits as well as healthy fats in large quantities.  These foods are rich sources of antioxidants which protects the body from free radicals which are closely linked to cancers. Generally, their calorie intake is significantly lower as compared the modern western diet and this plays a significant role in cancer prevention.

• Improved cardiovascular health

Japan is among the countries with the least cases of heart disease in the world. This is majorly because the Japanese diet is rich in foods that contribute to the improvement of cardiovascular health.

Fish is in plenty in Japan and this is attributed to the many islands that the country has. As a result, fish is a staple food among the Japanese people. Sushi, a common Japanese cuisine includes raw fish and rice and most people in Japan take this delicious dish at least twice per week. 

Scientifically, fish has been proved to have the capability of lowering high blood pressure and offering numerous essential nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids magnesium and zinc to the body. As a result, fish cuts down the risk of cardiovascular illness. Besides, due to the abundance of fish and love for the same, people who are used to eating Japanese foods don’t crave for red meats which are associated with heart disease.

In addition to fish, Japanese foods also have plenty of soy products like tofu. The products are healthier sources of protein as compared to red meat and dairy as they have minimal saturated fat or none at all. As such, soy products contribute to the reduction of heart disease as well as high blood pressure risks. On the other hand, dairy products and red meats that are signature components of most modern dishes have high saturated fat content and this fat isn’t good for cardiovascular health since the fat can block the arteries, leading to heart problems.

Another thing that makes Japanese food friendly to the heart is because of the high quantities of rice in almost every meal. Even breakfast comprise some rice portion.  Rice is a low-fat carbohydrate and so, its inclusion in a meal leaves minimal space for high-fat carbohydrates which are major causes of the obstruction of the arteries.

Additionally, the Japanese diet doesn’t have ingredients which lead to poor cardiac health. It is uncommon to find a Japanese meal with high saturated-fat foods (like dairy products and red meat), processed foods and/or sugary items.  Instead, it mostly, if not entirely, has foods that promote the health of the heart.

• Boosts thyroid health

A typical Japanese diet normally contains various land and sea vegetables. These veggies are rich in essential minerals which promote overall nutrition of a person. Seaweed is among these veggies and it’s extremely good for thyroid health as it has high iodine content.

• Promote regular bowel movement

Besides rice and fish, soba noodles are also a staple Japanese diet. Unlike other noodles which contain white flour which might disrupt smooth digestion in some people, Japanese soba noodles are products of wheat and buckwheat flour. Therefore, they support smooth digestive process because they are rich in fiber.  They play a significant role in cholesterol reduction in the body and also promote regular bowel movement. 

Besides, the Japanese diet is usually rich in cruciferous vegetables like watercress, Chinese cabbage broccoli and Brussels sprouts. These veggies also have high fiber content which promotes healthy digestion, hence regular bowel movement. The vegetables are either steamed or fried, and so, they retain lots of nutrients which support healthy body functioning.

• Slows down the aging process

As we’ve already seen, fish is very common in a Japanese diet, especially Sushi, a very prominent cuisine in Japan. Fish and fish oils offer incredible moisture content and replenishment to the body, making someone remain young inside and outside.   The fatty acids supplied by the fish strengthen the cell regeneration system, averting the effects of free radicals. 

• Reduced obesity risk

If you are watching out your body weight or would like to shed off a few pounds, you have nothing to worry about eating Japanese food.  One thing that you’ll notice with the Japanese people is that they serve food in small portions served in small bowls.  If you are a Western visitor in Japan, you’ll realize that you eat almost half of what you usually eat should you go for a Japanese meal.  This helps you to check on the amount of food that you eat.

When it comes to breakfast, the Japanese people normally eat fruits instead of calorie-dense muffins or cakes. Considering that fruits are carb and fat-free, they don’t make you gain excess weight as muffins and the cakes do. Besides, due to their high fiber and water content, fruits make you feel full, reducing the appetite that’s likely to make you eat you excessively, hence increasing your obesity risk.

In addition, fruit is often consumed for breakfast or dessert. In comparison to calorie-dense breakfast muffins or cakes, fruit’s high fiber and water content can help you feel full. Also, the Japanese take treats and snacks in small portions and from time to time and this also reduces the possibility of overeating and makes the body to digest and use the generated energy optimally. Another reason that makes Japanese diet good for your body weight management is because it is free from saturated-fat foods which mostly contribute to overweight issues.

If you want to extend your lifespan, look younger and lead a healthier life, Japanese food is the way to go.