Name: Why You Should Eat Breakfast Like They Do In Japan
Uploaded: 2024-10-04T21:01:10.000Z
Duration: 7 min 41 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Well, today I want to introduce you to another option.

On my TikTok, by far my favorite videos to do are the rating breakfast around the world videos.

I essentially do a deep dive into what foods a specific country eats for breakfast and then try to replicate them to the best of my abilities.

When I tried the Japanese breakfast for the first time, it immediately struck me as something very unique.

So naturally, I became very interested and started looking into it.

You know, its history, its cultural meaning, and especially its impact on public health.

As of 2022, Japan has the second highest life expectancy worldwide with 85 years just behind Hong Kong.

They also have a ridiculously low obesity rate at barely 4.3%.

Just so you gain some perspective, the US obesity rate in 2018 was 42.4%.

Now, of course, the answer to why that happens is very complex.

But most research seem to suggest that the Japanese diet is the biggest contributor to those positive statistics.

Today, I want to explore that idea by focusing in on how the Japanese start their day.

Yes, I'm a clueless white guy making a short video diving into a culture that he cannot fully understand.

For that reason, I want you to take this video as a mere exploration of the food.

And not like an educational video about the Japanese food culture because I'm not the guy to talk to about that.

To illustrate the concepts I've learned from the Japanese breakfast, I want to draw a direct comparison between that breakfast and the typical American USA breakfast.

This is not to say that one is good or bad inherently, but rather to show you some benefits that one has over the other.

So what does the typical Japanese breakfast look like?

Well, there are actually quite a few components.

It's designed such that you get a well-balanced variety of side dishes and they all complement each other.

There's almost always a bowl of rice with any breakfast in Japan.

It's the base for all the other dishes to shine.

Now, this is a fermented soybean dish and it's like really slimy to say the least.

I actually quite enjoy it, especially after you top it with some green onions to make it look a bit prettier.

Another staple is a small bowl of soup, usually miso soup.

Miso is another fermented soybean product and it's a perfect representation of umami flavor.

The miso soup is also packed with greens like wakame.

Sometimes you'll see blocks of tofu in the soup, which is yet another soy product that's packed with protein.

Speaking of protein, it is usually present in the form of fish, grilled or baked.

Today, I chose to cook a piece of salmon by just putting it in the oven for a few minutes with some rosemary and some lemons.

Tamagoyaki is a specific way of cooking an omelette that will result in a layered texture.

I'm really bad at this technique, but here's someone who knows how to do it.

Lastly, most of the breakfast that I've seen contains some sort of pickled vegetables.

I also chose to quick pickle some cucumbers using a Japanese style pickling technique, but I also think the Korean kimchi would be a viable addition to this breakfast.

All these come together to form an extremely well-balanced meal on all accounts.

Comparatively, the American breakfast, albeit very tasty, is usually composed of pancakes topped with butter and syrup, some form a fried egg, bacon, and maybe a glass of orange juice.

It does have some variety, but it all hits a very similar note of grease.

You're probably thinking that many dishes in one meal?

It sounds like it's very taxing in the morning.

But actually, an important characteristic of the Japanese breakfast is the relatively small portion sizes.

There are a lot of types of food, yes, but it's all well distributed in tinier amounts that all add up to one portion of a pretty light breakfast.

For example, when you think of a bowl of rice, you might picture a massive chipotle-styled rice bowl, but it's actually just a few spoonfuls to balance out the other side dishes.

We have just a few pieces of the egg and a light but still very satisfying serving of fish.

Most of the videos that I've seen show food being served out of really small bowls.

By having portion control like this, it ensures that you won't overeat and start your day with a massive insulin spike.

It also contributes to a sense of mindfulness when eating this food.

Harahachibu is a Japanese term meaning eat until you're 80% full.

And I think it's a great guideline for us to pay a bit more attention to the food we're eating to eat for nourishment and happiness.

I don't want to focus too much on specific caloric differences between the American and the Japanese breakfast because even though that's technically really important, I think that's looking at it the wrong way.

Instead, I'm asking myself, why even have to count the calories when I'm eating breakfast?

One doesn't have to go through all that to be quote-unquote healthy.

I am one of those people who developed a really toxic relationship with food in a never-ending pursuit to look like Chris Hemsworth.

The Japanese breakfast showed me that simple food choices can make a healthier diet be basically intuitive and effortless.

These are a collection of dishes that not only provide excellent macronutrients but also deeper health benefits.

We have many fermented products, vegetables, the natto, miso soup.

They all provide beneficial bacteria to your gut biome.

Fish is rich in protein and essential fats.

Rice is a wonderful source of simple carbs and natto provides fiber to ensure healthy digestion.

Contrast that with the USA breakfast, a meal that lacks micronutrient or gut benefits.

It's very heavy in processed sugar and has virtually no fiber.

So get ready for a sugar crash in about an hour.

I understand that you might be tempted to dismiss the Japanese breakfast because you don't have access to some of these ingredients.

Well, the point I'm trying to make is not that you should eat this exact food combination but rather to try and take some of these concepts and apply them to your own breakfast.

I live in the Netherlands in Europe and I want to show you how I would incorporate all these principles into making my own breakfast.

Maybe this is also more accessible to you.

Instead of rice, I'm using some oats which have a ton of fiber and they're an excellent slow-releasing carb.

I'm soaking my oats in Greek yogurt which contains probiotic cultures and topping it off with some blueberries and some walnuts for all those amazing micronutrients.

On the side, I'll get a piece of sourdough bread, two hard-boiled eggs and some veggies.

Now this is a super basic breakfast that everyone can make really fast every morning.

It's not flashy but it's built based on the principle in this video and plus this is just an example.

You can play around with whatever foods you enjoy eating and build your own breakfast.

Click on one of these two right now and continue watching.