Diet low in saturated fat.
By Dileep Thekkethil
A new study claims that the healthy food habit and lifestyle of the Japanese is the reason for their long life expectancy rate.
According to the study, Japan has a very healthy diet that chiefly comprises of high carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, proteins from fish and meat.
It is important to note that the government of Japan had come up with a recommended healthy diet for its citizens back in 2000.
National Centre for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo has been investigating the impact of the healthy diet on Japanese people. Researchers have been keeping records of people who followed the recommended food habit.
Ahead of this, the research team prepared questionnaires regarding the food habits and lifestyle of the people, which was completed by 36,624 men and 42,920 women aged between 45 and 75.
None of the people who participated in the survey had history of cancer, stroke, heart or chronic liver diseases. The participants were tracked for 15 years.
The research team that tracked the participant’s food habit came to the conclusion that they the mortality rate was 15% low of people who followed healthy food habit.
“Our findings suggest that balanced consumption of energy, grains, vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, eggs, soy products, dairy products, confectionaries, and alcoholic beverages can contribute to longevity by decreasing the risk of death, predominantly from cardiovascular disease, in the Japanese population,” researchers from the National Centre for Global Health and Medicine (NCGHM) in Japan said to The BMJ.
They also found that these participants were less susceptible to cerebrovascular vascular disease: a term used to describe conditions caused by a problem with blood supply to the brain.
The study concluded: “Our findings suggest that balanced consumption of energy, grains, vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, eggs, soy products, dairy products, confectionaries, and alcoholic beverages can contribute to longevity by decreasing the risk of death, predominantly from cardiovascular disease, in the Japanese population.â€
“We can learn a lot about how to be healthy from the Japanese, and it really comes down to ‘eat real food’ and ‘exercise.†James DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist at St. Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute who was not involved in the study was quoted by Huffington Post.
He added that the combination high-quality foods low in saturated fats are general found healthy.