THIS is why the Japanese Live So Long (even though they eat tons of rice)

My mom is 95 years old. She eat rice 3x a day, Her primary diet are mostly rice, fish and lots of vegetables. She never take prescription medicine and she still wash her clothes manually. She lives in the Philippines.

Here is another fact for you Thomas. We also live longer because we never stop working out our body. As people retires from work they tend to live a sedentary lifestyle. Not here in Japan. As we get older we keep working out , moving , walking etc.. that’s a big reason why. Cheers from Japan 🇯🇵

I’m Japanese-American and visit Japan to see my grandparents frequently. One thing vastly different from the lifestyle in the US to Japan, is that they WALK. I’d say the majority of Japanese people I know walk over 10,000 steps a day, easily. Including my 80 year old grandma.

Been in Japan for 13 years now. The biggest takeaway is they eat VERY LOW SUGAR here. Carbs yes, but even their sweets (cake, snacks) in general use about the half the sugar as western countries. Tea is also the most popular drink, and the NEVER put sugar in it.

My ethnic origin is Korean and I reside in the United States. I eat a lot of vegetables, legumes, minimal meat & more potatoes than rice. I have never been seditary. Unlike my friends who are not Asian (for the purpose of this video) I am always on the go or doing something. I think one of the biggest difference between the States and Asia is the amount of movement people do. I would rather cook, clean, organize, excercise, go for walk and socialize., while my bf is just fine sitting in front of the TV for hours/all day. & i think the environment that people reside in, regardless in a building or grounded in a house makes a huge difference to one's overall health too.

My grandfather is turning 106 years on 17 January. He ate everything and smoked and drank. The only thing I remember about him was he was super active. Climbed a mountain at least once a week to go check his cattle. He also worked on the maize fields in summer. And also ate mostly once a day.

SOLID DATA!!! More on Japan please! Low rates of cancer, obesity, diabetes. They have great hair and skin and maintain the same weight. Rice, fish, vegetables....the diet is so clean. I love it

My Japanese friend constantly puts on facebook what she eats for lunch. The portions look small, I always think to myself, how can it be enough for an adult… Always some broth with a little bit of meat and vegetables, nothing crazy. A small piece of cake or fruit occasionally… But the calories look moderate, never high. That’s their secret 😅

I’m Bulgarian and live in London and have always cooked from scratch and eaten Eastern European diet - not British fast food garbage. Regular in my menu is kefir , sour kraut , goats cheese and milk, eggs etc What my grandparents have survived on

Hi, I've lived in Tokyo for over 15 years. There are long queues of senior citizens (65~90) outside most local gyms every morning including weekends; 30 minutes before opening time. I am sure it's not just in Tokyo but in most major cities in Japan. Whilst clearly not all senior citizen are there queuing, it's a general reflection of how Japanese senior citizens like to stay active; well into their late 80's and beyond. Some walk for a few hours every morning; maybe as a retired-couple, or with neighborhood friends. Others like to go hiking and trekking up medium sized mountain a few times a week (Japan is over 70%+ mountainous!) And all this activity gives them a really good appetite, having 3 square but (probably unconsciously) well balanced meals a day. And Japanese seem to love to eat, with lots of variety. I hope I can be one of them too, when I hit the same period in my life!

OMEGA 3 should be everyone priority for a healthier, longer life!

My wife is Filipino and we eat a lot of these things also. One amazing thing she has introduced me to is Moringa. It is amazing! So many amino, nutrients and fiber. I make a tea everyday and am growing some now in the yard

Living in Japan and have been for a long time. The biggest attribute of the Japanese diet is that everything is focused on quality. When you buy food in Japan it is the highest quality in nutrients, taste and freshness. That makes it more expensive for less food. Your portion sizes are inherently smaller and you steer towards Fish and Vegetables. Also almost all meals are made at home. Breakfast lunch and dinner and all of Japanese cooking in the house hold is made from scratch. Even to the point where my wife pickles the vegetables that we are going to eat the next day.

I was born in raised in Japan. Now I live in California. I miss my mom’s every morning miso soup:) I still eat Natto, miso, seaweed, Japanese sweet potatoes here but not as much as I used to.. also walking!! I walked a lot when I used to commute in both like Tokyo. I’m glad Thomas post this video. THANK YOU:) I’m so proud to be Japanese.

Excellent video Thomas, thanks so much for sharing this information. I agree we have a lot to learn from other people across the world. We really appreciate your great content.

So happy that you are taking a look at Japan. I have lived here in Japan over a decade now so I’ll give my two cents. Portion sizes are generally smaller than western portions. Their traditional diet is moderate to high carb, with low fat animal protein. (However there is pizza and hamburger fast food here like western countries.) You can lose weight on either high fat or high carb- so their diet leans towards high carb, low fat and it works. (.8 times body weight in kg = Japan recommended daily protein consumption.) There is less dependency on cars for commute. So more walking, and bicycling. Traditional Japanese meals do not have fructose and seed oils in them (or at least not too much). (My understanding is that fructose increases hunger and seed oils break fat cells. Because the fructose is not there in the meal in high quantities it decreases overconsumption.) More fiber in a meal which prevents overconsumption. This explains why people are thin - however I believe there are still problems with high blood pressure and cancer in the population. My guess is that cancer is somehow linked to vegetable or excessive fiber consumption (carcinogens in vegetables) and high blood pressure due to adding salt to carbs. Actually I gained weight here at first when eating the standard “bento” lunch boxes which looked traditional and healthy - but actually had way too much carbs and way too small protein - and any protein usually had sugar and seed oils on top of it. (I am male and under 14 % body fat now.) It turns out that you can turn an otherwise healthy meal to unhealthy just by adding fructose and seed oils to it. It is more of a hybrid western/Japanese eating style nowadays and therefore not easy to extrapolate the cause of longevity from the current eating patterns anymore. That being said, I think eating raw fish at least once every week, if eating vegetables - eating fermented, moving more, and not eating fructose and seed oils as much as possible are some good practices we can apply to ourselves.

Hey Thomas, I want to congratulate you for keeping an open mind and dig into research, theories and ideas that challenge what you have previously presented. This talks great about your principles and your cientific oriented mind. You don't just close your ears, neither your channel to ideas that may be considered conflicting with previously topics you covered. Good on you! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I read the "Okinawa way" when I was 18 and adopted the okinawians diet. Its yielded amazing results in my life. Don't forget though there is one crucial aspect not discussed here and that the spiritual component. This is probably more important than any of the other factors.

My gf is a Filipino. Her Dad lived to 96, still strong and healthy into his 90s & still living at home. He ate rice every day, lots of vegetables & meat, mostly pork. His undoing was a fall that caused vascular dementia. IMO his good health can be chalked up to avoiding junk food, being a healthy weight & being active. Good genetics probably had something to do with it as well.

This is great! Thanks for this Thomas. Lots to learn from the Japanese.