Taking the data on life expectancy and the level of obesity in different countries, we made a rating of the healthiest cuisines of the world, contributing to tight shape and longevity. At the same time he said that firm conclusions about the relationship between food consumed and the implications for the shape and health can not be done. However, you should at least pay attention to the diet of those countries where they live happily ever after.
1. Japan
The first place ranking includes country of the Rising Sun. Its citizens are renowned for their long lives. With consumption of a large number of cruciferous vegetables such as kale, broccoli, zucchini, local residents differ harmony. And fish and soy used as the main source of protein promote a healthy heart. In addition, many Japanese are taught from childhood that rise from the table should done when you are still a little hungry because greediness is not typical for them.
The degree of obesity of the nation: 1,5%
Life expectancy: 82 years
2. Singapore
It may seem strange that a fairly monotonous diet, 80% consisting of rice, was named one of the healthiest in the world. However, Singaporeans seize rice with lots of vegetables. Fish and meat are being used as the main source of protein in various culture, are extremely rare on the tables of local residents. The passion to satisfy the hunger for sweet things Singaporeans are eating fresh tropical fruits or something cooked out of them such as puddings and casseroles without adding sugar.
The degree of obesity of the nation: 1,8%
Life expectancy: 82 years.
3. China
That version of Chinese cuisine, which you can while having a visit to your hometown Chinese restaurant is quite far from what the Chinese are eating at home. Basic diet is made up of various vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes. Chinese cabbage, daikon, soy, ginger and garlic can be found everywhere. By the way, the last two spices miraculously speed up metabolism and promote harmony. As frying everything is extremely fast, literally taking only a few seconds, then this method of cooking food saves vitamins and minerals.
The degree of obesity of the nation: 1,8%
Life expectancy: 73 years
4. Sweden
It is unlikely that life expectancy is associated exclusively with the Swedish food habits. Most likely, the strong influence of the high level of medicine and life care in general. In this northern country they use only a little of fruits and vegetables and the basic diet are dairy products, brown bread, fish and berries. Calcium in dairy products helps the body to burn fat, fiber-rich rye bread and berries contain many antioxidants. And even the habit of eating oily fish such as salmon and herring might be considered reasonable as a good food for the heart. Except of the food Swedish are regularly skiing almost all year round and thus burning the fat.
The degree of obesity of the nation: 11%
Life expectancy: 81 years
5. France
Most people have heard a lot about the famous French paradox. This nation does not gain weight, despite the ardent love of the fatty cheese and chocolate, which certainly can not be called low-calorie. The secret lays in the fact that French do not have the traditional for many other countries, “snacks” and except this the portions served at main meals are so small that the body does not get excess calories. Despite the fact that the French are not shy to use the oil, they use it rarely, preferring hot food processing to be with more healthy methods: such as baking or stewing.
The degree of obesity of the nation: 6,6%
Life expectancy: 81 years
6. Italy
Traditional Italian cuisine has little to do with the huge portions of pizza or pasta, with plenty of meat and liberally seasoned with cheese, which are so popular in Italian restaurants around the world. In Italy itself people prefer to use more vegetables and legumes for their dishes, and pasta which is always made of durum wheat! It is being used in very small quantities and not as a main dish. In addition, as it is known, Italians love olive oil, which is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, and promotes healthy heart. The main methods of cooking are usually grilling, cooking, baking or steaming.
The degree of obesity of the nation: 13%
Life expectancy: 80 years
7. Spain
Remembering the famous Spanish Serrano ham, jamon, you are unlikely to desire considering the kitchen of this nation to the healthy ones. But remember that jamon is being served with almost transparent slices, and as a snack rather than a main dish. The foundations of the Mediterranean diet are the fiber-rich vegetables and low-fat products. Spaniards look to cook in olive oil, using plenty of vegetables and legumes, and in addition, to eat a lot of seafood varieties, which are so much in Spain. Citrus and almonds, growing in this country, can also be attributed to the extremely useful food. Here frying is rarely used when cooking. Most used baking, stewing or cooking food.
The degree of obesity of the nation: 16%
Life expectancy: 80 years
8. South Korea
The basis of the Korean diet is low-fat foods: tofu, noodles, fish and vegetables. In addition, a significant place in Korean cuisine is placed on kimchi – seasoned with lots of hot spices pickled vegetables, which are eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner. The only unhealthy meal of Korean cuisine, grilled beef, though loved by locals, but is used only on major holidays. For comparison, the average Korean eats just 7 pounds of meat in a year, while the ordinary citizen of the United States – 30 kilograms.
The degree of obesity of the nation: 10%
Life expectancy: 79 years
9. Israel
Israeli cuisine is full of such useful products such as beans, eggplant and olive oil. Also, when cooking they use a large variety of spices and herbs. There’s even a plant called yellow ginger growing only in Israel which contains many useful components that improve the digestion and metabolism. Mint, which is unthinkable without the traditional salad Tabbouleh, in its turn, is rich in manganese and vitamins A and C. Tajin, the main ingredient in hummus, supplies the body zinc, calcium and folic acid.
The degree of obesity of the nation: 24%
Life expectancy: 81 years
10. Greece
American nutritionist convinced that the Greeks suffer from obesity not because their food is unhealthy, but because of the ever-present fast food. The true Greek cuisine is based on cereals, legumes, vegetables and fish which we might say that fully denies the presence of something unhealthy.
The degree of obesity of the nation: 25%
Life expectancy: 80 years
General conclusions of the study are as follows. Eat less meat and more fish and vegetables, do not get carried away with hot food in deep fat and then you are healthy. So if you decide to eat some healthy food find a cheap airfare to Europe and enjoy not only the sights and the sun but stay healthy as well.
salad Tabbouleh is middle eastern and not israeli, beans like chick peas and foul are meddle eastern
yellow ginger grows all over the meddle east and Asia , Tajin is from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia,Mint is been used in tea and foods by middle eastern for centuries . Hummus is middle eastern . the fact you have for number 9 are bogus .get your facts right
Calm down, John. You are aware that Israel is in the middle east, right? When one goes to Israel, they will encounter all of those foods. At no point did the blogger claim that any of those foods (aside from yellow ginger) were exclusive to Israel…but if we are going to argue for overall health of a nation, most middle-eastern countries are unfortunately not as healthy, overall as Israel’s population, due to the high incidence of poverty. Perhaps that is why the blogger chose to write about Israel specifically, rather than the entire region known as the middle-east?
Israel? Since when? Jewish food in the U.S. is the unhealthiest food of all and some of the most unappetizing I’ve ever had. I can see any of the other countries from the MIddle East but not Israel since they are not known for healthy food in the U.S. at all.
Daniella, the Jewish food in the US tends to be from Eastern European Jewish cooking and not Israel. The food is very different.
There is obviously a difference between Israeli food and Jewish food in the USA. Jewish American food is propbably more rooted in the Eastern European tradition whereas daily Israeli food is mainly based on Middle Eastern cuisine. Israel has one of the healthiest way of eating I have come across – where else do people eat yogurt and salads for breakfast or falafel (chick pea balls with salad, humus or techina in a pita) in preference to a hamburger and chips as a regular snack?
thanks natalie john does need to calm down. people are so uptight these days. if you know something different than what is stated above- by all means post it. we all should and need to learn what is going on around the world… without that attitude of johns though!
The fact is, instead of arguing over minute details of the regions traditional food…this is a very helpful article for people who are uneducated in good nutrition and we should be helping to lift up the message that it presents. In order to help battle the nutritional crisis that plagues the American society (I believe this targets America’s poor health situation), articles like these are vital and need to be read….not picked apart for the irrelevant details about the general region’s diet.
No actually rosie and Natalie you are wrong – John is absolutely right in correcting what this ‘blagger’…sorry I mean blogger, is writing about Israel – There is no point making what seems like a factual blog but actually give false information. I don’t know about you rosie but I think most people want facts, however small you may think they are – the devil as we know is in the detail. Personally if I see wrong information in an article such as this, i.e. the humus and teboulah are obviously from Lebanon, Palestine and the surrounding region not Israel – it doesn’t give me much confidence in the rest of the article, as I don’t know what to believe. It makes me think that the blogger has a typical ulterior motive in mentioning Israel in seemingly ‘mundane’ topics such as this hoping to give Israel legitimacy – you know in a type of mention it hear, mention it there, and hopefully give Israel legitimacy in peoples minds – especially by falsely using regional middle eastern foods as an attempt to give Israel a historical legitimacy by trying to show that Israel belongs in the middle east, when they only got to know about these foods in the past 40 years or less – sorry mate but we are not all dumb and blind to these underhanded tactics that unfortunately all you people (and I chose these words intentionally) always try to seep in everywhere, just give it a rest for gods sake!!
funny how falafel, homous, tabouleh, tajin etc, have been around in the middle east longer than Israel has.
Israeli cuisine is largely *based* on mizrahi cuisine(middle eastern jewry — which have been in the region for ~3000 thousand years) and *influenced* by sephardi (mediterranean jewry), and to a lesser extent ashkenazi (northern/eastern european jewry), along with local arabic influences. It’s no big secret the food is pretty cosmopolitan. The fact that hummus is a major cornerstone of israeli cuisine (and middle eastern as a whole) has to do with the fact that mizrahi brought these influences to israel who were the majority of the population till the 90s. Acting like they hijacked arabic cuisine is just anti-semitic, and simplistic, it ignores that people bring their culture (and foods) with them, jews are no different. Kudos on the list, very informative.
Thank you! I loved the great article!
Sam and Stev attacked Israel, suggesting Israel is a new country of only 40 years! They have never heard of the Bible! The Bible tells the story of Israel throughout its pages! Thousands of years! Jerusalem is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, not once in the Koran! Before 1948, Jews were known as the Palestinians!
Jesus, the Jew taught in the synagogues and in the famous Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel. It is very sad for all of the people that worship the One Great and Glorious God, our Wonderful Creator, that Muslims vandalized and massively destroyed precious and unique Temple remains at the Temple Mount. Muslims repeatedly attacked Joseph’s Tomb. Bible hero, Joseph, is an outstanding role model of ethics, love, mercy and forgiveness. The hero and role model of Jews and Christians.
Hah. I started giggling even in the first paragraph.
“kale, broccoli, zucchini..”…in Japan? Funny stuff.
I’ve spent the last decade here (in Japan), where
I rarely see any of those veggies, neither in home-cooked dishes nor in restaurants.
The obesity- & life expectancy rates throughout the article is wrong, but not alarmingly off.
Guess the writer found some old data.
Swedish are regularly skiing almost all year round? You must be joking. The majority lives in the south of the country and there are no hills and usually not that much snow, moreover, most Swedish I know are not that good at skiing or cannot ski at all. Or maybe you meant Norwegians?
This article is flawed in so many ways.
Longevity can be attributed to many factors, i.e lifestyle, environment, genetics, access to health care, and so on. You can single out good and bad in any cuisine, while there are some very healthy Asian meals, many Asian dishes consist of large amounts of sugar, MSG, factory processed noodles, while lacking in protein and complex carbs. The diminutive yet flabby shape of the, Japanese and Chinese attest to that. Italian pasta is no better, unless its hand made from scratch. Basically the more the cuisine relies on totally natural sources, is high in proteins, complex carbs from grains, beans and legumes, and less it consists of factory processed sources, the healthier it is. On that basis any African cuisine should be on the list.
Why is Thailand not on this list?
The top three countries on this list of countries with healthy food are in Asia (a fourth is a bit further down on the list, so why does the author recommend buying a ticket to Europe?
On the subject of Israel, where did the author get the 24% obesity statistic? A report released by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistic last September stated that 49% of Israelis are overweight, and according to the OECD, Israeli children have one of the highest childhood obesity rates in the developed world (26%, which is very high for kids).
China? What a joke! People eat Chinese food to indulge themselves, not to get healthy. The Chinese didn’t even brag about their food being healthy. They’re rich and fatty, designed to bring you straight to their gastronomical heaven and if you have any luck, and back. Thai & Viet food are the only healthy food in the World. Why? It’s because all of their dishes are loaded with fresh vegetable. Extra oil sesame-oil-chicken is not healthy no matter how you spin it.
This article is so poorly written that I cannot even take it seriously. Please work on improving your grammar and sentence structure, as your shortcomings in these two areas seriously compromise your credibility. Furthermore, I believe that you are overlooking the fact that some of these countries (i.e. China) have low obesity rates simply because many of its people either cannot afford to eat plentifully or do not have access to food due to shortages in such an overpopulated nation. The industrial smog and excessive rates of cigarette smoking in China also do not contribute much to a very healthy lifestyle, so I believe that it might be a bit of a stretch to claim that China is healthier overall than the US, despite our differences in obesity rates. Also, the fact that fatty food consumption in France has less of an impact on body composition than it does in America is actually believed to be related to the French’s heavy consumption of red wine, which contains a compound called resveratrol that is thought to be involved in the oxidation of fat cells.
You need to check out Easter European cuisine also …the veggies we have are fresh 😉
Ok Sam,the palestinians,lebanese,syrians,jordanians ‘invented’lettuce,tabbolie,chickpeas and beans as well as modern medicine,hollywood and mobile phones!Do you feel better now?Now go to bed early and have a good sleep…we all believe you.
I completely disagree with these list, it actually wouldn’t be that biggest absurd if nobody look at behind the scene, what is really going there.
There are just mentioned what meat or vegetables use those Asian countries, but you should write about the truth as well, about harmful ingredients they use ( if we are talking about “healthy” foods), it means almost all Asia use for cooking plenty of MSG (monosodium glutamate) it’s called Asian or chinese syndrome as well, which is the exsisted worst and most harmful artificial ingridient ever.
Asian kitchens use MSG in pure form like Europeans the salt for cooking, and still unknown how many health destroyer effects it has exactly (cancer, lung, breathing system, brain…)
In Asian supermarkets you can find it anywhere on the shelfs, in small or bigger pack, just like the salt or white sugar which hard to distinguish from, looks like those.
So this is the main reason I would rank the Asian kitchens last, except India which has one of the richest spices choice and taste in the world, withouth using MSG!
Props to Peter for pointing this out, Japanese people DO NOT eat those vegetables with ANY frequency. Broccoli is ridiculously expensive, and is marked as “American Broccoli” in supermarkets … hmmm I wonder what that could mean. It is NOT used in any truly japanese dishes.
Also, rising from the table while still hungry? Hardly. This is a waste-not-want-not culture, and from 5 to 15 years old children are forced to eat the entirety of a HUGE school lunch every day, with a HUGE bowl of plain white rice every day. White carbs galore. Japanese people never leave anything on their plates. Ever. I have no idea how that anecdote got started, I have heard it from many (non japanes) people, but it is NOT true.
Middle eastern places such as Israel do have dishes that are extremely HEALTHY; according to the places I have been to and plus I’m Middle Eastern. Though, we use a lot of olive oil in specific dishes which is unhealthy and many of the dishes include sweets such as baklava, Kanafeh, Harreseh, ahtayef, etc. However, we cook with various healthy ingrediants unlike frying and boiling in which the U.S. uses a lot.
Middle Eastern:
Rise
Grape leaves
Olive oil
Yogurt
Lamb/goat
Beef/chicken
Egg plant
Sumac
Spice/herbs
Nuts
Spinach
Olives
Dates
Beans
Unhealthy: Big portions of rice, olive oil, meat (Lamb), sweets, hummus(though has good source of vitamns + other things as well)
Chinese food on the healthy food list? LOL
Chinese food cannot be cooked without oil and full of MSGs. It’s already greasy and artificial.
There are no fresh vegetables in Chinese food, since everything has to be “cooked” with oil.
Not only lack of freshness, but also lack of vegetable in Chinese food. After all, it’s full of meat, oil, and MSGs.
How can anyone ever conclude this kind of food healthy? Is the author of this article Chinese? LOL
I think some of the people here are really unfamiliar about east asian cuisines. They think chinese food here in the states is similar to chinese food in china. I have been to china four times and I visited cities such as shenzhen,changsha,shanghai, the food in china is way healthier and very tasty. full of veggies, garlic, soy,ginger, the meat used is usually organic this includes chickens, and beef. I see very few fat people in china and these are middle class people who have good jobs. If you want to see fat people in large numbers go to southern states like alabama,kentucky,arkansas, and the rest of them.
For me i think vietnamese is the healthiest because they ate a lot of vegetables and you cant find any people obest in vietnam , those people are hardworking for their living … chinese food in the other way is they quiet healthy …Dan i think u ate at the restaurant so they use a lot of oil and msg stuff to attract customers but if you really eat or live with the chinese you will know the differences
I lived in China and their food is very good and healthy in theory but the cleanliness is not good. More than 60% of the population has Hep A and due to the fact that most restaurants dont wash dishes in soap or hot water. So long as you get Hep immunizations then yes China is very healthy.
The average american eats over 200 pounds of meat per year- not good. Not to mention, all of the fast food, soda, processed foods, and other potentially life shortening substances that we consume. Did you know, only 2% of children in the U.S. are actually eating enough vegetables? For one reason or another my poor country cannot get it into their thick skulls that what they are eating is killing them. Oh well, it is there loss. I am 14 years old and quite ashamed of my countrys health habits, but i am hoping to change that, one way or another. My generation is the first generation expected to have a shorter lifespan than that of our parents. When will people learn? *sigh*
fun facts:
– America is the fatest and unhealthiest country in the world.
– by the year 2030, 50% of Americans are expected to be obese.
-despite what you think, obesity is Americas largest problem.
i love how every single site that even has a single mention about china and not even placing it on the top of the list will still be drowned in anti-china testaments.
its funny becuz i remember back when i was growing up that EVERYBODY knew Chinese food was the healthiest in the world and nobody would even think to say stupid things like MSG and fattening and all that. I mean really? But that’s when the brainwashing kicked in. People these days don’t remember what it was like in the 80s and 90s how EVERYBODY knew just how healthy Chinese food not to mention ALL East Asian food was that it really was the healthiest. Its like people just forgot what they grew up knowing and suddenly jumped on the bandwagon of being ignorant.
Hey here’s a hint. MSG? General Tso’s? Sweet and Sour Pork? That’s NOT Chinese food. That’s AMERICAN food. You used to know this crap back in the day.
Then there’s the genius with the Hep A report? 60%? Dude what you smoking? The longest avg life expectancy in the world is Shanghai’s. The next one? Hong Kong. There are whole rural communities that expect to live to their 90s at the least.
All the fighting. Great job on listing the top ten countries. Okay, it all came from the garden of Eden anyway.
What is great as you look at each country, you get suggestions on how to eat more healthy than most Americans eat in this country.
Not all of their fault though. A lot of American folks just can not afford the high cost of healthy food, even when that is what they want to eat.
I have been with the poor farmer in the country who knows how to eat healthy as they grow it animal and plant alike. No genetic modified feed, animals and food. Organic is the way of life with the little farmer. It is the norm, not the exception. The very rich who know how to eat healthy buy it from the little farmer, not the supermarket chains or warehouses like we have been taught to believe will save us money. What a lie the American People have been given, for the sake of political progress.
It is the middle income folks who are stuck the most. No land, no dollars to pay someone to grow it for them. I truly believe that if Americans had a choice to have more food that was not government controlled to feed the masses, they would choose to eat organic, non genetically modified foods with out the dangerous chemicals.
Americans can be well fed if they stop supporting the big lie. One step at a time. A healthier America means better health care because of better food. If we had that, than we would not need the government to end up controlling our health care, hence deciding who lives and who dies in the end.
When was the last time you actually knew what you totally ate in a meal? Check out “Food Inc.” video. Watch the government lady say what she does about genetic modified food. She tells the decision making people that they should see what the effect is on the general masses, before deciding if it was good for them or not good for them.
What you are putting into your body, without knowing the truth.
You should be more concerned about the lie we have been fed, rather than all the bickering that has been going on here in this post.
We could be number one in this list, if we chose change.