These diets have been selected based on the countries, which have the longest life expectancies and the lowest obesity rates. They are not scientific rankings but they can give you overall overviews of which are the world’s healthiest diets.
Japanese
The obesity rate is 1.5% and life expectancy is 82 years.
Japanese cuisine is rich in cancer-fighting fruits and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage. They are not only healthy ingredients but they also cook them on the healthiest possible way, with a light steam or a quick stir-fry.
Japanese practice the ‘Hara Hachi Bu’, which means eat until you are eight, parts full. This practice is not only good for avoiding obesity but also for escaping some other important illnesses.
Japanese diet is also full of soy that is high in protein and low in fat, and antioxidant-rich yams, calcium-rich veggies like bok choy; shiitake mushrooms; and green tea, which contains a high level of powerful antioxidants.
Many people in Japan also eat fish and rice daily. Fish is very rich on omega-3 fatty acids, which has many health benefits. White rice is high in nutrients and the side dish that they usually accompany with rice is usually very low in calories.
Greek
Although they ranked with 25% on obesity range, life expectancy is still high and is situated on 80 years. Greek diet has been always seen as one of the healthiest in the world.
Traditional Greek foods like dark leafy veggies, fresh fruit, high-fiber beans, lentils, grains, olive oil, and omega-3 rich fish cut people dangers of suffering heart attacks, diabetes and other diseases related with bad foods habits.
Eating a traditional Mediterranean diet is associated with a 25 percent reduced risk on dying from a heart disease
French
France has an obesity rate of 6.6% and a life expectancy of 81 years.
France paradox is well known: although they are a nation of butter and baguettes-lovers, cheese-eaters, and red-wine drinkers, French women have the lowest average body mass index in Europe. They usually have long and slow meals, which helps keeping slim and they use fresh, whole ingredients.
Indian
When we think about Indian food lots of aromatic spices names come to our mind, which apparently are very good for health. Some of them may actually protect from some cancers while others are good for preventing Alzheimer’s.
It is also worth remembering that the Indian diets contain ghee, a clarified butter that they use to cook as an oil substitute.
There are other sauces though, which contain lots of fats and have to be avoided when following a low-calories diet.
Vietnamese
This diet is full of fresh herbs, vegetables and seafood. Their cooking techniques use water and broth instead of oils, which make this cuisine stand out.
Traditional Vietnamese flavors have long been used as alternative remedies, cilantro and anise have actually been shown to aid digestion and fight disease-causing inflammation.
One of the healthiest Vietnamese dishes is pho, an aromatic, broth-based noodle soup full of antioxidants.
Overall, all these diets are rich on vegetables. If you are aware of the benefits of eating aliments with fibre but you don’t really like vegetables you can eat granola, which is very high in fibre. From the countries mentioned before, probably only the European are more used to eat granola. Have it for breakfast or as a snack and start to feel the benefits of a high in fibre diet!
Featured images:
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
Laura is originally from Barcelona, Spain; she is currently living in London, where she moved two years ago to start a Marketing career. She likes keeping her healthy equilibrated Mediterranean diet and enjoys having a healthy lifestyle. She is currently blogging for http://www.lizis.co.uk/ about nutrition and recipes.
