Numerous studies show that Japan ranks among the nations with the greatest life expectancy in the world, and while the factors that contribute to longevity are complex, we all know that a healthy diet can play a fundamental role in helping people reach old age.
Now, a new study suggests that dietary guidelines introduced by the Japanese government in 2000 might have played a vital role in keeping the Japanese population healthy since then, with those adhering to its advice shown to have a lower risk of death from all causes, including death from cardiovascular disease and particularly stroke.
“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 in Japan write in The BMJ.
The government’s ‘Spinning Top’ (which is another way of saying food pyramid) was published in 2005 and based on the 2000 guidelines, was developed by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, and stipulates the following.
Researchers found that the men and women who adhered more closely to the guidelines had a 15 per cent lower total mortality rate over 15 years.
In the course of one day, people should aim to eat:
5–7 servings of grain dishes (rice, bread, noodles and pasta).
5–6 servings of vegetables.
3–5 servings of fish and meat (including egg and soy bean dishes)
2 servings of milk or milk products.
2 servings of fruit.
In this context, each of the serving sizes are pretty small – for vegetables, it’s up to around 70 gm per serve. And right at the top, you can see lots of water or tea consumption, in addition to plenty of physical exercise.
In the NCGHM study looking at how effective these recommendations really are, the researchers collected data from food and lifestyle questionnaires completed by 36,624 men and 42,920 women in Japan aged between 45 and 75. None of the participants had any history of cancer, stroke, heart disease, or chronic liver disease, and were followed up with health checks for 15 years.
The researchers found that the people who adhered more closely to the guidelines had a 15 per cent lower total mortality rate over 15 years. While it’s definitely a large study with a fairly massive cohort, it’s important to bear in mind that the researchers only considered Japanese people living in Japan, so we can’t just assume that the same diet would have the same effects on people in other countries.
— Source: www.sciencealert.coma
