If you are looking for increased health, a diet for weight loss or just want to try a new type of food, then the Japanese and Chinese diets are healthy options to choose. While there are similarities between the two diets, there are also differences. These differences can range from the type of food eaten to the portion sizes or even the way tea is served.
Chinese Diet
The Chinese diet is broken up into eight different regions referred to as the "eight cuisines". Although these differ in part, Chinese cuisine as a whole has some common foods throughout.The Chinese cuisine employs a wide range of vegetables and they are seen as a meal in themselves. Patrick Holford told "The Independent" newspaper how vegetables should make up half of what's on your plate in any given meal and how this fits perfectly with the Chinese diet. The Chinese diet does not contain many sugary and highly processed carbohydrate foods that are high on the glycemic index. High glycemic foods raise blood sugar levels and prevent fat loss. They can also cause other health problems such as type 2 diabetes. The Chinese diet has certain staples such as rice, noodles and soy beans.
Japanese Diet
The Japanese diet shares similarities with the Chinese diet and yet is different. The Japanese, as opposed to the Chinese, mainly steam and boil their foods while frying very little. The Japanese diet consists largely of seasonal vegetables and large amounts of fish such as salmon and mackerel. The Japanese, like the Chinese, have rice as a staple and soy beans. The Japanese diet employs seaweed as a common food source. Miso soup is also common along with certain fruits like apples and tangerines. Dairy and bread are not commonly eaten in Japan says Naomi Moriyama, in her book "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat." In Japan, breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day and will typically be the largest.
Portions
Naomi Moriyama highlights that the Japanese diet centers around small portions of seasonal food. In Japan, portions of food tend to be small and the Japanese eat only until they have a feeling of being around 80 percent full. In general, the Chinese diet is not centered around portion size or calories as food is seen simply as a means of acquiring nutrients. Nutritional consultant Ian Marber gave the example that there is one calorie in a Diet Coke, and 340 calories in an avocado yet the avocado supplies you with monounsaturated fats and omega-6, which actually help increase metabolic rate.
Tea
Tea plays a large role in both the Japanese and Chinese cultures. Both peoples drink large amount of herbal teas, especially green tea. In China, while green tea is common, so are other teas such as black tea and oolong tea while in Japan green tea is by far the most common. Both the Japanese and Chinese have entire ceremonies dedicated to tea. In Japan this ceremony is called the Way of Tea and there are many rules and rituals governing how the tea is made and served. Elliot Mitchnick, an expert in Japanese tea, asserts that there seem to be many rules to Japanese tea ceremonies and the guests must be well versed in Tea before attending as a guest. In China, tea ceremonies originated as a form teaching philosophical concepts. The drinking of tea began as a form of herbal medicine and later became a way of teaching disciples of Buddhism about peace and harmony and respect for nature.
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