Japanese Food is NOT Healthy

Just a quick note: #2 as "sharp 2" is a musical interpretation of #. In the States # is read as "number" in that case. Phone# is "phone number", #13 is "number 13". It's historically called a pound sign (as in British pounds) and more recently the hashtag. "Sharp" in music means to raise the note half a step, from G to G# (which is also Ab).

I love how he speaks truth, no matter what it is. The integrity meter is off the scales with him

Respect for having the integrity to show the cons of Japan, no country is perfect.

I didn't think the food was literally healthy, I always thought that people meant, Japanese people had healthier eating habits than most countries, which I think is still true.

I think majority of folks know brightly coloured, processed unnatural foods are typically bad for you. When I think of the healthiness in Japanese cuisine, I think of the smaller portion sizes and contents of a homemade meal. There is great use of lean meat such as fish and chicken, and a variety of vegetables with meals. Although I have noticed that pan frying is often the choice as ovens don’t really exist per say, it seems to be a lot less…. Overboard than western countries. There’s also less emphasis on takeouts and fast food. Going out for food in Japan is often really no different than homemade.

"most countries have a couple dozen approved additives" no... Most countries approve most of the European food additives list ("E numbers") which has hundreds of entries. Not all of them are approved anymore but most are.

I’ve never liked packaged food, so if I do visit Japan, I would be eating at the restaurants.

When testing toxic substances on animals we take the NOAEL(No observable adverse effect level) of that animal and use it to make a ADI(Accaptable daily intake) by dividing that dosis by a hundred, 10* for the factor animal to human and another factor 10 for safety. This way we can determine a virtual safe dose of the substance in question and thus use it in product. A lot of work goes into testing the safety of these substances and we don't test it on humans because out of safety reasons, we don't want to use human test subjects and the dose we are allowed to use is probably even lower then we are allowed to take. Furthermore toxins are hard to research because of the many variables that come into play, some people react less to a toxin then others.
Hope this helps

"Japanese food is not healthy."
Japanese people: Lives till 90

This is an important eye-opener. True, i have often wondered whether the many colourful foods in Japan and deep fried staff like tempura or takoyaki or tonkatsu are indeed harmful or not? But then, i wished away the thought by telling myself that the Japanese represent a careful and health-conscious culture, so there must be some safeguards that we do not know. Now it seems my suspicion has been validated.

So, the idea that "Japanese food is healthier", is not because of production. It's talking about Japanese cuisine. Japanese cuisine uses a lot more vegetables and lean meats like fish than most traditional cuisine, and less "fatty" fried foods than other cultures. (We now know that fat is not necessary bad, and that sugar is a bigger contributor to poor health outcomes.) There is also a general assumption that Japanese processed foods and candies use "less sugar" than Western Foods. This may be true for some foods, but not for others, and most Japanese candy has just as much sugar as Western candy. If you were eating homemade Japanese dishes, then yes, Japanese food is %100 healthy and delicious!

I think you’ll be fine eating there when you visit, it seems the food additives are only really dangerous when used after a period of time

I view Japanese food like Sushi, beef, authentic ramen, and other meals made with fresh Meats and Veggies were healthier especially their high quality eggs, the same way I view my own heritages Mexican food. Of course frozen foods, processed foods, and cheap fast foods are going to be full of potential garbage no matter where it comes from!

I remember going into an "Otaku" shop in the UK with imported anime/manga figures, merch, etc. I was mostly in the market to get some Japanese sweets and snacks I saw people trying on RU-clip. At the time I was big on avoiding E numbers and other questionable additives... Looked on the back of some gummies and the amount of crap in the ingredients section scared me. They were basically just Japanese Haribo, no idea why there was so much added stuff. Looked at some other things (chips, gum, juice) and they all had other additives which would give anyone heart disease someday. Noped out of the food section real quick.

Japanese dishes sound pretty healthy especially because they include seafood as a lean protein but l still don't feel convinced because of the insane amounts of ocean pollution. We all consume microplastics all the time even when not eating seafood. I can't imagine how much worse it is when your main food source has to share the same space with giant masses of plastic floating around.

One of my favorite foods in the world is one of these unhealthy foods. Great grandma Kikko would add Daikon radish to maki rolls or just serve it as a side snack when we went to see her. Found out that it was coated in saccharine a cancer causing chemical but even with this knowledge i still eat it (granted in much much smaller portions than I use to)

I work in a food factory here in Japan (7/11 and family mart) and let me tell you something.
Alcohol.
We spray everything with alcohol.
My friend even joked "it tastes so clean!" 😂

Thank you for speaking the truth. Many of know this already and we’ve had to make substitutes and adapt.

Red #2 used to be so common in juice drinks in the USA, but those drinks always made me sick. Interesting to find out it's actually known to be harmful.

This is a really fantastic, informative video. There are so many videos on how Japanese food is healthier. From what I saw it wasn’t healthier but there was MUCH more selection of vegetables, affordable fresh meat, fish, and also single-serving containers.

I was most healthy when I traveled in Japan for a month. I was most fit ever in my life and full of energy, and my skin became healthiest it had ever been and slowly degraded to it's bad state when I came back. I'm pretty sure it was because of the food there

Yet Japan has the second highest life expectancy, largely attributed to diet. So, citizens of Japan at least know to avoid these junk foods.

Thanks for taking your time making this video. I myself didn't really think about this before, given that their society has health rules. But looking at it more realistically, their society is based on overworking yourself to death and instant gratification. So it would only make sense for the government to improve this because The sicker people are, the more they can profit from their health and deaths.

This is why I wish all countries stuck to healthier fresh foods but also didn’t tax the agriculture industries so much. Corn and sugar production in the US is subsidized so much that they’ve become filler additives in almost all of our staple foods, which has become a huge issue due to cheap foods being so unhealthy as a result of this. If more fresh foods were more affordable and store and shelves in more preservable ways (like not spraying fresh veggies with water because that actually makes them rot faster) then I think we could start working towards living healthier for everyone

I always had my suspicions on Japanese food but I always thought it was because of the sodium level. Food additives weren’t on my radar.

I've noticed this in a few recent years after watching videos about popular Japanese foods that Japanese people seem to be addicted to processes foods. Japanese food prior to ww2 very healthy, Japanese food after ww2, not so much.

Doesn’t that apply to all factory produced food? I remember my friend told me not to buy canned coffees. They are literally made with just bunch of chemicals.

I always wondered why japanese foods (not the traditional ones) were so wild

Many food additives were invented in Japan. Japan has a long tradition of pickling, and when the process fell off in the early 1900s,, stomach cancer fell dramatically.

I worked at a Family Mart dessert factory and I can tell you that it has a lot of food coloring and substances that try to make the fruits and etc last longer. They used to rinse strawberries in pure alcohol, not the drinkable kind... like... pure alcohol

I try to visit Japan once a year and I've always had people ask me if the food is healthier? Or tell me the food is healthier and I've always said well it's as healthy as my extra large bowl of Yoshinoya with extra meat can be I guess...
Food can be healthy or it can be bad for you just like anywhere else.

It is easier to know the harmless additives than trying to remember all of the harmful ones.

Just for reference, I just looked it up - the U.S. FDA has approved ~ 10,000 additives, which is almost 10 times more than Japan. So those of us in the U.S. shouldn’t be terribly worried about Japanese snacks IMO 😂

i appreciate the fact you said that not all addictives are harmful, there is so much chemophobia. thank you

Initially I thought that my favorite Japanese dish Ebi Shrimp 🍤 (Tempura) was healthy until I realized it was soaked in cooking oil.

Well
Now I know I'm not moving out to Japan.
Still would love to live there a couple of months, be a punk in a place where you are not supposed to stand out seems interesting...
I would like if there was a guide to know which brands do not use additives that have been banned in other countries.

I had hives before. All over my legs, it started to sting after a while and I had to take a medical leave from school because my legs were soo stingy and painful that I couldn’t walk without any sharp itchy pain :(

In all honesty, many things have the potential to cause cancer/try to kill you, including caffeine.
I'd advise not to worry too much if you eat processed food, but always prefer fresh options if you can

That explains why the monthly subscription mixed snack boxes always come with a note from customs stating they took "this" and "this" and "that" out. Been wondering for years about that.

Well not all the food additives are unhealthy most of them are approved although food additives like food colouring are highly used in most of the countries around the world and as per research Japan has still better and healthier snacks compared to most of the countries
So no one needs to worry too much about it. Just avoid eating or drinking foods which are too bright in colors. I have this habit of reading packets ingredients and i see in most of them it's written artificial coloring contains which means it's not only Japan but every other countries contain such additives in there snacks

Imagine how much longer the Japanese would live without these additives. Even without them they have the longest life expectancy.

You’re doing God’s work sir and truly care about the future of Japan and it’s people for pointing out these facts.

Talking the truth about our country is appreciative instead of just showing positive aspect about that country

One thing i love about your channel is that you teach so much about a country most westerners have interest in but little drive to learn about themselves, keep up the great wlrk!

I can imagine that home cooked food in Japan can have healthier components as it seems rather diverse and on top has its fair share of fermented foods on a daily basis compared to many other countries. But yes, store bought meals are never going to supstitute this, no matter where you live. I guess people just thought it's better in Japan due to its general cuisine.

in my observation, the japanese practice moderation in general, they can approve all these additives without compromising the health of majority of its population. you cant say that in other countries.

Idc, much of japanese foods are interesting and tastes great so I'm okay with the risks as long as I can experience all the unique, and cool stuff I can. I'm sure alot of people can agree

This is a very important topic that I haven't seen covered elsewhere! This is definitely something to consider when convenience store shopping and eating at restaurants while traveling!

Thank you for creating HFCS, Japan.
I hope you are enjoying it yourself today.

Very interesting!
I'd also wonder about the nutritional value. With relatively smaller portions, compared to some other countries, the total essential nutrients per meal would be all-the-more important.
I've seen in other people's videos that Japanese homes are often smaller... as are the kitchens and pantries. I imagine it would be difficult to shop for, store, and cook a lot of healthy ingredients. This would lead me to believe that store-bought meals and snacks are popular, as would be eating away from home. I under stand convenience stores, like 7-eleven, are popular in Japan. They are in the US too, but I think the US versions offer a smaller variety of food, more of which is unhealthy. However, if Japanese 7-elevens get more traffic, then it could mean that a greater amount of unhealthy food is consumed by the people overall, even if some its products are freshly made each day.

Forget the additives. The amount of salt ( ie soysauce) consumed in Asia leads to high incidence of hypertension

Curious how much of these additives the long lived elders in Japan have consumed

"that food can reduce your life expectancy!"
Me: "you wish to live a long life but is the life you live any different than being dead?"
*Munches on sushi

They like to pack in more flavor in one bite...love the intensity in the flavors

In Mexico, the '#' sign is called 'gatito' as it resembles a tictactoe game grid. And 'tictactoe' is known as 'el juego del gato' 😹😹😹 🇲🇽

You are completely destroying my opinion and what I’ve been taught about Japanese society and culture. And I would like to say THANK YOU!

The biggest difference between food in the West (Mostly the US) and Japan, is that in the West (US mostly) the portions are at least 2x bigger than they are in Japan. Because of this people lose weight when they go to Japan, and then they develop this misconception because they confuse portion control for healthy food.
Sorry if I repeated myself there, as I haven't got much sleep lately :/

Such great information and we are honored to have such a wealth of it.

I always wondered how Japanese people consume so much sodium, whenever I make Japanese food I feel dehydrated the next day 😂 but then again I still love shoyu and miso 💕

I always found suspicious the food items people ate in "trying snacks/candy from japan" videos. It felt too colorful and artificial

I always wonder with each countries having different standards, like “what science are they looking at when making these decisions, is it the same?”

Thank you for being open about Japanese food being not healthy

Does this apply to Japenese restaurants in the United States. I love eating Ramen and sushi but don't want to put myself at risk.

Taking"risk it for the biscuit"to the next level

If this is true then it's crazy how Japan also has the highest life expectancy, how is it possible if they're eating these unhealthy foods🤷‍♂

Thank you for sharing every aspect of Japanese culture despite what many foreigners want to believe. I have read so many comments beforehand spouting misinformed nonsense defending or attacking a country's culture they have never experienced or properly researched.
It doesn't matter where you are, processed food is ALWAYS bad for you!

And this is why I trust anything this man tells me about Japan

This is true ! As a doctor I can say some type of cancers are endemic to Japan esp because of food habits. But this is also true for other countries only difference being the type of diseases being different than Japan.

Give me a shock before I knew it was something fancy (at least for me)
Personally, I only like tradition and home food from Japan like Tempura, ramen, Oyakodon, etc.

if we consider the implementation of diet in Japanese culture & the end result--the quality/length of life Japanese have, we find that your posit doesn't add up. like any culture, there's def junk food available, but overall Japanese diet is among the healthiest on the planet, & Japan has one of the longest avg lifespans

Plot Twisy: The Japanese government is desperately trying to lower life expectancy

You sir are a true patriot and hero to your people. Thank you for giving nothing but your honest truth and perspective in all of your videos.

With everyone living to 100+, its hard to think of Japan as unhealthy in any way.

Love how you tell it how it is!!

Food additives have been thrust into a negative light for largely no reason. Some may be harmful in large doses, but you dont get those large doses in the foods you eat. Just like popcorn flavoring.

Thank you so much for your honesty and placing the viewer’s health as your first priority. This was quite shocking, I thought food regulations were stricter in Japan than the U.S. I’ll stick with fresh and delicious Japanese foods 🤤 Thank you again for your sincerity 🙏

This gives me the motivation to eat all 1500 kinds of japanese foods

So what additives are making Japanese people live so long? I want to know!

Massive respect for showing the negatives as well!!!

I take you're talking about transformed, industrial food, and yeah, the amount of questional substances is insane. Mind you, here in France, with the recent scandals related to food poisoning via frozen pizzas or chocolate, we're not in position to boast.

The studies that led to the banning of these additives were also done on animals. Processed foods are not healthy no matter where they come from, but consumued occasionally probably won't kill you.

Wow I would have thought the food in Japan would be healthier. Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Agree. I always love eating Japanese ice cream until I learn to read the labels.

I thought Japanese food is healthiest food in the whole world because it has mostly sea food which is highly nutritious for human beings as it has Proteins, Vitamins and minerals.

The "#" symbol is interesting.
You have chosen to pronounce it pa "sharp," which is the musical note designation.
Most commonly, when placed before a numeral, you say "number, " then state the numeral.
Finally, is its original usage, very uncommon.
Placed after a number, it denotes "pound," or "pounds."
Therefore, #2 (number two)
2#(two pounds)
And. B# (B sharp)

You’re right. A quick glance at Japanese food labels shows a huge number of artificial ingredients. Could be their fixation with presentation that drives companies to do this.

Love your channel Shogo it's very informative.

When people say "Japanese food" I think they mean traditional food, not processed food/junk tood, just like when folks say "Italian food" they don't mean packaged/processed foods, except for maybe Nutella and Ferro Rocher chocolate thingies.

Can’t imagine there’s a list so I can find what to avoid?😬

The only thing I consume regularly (and even less now after a scare) is ramune sodas, the classic and the grape ones…

Am I the only
One that finds his voice soothing he always gets me to stay listening even when I’m not interested

That begs the question, what kinds of Japanese foods are the ones that are unhealthy?
Because I don't really think eating rice and fish is dangerous...

Japans life expectency is second and only by a slight margin. I'm sure the food is fine and the majority of foods banned by governments and scientists probably has no real backing and that is why they "might" cause these ailments.
Breakfast as the most important meal of the day is completely fabricated by breakfast cereal companies.

Moral of The Story : Remember when people used to put sawdust in bread and lead in sauce and drinks so they expire more slowly ? That period didn't pass, they just found a subtler way

The dose makes the poison.
There’s a need to understand the role of additives and preservatives in our foods and that at the levels used in production, it is safe for consumption and will be metabolised by the liver and kidney, safely passing out of the body.
And there is always a need to remind consumers to eat everything in moderation.
And of course the tests are conducted on rats, human testing for compounds has long since been banned. The dosages used during the tests are increased to test for its toxicity, at the levels used in food production it is safe for consumption.
This video is a bit of a food misinformation to be honest.

Am I knowledged now about food in Japan?
Yes.
Am I still going to eat Japanese food because it makes me feel happy inside?
Also yes.

The people and culture are amazing. Please continue to bring awareness.

Bulgarian yogurt is mostly sent to Japan. As a Bulgarian I recommend it.

I think convenient store foods are not healthy but I knew that already. But I'm general I think Japanese recipes are pretty healthy and nutritious food. Cook them in home and they're definitely healthy

When I think Japanese cuisine, I think Habachi and Sushi which I love.