Unlocking the Japanese Beauty Secrets

Japanese women are beautiful, generally lean, and have beautiful skin. I aspire to be in the business of beauty so of course I have been asking my local friends about their eating habits, skin care regiments, etc.

I have discovered that  the Japanese beauty secrets stems from a healthy diet. The Japanese diet consists of high protein, low-fat, low sugar, and is rich in antioxidants.  My friend Rie told me that miso soup would make me more beautiful. So of course the next day,  I went out and bought Miso soup paste. Now, I try to drink miso soup as often as possible.

Breakfast
A typical Japanese breakfast consists of  green tea, rice and drink miso soup. Miso soup is soy based which is rich in antioxidants.  Green tea is also rich in antioxidants and there is no sugar added to the tea.

The Power of Green Tea
I have noticed that the drink of choice is green tea either hot or cold. Even my young students claim their favorite drink is green tea. Shocking.

Dinner
I have eaten dinner a couple times at my friends parents house and the dinner typically consists of: rice, miso soup (sometimes with mussels), sushi, and a ton of veggies. The drink of choice is usually water, green tea, or some type of wheat based drink all sugar free. Followed by fruit as desert or Japanese sweets.

Sweets

Japanese sweets aren't typical sweets. These sweets are usually made out of beans. I was very skeptical at first. I didn't believe that a bean based desert could be delicious but I was wrong. The sweets are both healthy, rich in protein and satisfies my sweet tooth.

NATO

Nato is fermented soy beans. This is a very popular snack.  It's typically eaten with rice or on toast. I have learned to love nato. I believe NATO is the equivalent of peanut butter. While, many Westerners-present company included-like to spread peanut butter on everything: toast, apples, etc. The Japanese prefer to eat soy beans. It's low fat and rich in antioxidants.

Seafood

Sushi, salmon, and other seafood is ridiculously cheap here compared to the States. I can get a sushi lunch box at my local supermarket for $2.40. After 6pm sushi is reduced to $1.40. This is what I usually buy after I finish teaching for the day.  Bento boxes (salmon, veggies, rice, etc) is also $2.40 at my supermarket and then reduced to $1.40 after 6pm).

It is very cheap and convenient for me to eat healthy here. The only catch is most days I am still teaching 7pm. So whenever, I can I try to take advantage of the evening deals.

Lastly, beef and chicken are more expensive than seafood. As a result, most families don't eat beef or chicken very often.  And people try to eat a well balanced meal of protein, vegetables, and fruit. My friends have informed that schools have a chef to ensure that students eat a well balanced healthy lunch. I was really surprised and impressed to hear this.

It's easy to be beautiful in Japan.