The United States has the highest obesity rate in the world. So how on Earth are other cultures managing to stay lean? Check out these unique diet methods from around the World.
The Chinese Rice DietOne of my good friends, a lovely Chinese restaurant owner, always seemed be so slender and energetic. I had to ask what her secret is. Her reply totally shocked me. “I eat only white rice,” she explained, “and a tiny bit of meat and vegetables three times a week. It is the way I was raised. We didn’t have meat with every meal in China. We only eat rice on most days.” Then she explained that fried rice was a breakfast food, made for convenience from leftovers. I was confused after considering the possibility of only eating rice.
Until then I associated her small build to the fact she worked sixteen hours a day, seven days a week. Her idea of a day off was cleaning the restaurant! She is a very hard worker, and never seems to get tired. She has a quick smile and laughs easily. She has an excellent disposition, and amazingly her metabolism runs almost entirely off white rice. Every time I look at her girlish figure, I still find it hard to believe that her body was formed completely on a rice diet.
Walking a Mile to Gather a Meal in FranceFrench diet author Mireille Guiliano, points out in her book, ‘Why French Women Don’t Get Fat,’ European women usually walk to the bakery, the butcher shop and the vegetable stand daily, while Americans do one stop shopping at the supermarket, where they compete for the closest parking space. “Walking is the most simple, the most inexpensive exercise there is. Besides what it does to your waistline, it is also exercise for the mind because it gives you time to relax, to think, to dream, and to look at the sky.”
Slow and Steady in the MediterraneanIt is not uncommon for meals to take two hours, and yet they consume less food in those two hours than the average American eats in 20 minutes. Why? Because in the Mediterranean, every meal is a celebration with conversation, slow small bites, and red wine to wash it all down. Europeans enjoy eating whole foods slowly in social settings. Most American’s, on the other hand, eat enormous meals on the run, and snack profusely in between. It takes 20 minutes for the human body to inform the brain that it’s had enough to eat. Feelings of satisfied hunger usually doesn’t reach the average person eating on the go until they are almost finished with their meal.
Indian Carb OutDr. Daphne Miller who studied diets around the world discovered that Copper Canyon Indians kept very low blood sugar despite a diet consisting of 80% carbohydrates. The difference between their carbohydrates and the carbohydrates consumed in the US is that they are not processed, sometimes not even cooked. These slow release whole foods contain natural carbohydrates that are very healthy compared to excessive meats and processed foods.
Over Processed Food, Poverty, and Weight GainAll research points to over processed foods, rapid consumption, and lack of portion control as contributing factors to obesity. Although the obesity rate in countries worldwide is growing, modern Americans are gaining weight at unprecedented rates. Combine poor eating habits with the lack of daily exercise and chronic illnesses are almost inevitable. When we look at the results of world food practices, most Americans simply don’t have time to eat a two hour meal or gather whole foods. We live rushed lifestyles! It is difficult for a lot of us to justify spending hours in the kitchen to prepare fresh foods which cost a lot more considering how much you can get from the dollar menu.
While in most countries poverty is linked to weight loss, in the Unites States, poverty leads to weight gain. The cheapest foods are over processed, fatty and devoid of real nutrition. Less fortunate families are being forced to eat foods that are not good for them, simply because they are cheaper and more readily available. So how can we get our weight under control? The obvious answer is exercise, which is sorely needed. Another answer is to simply take life a little slower.
