2007-12-30 Common sense advice with a Japanese slant

The content of this book really is the kind of thing one wants from a good diet book: it's good, sound diet advice, not only based on the traditional Japanese diet but on what leading nutritionists all over the world have been saying for decades, with all the arguments backed up with balanced dietetic evidence. It is not a fad diet, nor does it condone them; in fact, the message of this book is to gradually improve eating habits over time until they become second nature, for lasting results.

Although the theory behind the book is based on the traditional eating habits of the Japanese and the book does advocate a lot of traditional Japanese foodstuffs, you do not have to eat Japanese food to follow the advice that is given in the book, although resources are provided in the back pages for shops and online stores from which they can be obtained should you want to try them.

A lot of the diet advice is nothing most of us don't know already - however, they are presented in easily digestible chunks (the book is divided into 30 concise chapters with the intention that one chapter is read each day over a month), and the author's chirpy writing style and inspiring, at times mouth-watering tales about her own experiences of eating in Japan present it in a way that makes the reader feel informed and motivated. Plus, there are plenty of surprising bits of advice based on Japanese eating habits that the books suggests can easily be applied to other cuisines, and a few recipes for healthy dishes made from traditional Japanese ingredients are included for breakfast, lunch AND dinner.

Better still - for the busy among us, it contains a 7-day eating plan based on convenience foods from mainstream British supermarkets put together by a nutritionist!

The only reason I am giving it 4 stars rather than 5 is because there is a large section on obtaining heart-healthy omega-3 into your diet by eating oily fish at least twice a week, plus the author talks about using dashi (sea vegetable and fish stock) a lot, but no thought is given to alternatives for vegetarians and vegans, who will have to do some extra reading elsewhere if they wish to adopt this diet. Other than that, it is a joy to read and I am looking forward to increasingly "Japanising" my diet in the future based on the tips in the book.