The Korean diet (or K-diet) is a dietary pattern with deep roots in Korean tradition. In recent years, the K-diet has attracted interest from many countries (including the US and Canada, but also several in Europe). The reason? In addition to the popularity of K-pop, the finding that despite the high prevalence of obesity worldwide, South Korea (like Japan) is strongly resisting.
More specifically, after the "land of the rising sun", South Korea is the one with the lowest obesity rate (among all developed countries) with the rate being 6,73% (and the second highest life expectancy in the world again behind Japan which is 84,33 years). Greece has an obesity rate of 33,68%, the USA 41%, Canada 33% and Australia 31%.
The k-diet is not a specific "diet", but it can be said that it is followed as a model. As is the case with the Mediterranean Diet and the Nordic Diet (the Mediterranean of the Scandinavians).
The k-diet includes many side dishes (banchan) that neither Americans nor Greeks are used to. Their dishes have a lot of vegetables (cabbage, radish, mushrooms, soybeans, spinach), seaweed and fermented foods (kimchi), soybean paste (doenjang) and red pepper paste (gochujang). These foods provide probiotics and bioactive substances. Which is of particular importance since they greatly improve intestinal function.
This Asian cuisine also uses smaller amounts of meat than Western-style diets. Meat is often used as a side dish rather than the main part of the dish. Rice is the main starchy food, often combined with soups and vegetables.
In addition, it is a diet that uses fresh ingredients, a small amount of sweets and soft drinks.
Plant-based foods are associated with a better lipid profile, better glycemic control, in addition to improvements in gastrointestinal function, as mentioned above.
Caution!
Kimchi, soy sauce, and many side dishes contain large amounts of sodium, which is very important for people suffering from hypertension, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease.
In addition to salt, foods such as noodles, fried chicken, and street food in restaurants or grocery stores contain, in addition to salt, amounts of sugar, and many calories. High consumption of spicy foods can bother people with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastritis, and/or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
In conclusion
The k-diet is a healthy, sustainable dietary pattern that offers well-being, longevity and improvement in health indicators. This is due to the following:
1). The quantities they use are small.
2). They do not eat at large tables, like the Greeks, for example, and they do not use cutlery but eat with the characteristic chopsticks. They approach a main meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) very differently than an average European or American.
3). They avoid sweets.
4). Limit saturated fatty acids (limited consumption of butter, red meat, animal dairy products).
5). Their diet is characterized by an abundance of plant foods with moderate consumption of vegetable fats (sesame oil).
6). The culture in most Asian countries (especially East Asian countries) is all about the thin body. A slim figure is often considered an ideal of beauty, especially for women.
The "secret» for someone who wants to adopt the k-diet is not to isolate a food. Foods such as soy products, beverages, legumes can be consumed by someone (depending on their history) with great frequency during the week. To finally follow the general rules of the k-diet (regarding the total amount of calories, reducing saturated fatty acids, limiting sweets, etc.). After of course, the dietitian and their doctor are in agreement beforehand. For example, people with hypothyroidism should be careful about consuming seaweed (due to iodine). People with hypothyroidism may also not often consume soy products. And finally, anyone who wants to follow the k-diet should treat the meal process as a pleasant process through which they will improve their health without fearing for their body weight and fat.
Overall, the traditional Korean diet is considered a fairly balanced dietary pattern, with many elements in common with the Mediterranean diet: an emphasis on plant-based foods, moderate consumption of animal products, and a restriction of processed foods. The main differences are the much greater use of fermented foods and higher sodium intake.
photo Greek News FL
