Nutritionist from Japan: The food I love eating every day—and that robust 90-year-olds in my life swear by

The oceans successful and astir Japan are believed to incorporate astir 1,500 kinds of seaweed, which person agelong been a staple of Japanese cuisine. Depending connected the portion and the climate, you tin find galore antithetic tastes and textures. 

I'm a nutritionist from Nara, Japan, and seaweed is 1 of the astir nostalgic foods for me. Ever since I was small, I've eaten it each day. 

My precocious ma was a large instrumentality of it. In summation to being a tasty and versatile constituent successful galore dishes, she said that seaweed helped support her hair steadfast and strong. My gramps ever had immoderate chewy kombu candy connected hand, and helium would springiness it to maine arsenic a dainty whenever I saw him. 

The astir lively and robust elders successful my life, my 99-year-old aunt (she volition beryllium 100 successful January!) and my in-laws who are 95 and 88, curse by a regular vessel of miso crockery with wakame seaweed.

My precise archetypal cooking teacher inactive teaches astatine 86. The bulk of her recipes see immoderate benignant of seaweed. 

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At immoderate fixed time, I volition have, astatine a minimum, my apical precedence six seaweeds successful my pantry: kombu, wakame, nori, hijiki, kanten and aonori. Bonus points if I tin get immoderate reddish tosaka seaweed. 

Seaweed is simply a nutrient that I volition happily devour passim my life. Here's why:

When I archetypal moved to the US successful 1994, similar tofu and matcha, seaweed was hard to travel by. Our luggage was filled with dried kombu or wakame whenever we returned from visiting Japan. Now, I tin find everything I request astatine a section Asian marketplace oregon adjacent Whole Foods. 

Seaweed is convenient and casual to adhd to truthful galore regular dishes. Most are support stable, often requiring small oregon nary preparation. 

I conscionable request to soak it for astir 10 minutes, hitch with a insubstantial towel, wrapper (for manus rolled sushi, for example), oregon sprinkle immoderate flakes in. It has a delicious umami flavor, and it enhances different ingredients without needing to adhd other salt, sweetener, oregon fat.

Though it varies by benignant of seaweed, the works has been recovered to beryllium high successful some soluble and insoluble fiber, which tin assistance with digestion, value absorption and wide gut health. 

Seaweed has iron, iodine, potassium, calcium, magnesium and polyphenols — people occurring compounds successful plants that tin assistance combat inflammation and illness, and manage humor sweetener levels. 

It contains each 9 amino acids, and Omega-3 fatty acids. The second successful peculiar is adjuvant for boosting hearth wellness and compartment growth. Seaweed is different root of plant-based protein.

Seaweed is rather sustainable. It requires small oregon nary land, substance oregon pesticide usage to grow, it people occurs successful oceans, and it tin help trim c emissions.

It is large for making vegan and kosher harmless dishes for my household and friends. For example, if I wanted to substitute gelatin successful my cooking, I'll usage kanten seaweed to marque savory and saccharine vegan jello with azuki (red bean) paste, citrus fruits, pumpkin, edamame and cucumber.

I marque my signature steadfast miso crockery with dashi broth, dried shiitake mushrooms, tofu, seasonal veggies, kombu and wakame seaweed. 

Hijiki and arame seaweed are the prima ingredients successful my ohitashi (steamed rootlike salad). When I boil adust noodles, I volition ever adhd wakame or hijiki at the end, earlier I drain the pot.

My emblematic meal is seaweed wrapped multi-grain rice, natto (fermented soybeans), nukazuke (pickled vegetables) topped with nori seaweed flakes. Every time, I accidental retired loud, "Oishi, arigato," which means, "So delicious, convey you precise much!" It makes the acquisition truthful overmuch richer. 

I cannot archer you however galore atom balls with kombu and nori I person made for my lad and his tennis teammates erstwhile helium was increasing up. One of my signature dishes for my household and assemblage is simply a cucumber, wakame and tosaka salad with miso vinegar dressing and natto connected top.

Eating seaweed makes maine consciousness healthier and transports maine to an water haven. That is wherefore I emotion eating it everyday. 

Michiko Tomioka, MBA, RDN, is simply a certified nutritionist and longevity expert. Born and raised successful Nara, Japan, her attack focuses connected a plant-based diet. She has worked successful nutritional roles astatine substance betterment centers, charter schools and nutrient banks. Follow her connected Instagram @michian_rd. 

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