I was participating in a raw paleolithic diet discussion regarding grain consumption by some asians. Someone cited that the Japanese and the Singaporeans ate some rice:
I lived in Singapore for some years and worked with the local people. They might have eaten rice 3 times a day, but it was only about a handful at a meal. I don’t call that a lot. Occasionally they would also have an egg.
hey, i’d like to add something about these seemingly bizarre dietary practices in east asia. i lived in Japan for five years consecutively. loved it the entire time, btw. anyway, most every japanese person i knew ate rice about three times a day. almost every one was eating white rice, too, NOT whole grain. they were almost all slim. but, like someone else just commented, its all about calories in and out at the end of the day, the japanese i knew were eating a small handful of rice at each meal. in other words, even though they were consuminghigh glycemic white rice (pretty much sugar), it made up only a small portion of a larger meal usually containing very good quality protein
and a higher fat content than most 2008 americans eat (they do NOT, thankfully, have the fat-fear that we are plagued with). in other words (big surprise here…), its about balance.
now, dont get me wrong, living back in the states i am a little-to-NO carbohydrate carnivore all the way. no grains for sure and not even many veg, to be honest. i am all about grassfed beef, fish and dark chicken. anyhow, balance balance balance for most people on the earth is the secret, and history’s proof.
Then I chimed in about my observations of Filipinos, I’m pretty sure you will agree:
Hello,
I am a Filipino living in Manila, Philippines. I can contribute that Filipinos are rice addicts and eat more carbohydrate crap than those examples you gave.
Filipinos are hooked on rice. No, addicted to rice! Rice in the morning, noon and night. Rice cakes in the mid afternoon or mid morning. It is insane. Add bread, noodles and crackers to this along with the rice. Add the sweets, the coffee, softdrinks. Let’s add porkas well. And if in the big city like Manila, a whole lot of junk food and fastfood. All cooked, all processed, they see that almost everything has to be cooked. Most can’t afford fruits. Most can’t afford quality meats, thus they buy farmed pork, farmed fish, farmed chicken; all fed on commercial feeds, they live in their own crap, and these creatures are stinky, weak and diseased.
I see many Filipinos are fat and diseased, most are constipated.
Then someone responded:
I see many Filipinos are fat and diseased, most are constipated. Many? That’s all? They should all be ten feet underground! LOL!
Funny huh? Beyond rice, it is much worse. The urban Filipino’s favorite style of cooking is FRIED. Frying with the cheapest trans fat cooking oil like corn oil, “vegetable” oil, canola oil, etc. The favorite food combination is RICE + MEAT, the most difficult combination requiring both an acid environment (for the meat) and an alkaline environment (for the rice). Fruits are seen as decoration, dessert or a luxury item only the rich can afford.
And in between meals? Merienda / snacks? More rice! Rice cakes like puto, kutchinta, suman, pancit / noodles, instant noodles, bread. A new favorite is bread with noodles!
Not only that, virtually ALL commercial restaurants and canteens and cooks have a cultural mindset that all meals need to be cooked and all meals need MSG!