Japan’s life expectancy is among the highest in the world. However, from the perspective of nutrition, it seems that there are issues that need to be reconsidered. It takes a lot of effort to get a detailed grasp of nutrient intake. Nutritionists recommend checking how many of the 10 items you eat per day. The 10 items are meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, soybeans, green and yellow vegetables, fruits, potatoes, seaweed, and oil. The ideal is 8 items per day. However, in reality, it seems that people only eat 5 to 6 items. A good diet is similar to an investment portfolio. An investment portfolio is a diversified investment to reduce risk. You eat a variety of foods little by little and take in balanced nutrition to reduce health risks.
There is another issue with nutrition. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s “National Health Nutrition Survey” (2018) reveals that there is a household income gap in diet. Nutritional status is affected by household income, and there is a correlation between diet and nutrition and personal economic situation. The results show that households earning between 2 and 4 million yen place less importance on “nutritional value” than those earning over 6 million yen, for both men and women. This means that households with higher incomes place more importance on nutritional balance. They are more likely to choose eight items from the following: “meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, soybeans, green and yellow vegetables, fruits, potatoes, seaweed, and oil.” Differences are particularly evident in the vegetables consumed.
Even in economically disadvantaged cases, the entire nation should acquire the skills to be able to eat a balanced diet. One senior has acquired this skill. Even if you freeze ingredients, there is little change in nutritional value. The most time-consuming thing to cook is vegetables. Take the extra step of putting those vegetables in a freezer bag and storing them as frozen vegetables. Keep about 10 types of these on hand. This is a cooking method in which you always keep about 10 types of vegetables frozen and use only one serving for cooking. When they are on sale, you can buy them in bulk, divide them into portions, and freeze them. Combining the strengths and weaknesses of ingredients to create delicious food brings many benefits. Combining ingredients flexibly and planning well is a great brain training for the senior generation. Brain activation suppresses aging. Suppressing aging will extend healthy lifespan and reduce medical and nursing care costs, which exceed 40 trillion yen. The vitality of seniors brightens society.
