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Sushi is one of the most popular Japanese foods. It is a complete dish with raw fish and rice as the primary ingredients. The distinctive quality of Japanese rice sticky when it is cooked makes it appropriate for sushi. Japanese sushi is said to be “vinegar rice” in most Japanese cuisine because the rice used in sushi are seasoned with sugar and vinegar.
This traditional Japanese dish often topped with other ingredients including fish, various meats, and vegetables is usually dipped in condiments like soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger before eating and it is eaten with chopsticks or by hand.
Health Benefits
Eating Japanese sushi could give health benefits. The two main ingredients namely raw fish and rice are great source of high protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals and importantly has low fat content. Such fat found in Japanese sushi is mostly unsaturated fat. An example is Omega-3, good for the heart.
There is no fat introduced in sushi's preparation for it is served raw. The high levels of protein in Sushi are found in fillings. These are fish, tofu, seafood, egg, and many others. The vegetables used for sushi are rich source of minerals and vitamins. And the rice and the vegetables used are sources of carbohydrates.
Health hazards
Since one chief ingredient of Japanese sushi is fish, it does not mean it is free of health hazards. Fish like tuna especially blue fin contains high levels of mercury. It poses some danger when these are consumed in significant amounts. For this reason, since January of 2008, only a number of New York City dining establishments serve tuna sushi with sufficiently high mercury content that a weekly reference dose is limited to 2 to 6 pieces. This will depend on the quantity of tuna in the sushi and the weight of the person.
Undercooked seafood and salty condiments
The Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a bacterium that grows in undercooked seafood. This can cause intestinal problem like diarrhea. Sushi also can be a mode of transmission of parasites and pathogens. So, it is important that sushi is properly prepared to avoid any problem.
Salty condiments like soy sauce are usually combined with sushi by the diner in whatever amount is desired. Such salty condiment can be dangerous to people with hypertension or renal disorders if overly taken.
Conveyor belt sushi restaurants
A well-known and inexpensive way of eating sushi is in restaurants with a conveyor belt sushi and sushi train. These unique restaurants are widely found in Japan and are becoming large in number abroad. The sushi in this restaurant is served on color coded plates. Each color denotes the cost of the sushi serving.
The sushi plates are placed on a moving strip or platform. Customers choose their desired plates as the belt or boat passes. They let the food pass if they do not like it, and the other customer could take it as it passes them. The customer's bill is tallied by counting the number of plates of each color they have taken.
This unique way of serving food is also now being adapted in Japanese restaurants in other countries. It saves a lot of space and customers are able to get their orders fast.
Minimalist Japanese style
The traditional serving of sushi is inspired by simplistic and minimalist styles. The food is usually laid in basic symmetry, in wooden and monotone plates. However, small sushi restaurants do not use plates because the food is eaten directly off from the wooden counter.
About 50 million people in the United States suffer from some form of allergy and asthma. The most common allergies are to dust, mildew, milk, food, nuts, latex, insects (especially bee stings), animal dander, pollen, tobacco smoke, aerosols, paint, perfumes, cleaning products or other strong odours or fumes. Some allergies are seasonal, such as an allergy to ragweed pollen. Other allergies extend throughout the year. Children whose parents suffer from allergies are 70% more likely to have the same allergies than children who have parents without allergies.
There are a number of medications that people can take for their allergy symptoms. There are both over the counter medicines and those prescribed by a physician. These include nasal sprays, antihistamines, corticosteroids, decongestants, homeopathic medicines, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, Cromolyn, Nedocromil, theophylline, leukotrienes, and long acting beta antagonists. There are also allergy shots. The medicines or their dosages may need to be changed if allergy conditions are not improved.
Approximately 20 million Americans suffer from asthma. This includes nearly 9 million children under the age of 18. According to the American Lung Association, asthma is 39% higher in African Americans than in whites. In the United States, 5,000 people die each year from the disease. Children with asthmatic parents have a 40% likelihood of developing asthma. As well, females are 35% more likely than males to have asthma.
It has been observed that the underprivileged populations of Eastern Russia, India, Indonesia and Africa have 50% less incidence of allergies than richer countries. Researchers observed that children living on farms in Germany and Austria, where they drank raw milk and were in contact with the soil and fertilizers, had 75% fewer allergies than children who lived in cities. In another research study, it was found that 480 cadets of the Italian Air Force had fewer instances of respiratory diseases if, as children, they had been exposed to microbes transmitted through dirty water and meals cooked in this water. Scientists have suggested that the suppression of childhood illnesses, such as measles, mumps and diseases caused by viruses and worms, does have a downside. The immunologic system of children in developed countries seems to become idle.
These observations led to the development of the hygienical hypothesis. This suggests that the exposure to microbes in infancy strengthens the lymphocytes, the white blood cells that defend the body against infection. The hypothesis contends that children who have incidences of flu in the first years of their life seem to tend to develop fewer allergies than those who did not.
Acceptance of the hygienical hypothesis is growing in the medical community. This has led to changes in the way some parents raise their children. Instead of not allowing children to walk bare-footed, have contact with animals or bathe in tap water, they are doing the opposite. As well, they have come to the conclusion that better diets and less medicine are needed. It is hoped that doing these things will prevent the development of allergies and asthma later on.