The emperor who had the longest period of reign in Japanese history was Emperor Hirohito, who was on the throne for 62 years until January 1989.
He passed away in January 1989 at the age of 87 when the average Japanese man’s life span was 75.91 years.
I was interested in what he was eating to stay healthy until that age. I know luxurious meals, which the emperor could afford, were not good for his health. One of the important things for the Emperor's meal was to eat whole foods.
I found his menu.
One day it went like this:
Soup (Shiitake mushroom, quail egg, chicken, bamboo shoot, peas)
Rice mixed with wheat
Grilled fish
Omelet
Boiled leafy vegetable
Pickles
To be honest, breakfast at hotels can be more sumptuous.
One of the Emperor’s cooks, Kinjiro Yabe, said the Emperor's menu was similar to the common people, and he didn’t eat anything special.
Ah, no wonder... If his meals are a feast like foie gras, and sirloin steak every day, chances are fewer that he had such a long life.
There are 2 basic ideas on the Emperor's table
1. Eat whole foods
Nutrients in foods are everywhere inside foods, so we should eat whole foods.
2. Eat local products
Eating locally grown foods in season is the most natural and it works best for our body and mind.
Here are some ways we can utilize vegetables fully to eat whole foods
1. Broccoli Stems
Broccoli stems contain as much vitamin C and beta-carotene as broccoli florets.
Slice broccoli stems and steam or pan-fry them. They are delicious.
2. Green Pepper Seeds
Green pepper seeds and white flesh inside contain more pyrazine than the green part outside. Pyrazine helps enhance our blood circulation and improve our skin condition.
3.Corn Cob
I used to throw corn cobs after I took kernels. But that was wasting so much value. We can use corn cobs to take the soup stock. We also can put corn cobs into a rice cooker when we cook rice.
We still have a lot of things we don’t know about food and nutrition. Eating whole foods could bring unknown benefits to our body and mind.
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