According
to The International Prevalence Adult Obesity (revised August 2013), the
percent of adult obesity of the United States is 35.9%(2010). On the other
hand, the Korean adult obesity rate is 4.1%(2010). What causes make difference
between United States and Korea? Most Koreans eat steamed rice (Bahb) with mixed
grains, soup (Gook) and Kimchi , and some kinds of side dishes (Bahnchan). The
calories of this common meal are less than 400 calories. Some other special
Korean foods have more than 600 calories, but those are for special occasions. Most
dinners' maximum calories have fewer than 600 calories. Compare that to eating plain
cheese pizza that has 350 calories per slice (Pizza Hut). If people eat two
slices of cheese pizza and drink some soda, their calories will be more than 750
calories. This has more calories than ordinary Korean food. Therefore, Korean food is healthy due to low
calories, multi- grains, vegetables, and seasonings.
 |
| www.flickr.com/photos/azchael/12145989143 Shared with a Creative Commons License |
Steamed
rice (Bahb), is the main food in Korea. There is such a saying, “Bahb is better
than medicine,” and “Live with the power of Bahb.” Bahb is the basic resource
of nutrition for Koreans. Because of the
awareness that white rice is not healthy by itself, most Koreans try to avoid
the pure rice. Instead, people usually have multi-grain rice and beans. The
grains that most Koreans use are barley, brown rice, black rice, black bean, oat, sorghum, millet, adzuki bean,
kidney bean, peas, sweet rice, and so on. Multi-grain rice contains nutrients,
fiber, and other healthy compounds that are found naturally in the grain such
as proteins, vitamins, and minerals. The multi-grain rice is one of the factors
that makes Korean food healthy.
 |
| Korea.net/Korean Culture and Information Service Shared with a Creative Commons License |
Usually, Koreans eat steamed rice
with soup and some side dishes. There are so many kinds of soups and stews. The
most common soups are soybean paste soup and Kimchi soup. These soups have tofu
and plenty of vegetables such as spinach, potato, onion, zucchini, napa cabbage,
radish, green pepper, and so on. Soybean paste is a good source of protein and
vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Also, soybean paste helps the anticancer
effect and lowers blood pressure. By eating
healthy Korean soups, people can reduce their calories and eat vegetables. Furthermore,
people can lower the risk of cancer and
heart disease.
 |
| www.flickr.com/photos/koreanet/4437642008 Shared with a Creative Commons License |
Kimchi
is a basic traditional Korean food. Koreans use Kimchi to make dumplings,
pancakes, soups, fried rice, mixed noodles and so on. Kimchi provides plenty of
minerals and vitamins, as well as aiding digestion. For example, Kimchi offers
lactobacillus and other good bacteria that help digest and boost the immune system.
Kimchi is usually made with napa cabbages and radishes. There are plenty of red
pepper powder and other seasonings like garlic, scallions, ginger, onion, fish
sauce, salt, and sugar. Notably, red pepper powder contains capsaicin which is
good to protect blood vessels and boost metabolism. Kimchi is another reason
that people think Korean food is healthy because it has a lot of vitamins,
fiber, and good bacteria.
These
are some reasons why Korean food is healthy; the multi-grain rice, soups, and
Kimchi. Korean food has plenty of good factors like low calories and many good
nutrients like vitamins and minerals. Having vegetables with healthy seasonings
like red pepper powder leads to healthy people. Also, many kinds of fermented
food like Kimchi are good to digest and improve the immune system. Thus, Korean
food is healthy for all types of people.
