Do YOU consider this the same as fast food? (feddit.org)

submitted 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) by TacticalRaptor@feddit.org to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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I'm not talking about the "typical" junk food (like KFC or McDonalds), instead it's more on certain aspects of Japanese cuisine being carb heavy or features fried items such as: ramen, agepan, karage, tempura, gyudon, tonkatsu, yakitori, etc. I mean, can ramen or gyudon bowls still be deemed "fast food" even though they appear 'healthier' than American fast food.

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[-] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 12 points 5 hours ago

As someone who's studied and regularly thought about nutrition for years, I definitely see junk food being a significant problem in East Asia, just as with other parts of the world.

Noodles are usually made from the starchy part of the grain, and are therefore low in fibre, vitamins & minerals, plus high in salt.
White rice is similar, just less processed. Both of those are glycemic aggregators, and I understand diabetes is sadly common in white-rice eating cultures.
Tofu has that healthy reputation, but not only is it a processed food retaining a lot less of just about everything desirable in soy beans, it also tends to be fried, with high-salt, high-fat, high-sugar sauces added for flavor.
Most bread everywhere is a lot like the noodles problem.

[-] farmgineer@nord.pub 5 points 4 hours ago

Bread in East Asia also tends to be sweet, and this is coming form someone who grew up in the US.

[tofu] also tends to be fried

I think I see it fried less in Japanese cuisine, though agedashidofu is certainly one of the more famous ones. Especially this time of year (hot), silken tofu with a splash of soy sauce and toasted sesame oil is quite common. It's also in some miso soups and dishes like mabodofu (mapo tofu) and not all recipes (if any?) have it fried... though that's not to say those are super healthy foods, either.

[-] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 3 points 4 hours ago

Good points. I've heard borderline horror-stories from expats trying to find Euro-style or authentic whole-grain bread in Japan, in particular.

And yeah, here in the States it seems a lot more common to deep-fry tofu, which is health-wise arguably a much worse way to consume it than it's usually made in EA. Actually one of the reasons I love air-fryers is that they offer something of a healthier compromise, with much less oil typically required.

[-] LurkingLuddite@piefed.social 4 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Carbs generally are not a dietary problem. It's excess sugar and excess calories that are getting most people (at least in the west) fat, more than carbs. Yes, excessive carbs can contribute to excessive calories, like eating fries with every meal is definitely going to get you there, though your body needs carbs far more than it needs sugar!

Hence why when most people cut out even just sugar filled drinks and desserts, they can often exercise past how many carbs they eat.

[-] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 5 points 4 hours ago

Carbs are sugars. Just more complex than simple sugars. That's why carb-rich diets can still be terrible on health over time, regularly messing with glycemic load and constituting 'empty calories.' So, even worse than a pre-diabetic source, as I mentioned.

I'd recommend you do a modern nutrition course to catch up on this stuff, because science & nutrition is way past the simple idea of calories-in / calories-out. The fact is that the FORM of the calories matter hugely, with processed foods in general being pretty bad on health, long-term. These are what the studies collectively say.

this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2026

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