Digestive differences in Japan?

12 comments

1. Foods are generally not any less processed than they are in other countries. A lot of our food comes from abroad as well. I’d say you’re likely dealing with the placebo effect.

2. Are you walking significantly more? My guess is you’re moving around more and that’s producing a lot of positive side effects. Also possible smaller portions and potentially less sugary drinks depending on what you’re ordering.

3. I agree with u/capslock many times when visiting Japan people notice positive effects in their health and a lot of it can be attributed to extra walking. Portion sizes are often smaller but not always especially if you order a lot. Traditional Japanese cuisine tends to be very balanced but if you’re eating a fair amount of conbini food it’s not going to be much more healthy. I will say during my three years there I had less issues with milk, but I’m not sure why.

4. This is a very broad question, but I’m very interested in it. 

   Probiotics is probably the big one. Fermented foods are much more common and while limited, research indicates a good microbiome can influence better health esp gastro

   There’s lots of salt and sodium in Japanese foods, if we’re taking eating out. This is as you know not great for you, but good for hydration in moderation if taken with lots of water. Being hydrated means poop will pass better, less bloated. 

   You may also just be more active in Japan when visiting, exercise is good for the stomach, less gas and constipation.

   Tiny poops isn’t a good thing, i think. It’s probably indicates lack of fibre? Or are you more frequently pooping and it’s just smaller and softer? Dont answer that

   I personally thought Japan was rubbish for selection of fresh fruit and veg. I felt like nutrition was pretty poor. Having lived there. Processed foods are also very common in Japan, but i don’t know what you eat back home either.

   You’ll find different and good nutrition in Japan, and you’ll find it harder to get other nutrition you would so easily back home. Personally, if you are clued up on nutrition and diet etc you’ll have much more variety back home in the west but the outgoing, probiotic lifestyle may help. 

   I have a histamine issue, intolerances to a lot of food and drink which occurred whilst in Japan. I also had food poisoning twice ecoli and campylobacter, then again 4 months later. It was incredibly hard for me to eat and drink in Japan and stay nutrition, i had to leave before i could realise the food there was killing me. So i dont think fondly of it.

   If you struggle, get a good dietician. Try fodmap, try low histamine, and you might figure out exactly what it is. That may just be more of what you’re able to access in Canada 

5. Polar opposite for me. When I was in Japan I would get a lot of diarrhea due to the excessive amount of raw fish I was consuming. However after a week, I felt like my gut dialled into the diet and things got better. In Canada I consume predominately meat (90% of my diet) and my poops are small and bloating is minimal. I think it just comes down to your diet in Canada vs Japan. I can bet you that your gut would be awful if all you did was eat bread and sweets while in Japan. But since good food is cheap there, you probably ate better than in Canada.

6. Less bread?

7. I experienced something similar after living in the UK. There might be some environmental factor at play, but generally you stop noticing after a few weeks.

   I do remember my old English textbooks written in the 1990s talking about people getting sick during visits to the UK because of water. Perhaps there is more to it than we normally might think.

8. You’re consuming a lot of rice which is not a typical daily thing in the western world. That’s the cause of smaller stool.

   Gluten is less common in Japanese food as well, which could explain the gas/bloating.

9. I have a lot of dietary issues and being in Japan has always helped. I can’t drink alcohol in the US but I could in Japan, weirdest thing. I only felt sick bc of something I ate once or twice throughout the whole year rather than the usual –  which is a minimum of once or twice a month. I don’t attribute it to activity levels bc I don’t have a car where I live and get around by public transit and walking just like in Japan. I also eat lots of Japanese food or other asian foods quite frequently even when not in Japan, so it’s not even a big change of diet. 

10. I’ve spent a lot of time in Japan over the past 20 years or so, lived there for there for most of 2000’s; My spouse in Japanese and we inherited the family home so I continue to spend several months a year there. But in the past 5 years or so my stomach/digestion has gone bananas every time I’m there to the point where I thought I was developing IBS or Crohn’s or something; but in the end I’ve concluded that its just exposure to different bacteria that effects my gut flora and sends it into a spasm. I now take specific probiotics when I’m there that seem to sort me out.

11. Less fat. Fat is what makes you feel full and satiates your sensation of hunger. The Japanese diet is much leaner and more vegetable-focused than typical US/CAN diets.

12. I personally haven’t had any experience of bloating eating in Japan, even in McDonald’s and such. Yes my poop was smaller than it usually is even though I ate a good amount of food. I come from a Korean home in America. The only difference that changed was I did use the toilet more often but that much of a difference.