Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat

Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen

By: Naomi Moriyama, William Doyle

Narrated by: Naomi Moriyama

Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

What if there were a land where people lived longer than anywhere else on earth, the obesity rate was the lowest in the developed world, and women in their forties still looked like they were in their twenties? Wouldn't you want to know their extraordinary secret?

Japanese-born Naomi Moriyama reveals the secret to her own high-energy, successful lifestyle–and the key to the enduring health and beauty of Japanese women–in this exciting new book. The Japanese have the pleasure of eating one of the most delicious, nutritious, and naturally satisfying cuisines in the world without denial, without guilt…and, yes, without getting fat or looking old. As a young girl living in Tokyo, Naomi Moriyama grew up in the food utopia of the world, where fresh, simple, wholesome fare is prized as one of the greatest joys of life. She also spent much time basking in that other great center of Japanese food culture: her mother Chizuko's Tokyo kitchen. Now she brings the traditional secrets of her mother's kitchen to you in a book that embodies the perfect marriage of nature and culinary wisdom–Japanese home-style cooking. If you think you've eaten Japanese food, you haven't tasted anything yet. Japanese home-style cooking isn't just about sushi and raw fish but good, old-fashioned everyday-Japanese-mom's cooking that's stood the test of time–and waistlines–for decades.

Reflected in this unique way of cooking are the age-old traditional values of family and the abiding Japanese love of simplicity, nature, and good health. It's the kind of food that millions of Japanese women like Naomi eat every day to stay healthy, slim, and youthful while pursuing an energetic, successful, on-the-go lifestyle. Even better, it's fast, it's easy, and you can start with something as simple as introducing brown rice to your diet. You'll begin feeling the benefits that keep Japanese women among the youngest-looking in the world after your very next meal! If you're tired of counting calories, counting carbs, and counting on being disappointed with diets that don't work and don't satisfy, it's time to discover one of the best-kept and most delicious secrets for a healthier, slimmer, and long-living lifestyle. It's time to discover the Japanese fountain of youth….

©2005 Naomi Moriyami and William Doyle (P)2005 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A delicious way to stay healthy."—Washington Post

"[A] well-organized, persuasive introduction to a non-Western everyday cooking plan."—Publishers Weekly

"One-upping a certain French woman who boasted about staying thin, Moriyama reveals seven secrets of how Japanese women avoid adding pounds and prolong their life."—GoodHousekeeping.com

Sounds good to me!

A natural diet is a sound diet. This book is awesome. Between French Women Don’t Get Fat and Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat, I much prefer the latter, preferring Asian cuisines over western taste buds, but I still recommend both books depending on your preferences! Both “diets” are attainable, sustainable and achievable, though not really a diet, more like a lifestyle. But BEST health and “diet” book(s) still, to me, hands down, are Plant Paradox and The Longevity Paradox by Dr. Stephen Gundry. To health!

I've always wanted to read this book!! Audible

I'm probably going too listen to this book over and over until I can adapt my American habits . I have everything I need to start a new culinary and health experience!!

Worth Listening to

The quest to sustain a healthy lifestyle in general, and healthy eating habits in particular, is not always an easy one. I've found it helpful to learn from several sources, taking whatever tips from each source seem relevant and do-able. I recommend this book as one such source.

The book is heavy on practical information about how (and why) to eat Japanese "home cooking". The scientific citations seem credible; the overall approach balanced and useful. There are no recipes to speak of, and the names of some recommended foods and flavorings are too unusual to my American ear to retain without finding them in a written format to supplement the audio book. Overall, I found it an interesting and useful discussion, and I'm glad I got the book. It isn't an end-all be-all reference on healthy eating, at least not for me. But as one of several resources it's valuable.

Buy the book too

I read the entire book a few times before I even knew the audio book existed, so I get the benefit of all the recipes as well as having all the ingredients that would normally be strange to us in a written format.
The book is worth listening to for sure, especially if you are generally busy and on the move and sitting down to read a book is a little harder to make time for, but I would definitely suggest that one buy the actual book as well.

If one is looking for some very information dense plan to get thin, they won't find it here. I hate following set plans so the style of the book suits me well. Also, if one does not want to hear a lot of stories, then it also might not be a good choice (I found them to be the best part...)

Bland!

tasteless! dull! Was not at all interesting! and someone else should have narrated this book.

Total waist of time and money!

I read some good reviews and was excited about this book but it appeared to be the worst book after yellow papers. Total waist of time.

A bit too anecdotal

I found the book provided some interesting information. However, most of the data the author presents are either generic statistics about obesity and related health issues, or personal experiences her and her husband have had with eating well.