What Is the Asian Diet? A Detailed Beginner’s Guide

Experts have recognized that the typical Western diet, with its emphasis on processed foods, meats, refined grains, and added sugars, isn’t the healthiest. In contrast, the traditional diets of people in the Far East tend to come with lower rates of many chronic diseases.

Similar to the Mediterranean diet, the Asian Diet Pyramid has a foundation of plant-based and whole foods and minimizes sweets and red meat. Read on to find out what health practitioners and researchers think about the Asian diet's potential benefits.

As there are many countries in Asia and the cuisines vary greatly from one region to another, there isn’t a single “Asian diet,” says Zhaoping Li, MD, PhD, a professor of clinical medicine and the chief of the division of clinical nutrition at the University of California in Los Angeles.

That said, the diets of people living in these regions have several things in common. More than two decades ago, researchers at Cornell and Harvard universities developed an Asian Diet Pyramid for Oldways, a food and nutrition education nonprofit based in Boston.

At the base of the Asian diet food pyramid are foods to eat every day: leafy greens, legumes, vegetables, fruits, soy foods, whole grains, herbs, and spices. Moving up the pyramid, you have fish or shellfish twice a week as well as moderate portions of eggs, poultry, dairy, and healthy cooking oils.

The pyramid emphasizes unsweetened black and green teas while limiting sugary juices and soda.

“The Asian diet is a bit different from other diets in that it doesn’t focus on serving sizes,” says Alexis Supan, RD, MPH, who works at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine in Ohio. Instead, it outlines how often to eat specific groups of foods.

You’re likely to get more antioxidants from an Asian diet than a Western one. “You’re certainly getting a lot more nutrients than the food label captures,” Dr. Li says.

As many antioxidants double as pigments, the natural color of your food is one way to tell what types of antioxidants you’re getting. For example, pink and red fruits like tomatoes and grapefruit typically have lycopene as their primary antioxidant, says Li.

Unsweetened tea is a staple of the Asian diet — and it’s one big reason the diet may stave off chronic diseases, Supan says. “Any tea is going to be packed with a good amount of antioxidants.”

Here are some more Asian diet benefits research has uncovered.

1. Helps Prevent and Manage Type 2 Diabetes

The Asian diet may also help control type 2 diabetes if you have the disease, but you’ll need to pay attention to portion sizes, especially when it comes to whole grains, Supan says.

2. Lowers Heart Disease Risk

3. Promotes Gut Health

Asian diets typically include a lot of fermented foods like tempeh, miso, and kimchi, according to Li. These foods are rich sources of probiotics, or “good bacteria” that benefit your gut.

While the Asian diet is more of a healthy lifestyle than a fad designed to promote weight loss, some evidence connects the diet with lower body weight.

Overall, these effects may come from the limited amount of sweets, processed foods, and animal products, adds Li.

Keep in mind this research shows a connection between Asian diets and weight loss, but doesn’t prove cause and effect. Once weight loss stalls, you may need to eat at a calorie deficit and potentially incorporate macronutrient tracking into your approach to keep losing weight.

“If you have just 5 or 10 pounds to lose, simply switching to the Asian diet probably isn’t going to do that for you,” Supan says. She adds that the less weight you need to lose, the more mindful you’ll have to be about what you eat.

The health benefits you get from the Asian diet largely depend on the specific foods you choose to prioritize, meaning better health isn’t a guarantee on this diet. Some drawbacks include:

• Challenging to prepare: The diet might not be for you if you don’t have much time to cook, or don’t enjoy it. “A lot of the recipes are complicated,” Supan says. “They’re not meant to be a 30-minute dinner you cook when you get home from work.”
• Potentially expensive: Fresh, high-quality foods can be expensive. “That’s one big downside. As we all know, the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables is going up, which can make it difficult for people to get those in their diets,” says Supan.
• Not always “healthy”: Some foods common to many Asian diets are high in white rice and the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG), which are connected to high blood sugar and high blood pressure, respectively.

  [14]

Here’s a breakdown of foods to enjoy regularly and in moderation and foods to limit on the Asian diet.

Top 10 Foods to Eat

1. Vegetables
2. Fish
3. Legumes and beans
4. Nuts and seeds
5. Fruit
6. Tofu and soy products
7. Unsweetened tea
8. Whole grains
9. Herbs and spices
10. Eggs

Top 10 Foods to Limit or Avoid

1. Beef
2. Pork
3. Processed meats like hot dogs
4. Sugary treats
5. Fruit juice
6. Soda
7. Sweetened tea
8. Alcohol
9. Ultra-processed, prepackaged snack foods
10. Deep-fried foods

Asian Diet Shopping List

Here are the foods every Asian diet beginner needs to add to their grocery list, say registered dietitian-nutritionists:

Proteins 

• Fish
• Shellfish
• Tofu
• Tempeh
• Edamame

Produce

• Yams
• Seaweed
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Bananas

Grains

• Rice
• Noodles
• Barley
• Millet
• Buckwheat

Eggs and Dairy

• Chicken, duck, or quail eggs
• Ghee (clarified butter)
• Yogurt
• Paneer

Condiments

• Soy sauce
• Sesame oil
• Wasabi
• Chili paste
• Miso paste

Drinks

• Black tea
• Green tea
• Herbal tea
• Rice milk
• Soy milk

Sweeteners 

• Honey
• Monkfruit
• Stevia
• Palm sugar

The Asian diet is connected to potential health benefits like a lower risk of many chronic diseases, but it can be challenging to shop for and prepare.

If you’re comfortable cooking with a wide range of vegetables and spices and are looking to diversify and enhance the health of your diet, Asian-style eating might be for you.