The 10 Healthiest Ethnic Cuisines

It's dinnertime, and you're craving something with a little flavor. Maybe you'll grab Indian takeout or whip up a taco salad. But, uh-oh, these days it's easy to find yourself biting into the ethnic version of a triple burger and fries.

"We've Americanized dishes to the extent that they don't have their original health benefits," says Daphne Miller, MD, author of "The Jungle Effect: The Healthiest Diets from Around the World--Why They Work and How to Make Them Work for You."

Enjoy global cuisines in their purest state, on the other hand, and you get meals that are light, nutritious and incredibly yummy. So we asked experts to rank the 10 healthiest cuisines and reveal what makes them good for you.

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Greek

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There’s a good reason docs love the Mediterranean diet: Traditional Greek foods like dark leafy veggies, fresh fruit, high-fiber beans, lentils, grains, olive oil, and omega-3-rich fish deliver lots of immune-boosting and cancer-fighting ingredients that cut your risks of heart disease, diabetes, and other diet-related ailments. In fact, eating a traditional Mediterranean-style diet is associated with a 25 percent reduced risk of death from heart disease and cancer, according to Harvard University research. And people lose more weight and feel more satisfied on this type of diet, which is rich in healthy fats, than on a traditional low-fat diet, another Harvard study suggests. This cuisine also ranks high because of how it’s eaten, says Dr. Miller, who is also an associate professor of family medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “The Greeks often share small plates of food called meze,” she says, having just a bite of meat along with low-cal, healthy Greek staples like fresh seafood, slowly digested carbs (beans, eggplant, or whole-grain breads), and small portions of olives and nuts. If you’re eating out, order grilled fish and spinach or other greens sautéed with olive oil and garlic. “This dish gives you the anti-inflammatory combo of olive oil and greens with the blood-pressure-lowering effects of garlic,” Dr. Miller says. Danger zone: Unless you make it yourself and go light on the butter, the classic spinach pie (spanakopita) can be as calorie- and fat-laden as a bacon cheeseburger.

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There’s a good reason docs love the Mediterranean diet: Traditional Greek foods like dark leafy veggies, fresh fruit, high-fiber beans, lentils, grains, olive oil, and omega-3-rich fish deliver lots of immune-boosting and cancer-fighting ingredients that cut your risks of heart disease, diabetes, and other diet-related ailments.

In fact, eating a traditional Mediterranean-style diet is associated with a 25 percent reduced risk of death from heart disease and cancer, according to Harvard University research. And people lose more weight and feel more satisfied on this type of diet, which is rich in healthy fats, than on a traditional low-fat diet, another Harvard study suggests.

This cuisine also ranks high because of how it’s eaten, says Dr. Miller, who is also an associate professor of family medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “The Greeks often share small plates of food called meze,” she says, having just a bite of meat along with low-cal, healthy Greek staples like fresh seafood, slowly digested carbs (beans, eggplant, or whole-grain breads), and small portions of olives and nuts.

If you’re eating out, order grilled fish and spinach or other greens sautéed with olive oil and garlic. “This dish gives you the anti-inflammatory combo of olive oil and greens with the blood-pressure-lowering effects of garlic,” Dr. Miller says.

Danger zone: Unless you make it yourself and go light on the butter, the classic spinach pie (spanakopita) can be as calorie- and fat-laden as a bacon cheeseburger.

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Comments

[pico]

07:22 PM on 08/30/2010

Diets should be "healthful," not "healthy." Yes, I like to nitpick.

The traditional Indian diet really is not healthful at all. It consists mostly of white rice and foods (even vegetables) cooked in lots of oil. Indians in general do not eat uncooked vegetables.

[HerrMonk]

01:16 PM on 08/31/2010

...not to mention the lack of quality protein and quality fats.

[Crows]

03:35 PM on 09/05/2010

Plenty of quality protein in rice, lentils, breads, and vegetables - all very much a part of India cuisine.

[MJinCanada]

10:56 PM on 09/11/2010

There are salads and lightly cooked vegetables. That's where the health benefits come in, I think -- many ways to enjoy the vegetables too many people consider "yucky."

[HerrMonk]

05:30 PM on 08/30/2010

Wow. This article is a total joke.

Another pro-vegetarian, anti-western HuffPost bit of bad advice.

[MJinCanada]

01:13 PM on 09/15/2010

Actually, none of these cuisines are meatless -- there's just a bit more emphasis on pulses (which are cheaper and keep better in places where not everyone has a fridge) and vegetables, herbs and natural fats than we see in the typical North American diet and cookbook.

And, um, Greece, Italy and Spain are considered "western" countries.

[Monica Espiritu]

03:02 PM on 08/30/2010

How is "California Fresh" considered "ethnic cuisine"? Is there an Ohlone Indian restaurant serving up native fruits, vegetables, fish and crustaceans in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto on the same block as Chez Panisse?

And how is traditional Mexican food considered one of the top 10 healthiest ethic foods when the tastiest stuff is cooked in lard?

Did they even take a look at the typical old school Okinawan diet? Before American fast food joints because popular there, Okinawans were among the healthiest and longest living ethnic groups in the world!

Poor research on this article, HuffPost.

[TaurusRose]

01:55 PM on 08/30/2010

They did not include the healthiest Thai dishes: Yum Yai and tasty Thai spinach wraps.

[TaurusRose]

01:48 PM on 08/30/2010

Very disappointing that Ethiopian food was not included. The best tasting dishes and really heathful. Indian food is known for it's huge quantities of butter.

[mrh85]

12:32 PM on 08/30/2010

I am addicted to pho... this just made me feel better about my addition. Yay!! lol

[deweydecimal]

11:20 PM on 08/31/2010

It's really easy to make too, and quick once a batch of the broth is done.

[uglygnome]

11:14 AM on 08/30/2010

California is an ethnicity? This is one of the laziest articles ever.

[bulbul2]

08:14 AM on 08/30/2010

Lots of discussions in this thread about Butter vs Ghee.....

Take a stick of butter of your favorite brand, simmer it in a pan with very low heat and let all the moisture evaporate. A thin crust is formed at the top. When golden brown, turn off the burner.
That is the ghee...store it in a container at room temp.

I say it again moderation is the key...

[WaPoFan]

07:39 AM on 08/30/2010

Let me get this straight, "California Fresh" is an ethnicity?

And why do they lump all South American cuisine into one yet separate Greek, Italian, Spanish (European) and Vietnamese, Japanese, Indian, Thai (Asian) into constituent countries?

[AmAxO]

06:44 AM on 08/30/2010

Peruvian food guys. Eating a good CEVICHE with chicha morada is like starting a new life.

[TaurusRose]

01:50 PM on 08/30/2010

Tiradito with aji panca! Yummy

[ChicagoBob]

05:56 AM on 08/30/2010

There is nothing wrong with fat, except for trans fat. We evolved eating animal fat and our bodies are good at digesting and using it. Think gall bladder, bile, liver.

Fat is sating. It gives you a feeling of fullness and it stays with you a long time so you actually tend to eat less.

America is full of fat people because of the low fat diet mantra. People eat low fat and are constantly hungry so they eat again and again and again. Total calorie intake increases and the extra energy is stored as fat.

A balanced diet includes a good deal of fat. Eat and enjoy. It makes the rest of your food taste better and it will keep you thin.

Oh and exercise really has very little to do with weight control. It will increase your energy levels but you can never exercise enough to 'work off' what you eat.

This will never make it to the page but I have to try.

[POTUS2008]

11:51 AM on 08/30/2010

I agree with you except about exercise, has benefits besides directly burning calories that has an influence on body weight.

[Alvarask]

03:13 AM on 09/05/2010

But not for everybody. Exercise is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

http://winningtheobesitybattle.wordpress.com

[deweydecimal]

12:08 AM on 09/01/2010

The metabolic effects of exercise especially strength training and high intensity interval training persist long after the activity is done. Changing your body composition through exercise is a scientifically supported way to maintain a good body weight. And exercise cannot completely "work off" what you eat for the simple fact that your normal metabolic needs must be met by those calories you ingest as well, so that part of the diatribe is disingenuous.

[Alvarask]

03:15 AM on 09/05/2010

I think there's much agreement that exercise can help maintain body weight to some extent. There's not so much agreement that it can help everyone reduce body weight.

http://winningtheobesitybattle.wordpress.com

[ivquatch]

03:03 AM on 08/30/2010

I hate that word, "ethnic." Translation: "Maybe not fully brown, but definitely not anglo,"

[mirabay]

02:37 AM on 08/30/2010

The amerikan cuisine of course is the worst. California strawberries being one of the un-healthiest foods to eat, the toxic sprays used are killing the wildlife around the growers land. Amerikan food is some of the worst in the world and higher rates of cancer and other diseases because of pesticides..........

[ARMANDO DE LA ROSA]

11:50 PM on 08/29/2010

This really should be the healthiest portions of 10 ethnic cuisines as served in America. As for daddio42 "The reason these cultures are thin is because they are starving and eat very little of it." With the exception of India none of these countries are remotely starving.

[Galong]

10:48 PM on 08/29/2010

South America? That's a continent. Did Sarah Palin write this?

The photo in the Thai section isn't tum yum goong.