Healthier sweets in Japan

One thing (of the many!) that I appreciate about life in Japan is that sweets here are a lot healthier than back home. Even Japanese takes on Western desserts aren't cloyingly sweet like many of us might be used to in our home countries – and there are numerous benefits to that.

This article from Harvard Health covers some of the dangers of consuming too much sugar, particularly on one's cardiovascular health. Specifically, the article mentioned the results of a 2014 study that found a correlation between a high-sugar diet and an increased risk of dying from heart disease.

Zenzai and green tea at one of my favorite dessert stores in Nagaoka.

On that topic of too much sugar being dangerous for cardiovascular health, there have been other studies conducted on foods that do the reverse and support cardiovascular health – and azuki beans are actually one of them! A study conducted here in Japan found that azuki bean juice lowered triglyceride concentrations in a sample population, indicating it could be helpful in preventing hypertriglyceridemia. Another study noted that azuki bean extracts have antioxidant, anti inflammatory, anti atherosclerosis, anti cancer,

and pro-cardiovascular properties – quite an impressive repertoire! I notice that dessert items here often contain other superfood ingredients like sweet potatoes, kinako (roasted soybean flour), and black sesame seeds, so you can see right off the bat how there are some health benefits included.

When I first moved here and tried traditional desserts I was a little unimpressed by their earthy flavor compared to Western sweets – to be fair I probably needed time to adjust my palate – but that earthiness is something I've come to grow and love. A couple of my traditional sweets favorites are zenzai (a red bean soup that comes served with mochi in it), and dango, particularly sasadango which is a local Niigata specialty. My appreciation for more natural tasting Japanese sweets means that often when friends back home send care packages with packaged sweets or cookies in them, I find them much too sugary.

Another of my favorite desserts here when I need a little sweet pick me up – hanami dango! Cute and tasty all at once!

How do you find Japanese desserts & sweets compared to desserts in your home country? Are they significantly less sugary than what you're used to? Also, would love to hear which Japanese desserts are your favorites!