Japanese Nutritionist Shares Healthy Alternatives to Popular U.S. Fast Foods

When Michiko Tomioka, a certified nutritionist and longevity expert, moved to the United States from Japan in 1994, she eagerly sampled classic American fast food—only to feel immediate negative effects. “Fast food gave me low energy, poor digestion, and even weight gain,” Tomioka said. Over time, she realized much of it was “engineered to be addictive, not nourishing.”

Tomioka, who holds an MBA and is a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), now relies on simple home-cooked meals based on the principles she grew up with in Japan: rice, seasonal vegetables, fermented foods, green tea, and fruits. She emphasizes balance rather than extremes, even when surrounded by ubiquitous fast food options.

Among the items she avoids are hot dogs and soda, hamburgers with French fries, fried chicken or nuggets, donuts with sugary coffee drinks, and pizza with cheese sticks. Hot dogs, she warned, are “processed meat high in saturated fat and sodium,” while the burger-and-fries combination can exceed 1,000 calories and “a full day’s worth of empty calories in one meal.”

Person holding a poke bowl | Source: Pexels

She noted that meat-heavy diets also contribute to environmental strain, citing the 1,800 gallons of water required to produce one pound of beef.

Instead, Tomioka opts for alternatives such as tofu dumplings or grilled tofu sandwiches, roasted vegetables with garlic and olive oil, baked tofu nuggets, whole grain rice balls or toast with nut butter, and homemade vegetable pizza on whole wheat dough. She recommends pairing even occasional pizza slices with a side salad and water.