Japan
The Japanese diet is built around rice, fish, and vegetables — foods naturally high in carbohydrates and fiber and low in calories and fat. In fact, the Japanese consume nearly 200 fewer calories a day than the average American. And remarkably, despite eating so much less food, their diet is much better balanced than ours, with ingredients that contain just about every nutrient the body needs.

Singapore
What don’t Singaporeans eat? A trading port since the British colonized it in the nineteenth century, tiny Singapore has one of the most diverse cultures — and cuisines — in the world. Singaporeans serve up the ultimate fusion food, influenced by Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, Thai, and British cuisine. Without a doubt, from a culinary perspective Singapore is the most interesting place I have ever visited.

China
When I say “Chinese food,” the image that might immediately come to mind is of a glistening platter of sweet-and-sour pork from the take-out place down the street, or maybe those miniature fried egg rolls that leave your fingertips greasy but taste oh so delicious. I want you to put those beloved dishes out of your mind for the time being, because the traditional Chinese diet has almost nothing in common with the high-fat, MSG-laden Chinese food that’s so popular in the United States. The core of the traditional Chinese diet can be summed up pretty easily: plants, plants, and more plants.

Sweden
Just as Swedes like to eat foods from all over the world, they also like to eat numerous dishes at one meal. The smorgasbord is a Swedish invention, and on holidays Swedes choose from a wide selection of dishes, both hot and cold, served buffet style on a large table.

France
For the French, the bottom line is, eat whatever you want — just make sure you enjoy it. Treat every meal like a special event, a little break from the humdrum. The French seldom snack, as they would rather save their appetites for the main event.

Italy
Chicken Parmesan is a perfect example of an artery-clogging “Italian” specialty that was actually born in the United States. This dish of breaded and fried chicken cutlets drenched in marinara sauce and melted mozzarella reputedly first saw the light of day in New York or New Jersey in the 1930s, the invention of Italian immigrants from Naples. But don’t expect to find chicken Parmesan on a menu in Italy. At least two key features of the dish — the combination of meat and tomato sauce and the massive amount of mozzarella — would be utterly unfamiliar to most Italians.

Spain
Anything goes — that’s the key lesson of tapas and Spanish cooking in general. If you’re missing an “essential” ingredient, there’s no reason to scrap the whole recipe. Play around with whatever you find in your pantry or fridge. Use your imagination to make it work. Tapas, gazpacho, paella — so many Spanish foods are mere templates that can be embellished in a thousand different ways.

South Korea
Kimchi is the most ubiquitous food in Korea. Kimchi is often made from cabbage, but ingredients might also include green onions, radishes, powdered red chiles, garlic, even watermelon rind. It is a nutritional powerhouse, strengthening the immune system, fighting cancer, lowering cholesterol, and even slowing the aging process. Kimchi contains fiber and lactobacillus, a “good” bacteria that speeds digestion and may even fight cancer. When eaten regularly, these two elements can give you a sense of fullness before you even begin a meal.

Israel
Sesame seeds are a nutritional powerhouse — high in manganese, copper, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, folic acid, protein, and linoleic acid (an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid) — and Israelis eat them almost every day. Tahini, a peanutbutterlike paste of ground sesame seeds, is a key ingredient in hummus, which is arguably the most versatile food in the Middle East. Sesame seeds can also help lower cholesterol and prevent high blood pressure.

Greece
The traditional Greek diet is built around olive oil, fresh local vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, with only a little meat thrown in on occasion. People who eat this way have remarkably low levels of heart disease and even lower obesity rates. Although the contemporary Greek diet has deviated from this ideal, with refined grains, high-fat cheeses, and fast foods occupying an ever more prominent place on the menu, the basic principles behind the original Mediterranean diet are worthy of our attention.