Can you hurt water's feelings?

Did you read that? (source)

So this Japanese businessman is a 70-year-old with a strange interest in water. Masaru Emoto believes that water has strange properties that were previously unknown. Supposedly, water reacts differently to different emotions. He has spent a lot of time examining the ice crystals of water exposed to positive or negative verbal content (i.e. some water might develop more crystals, or be cleaner, if praised daily). Some believe he is a quack and their is a general consensus that he practices a pseudoscience. Don't let that disinterest you, though.

This experiment looks legit (source)

This experiment, the one I want to talk about, is a bit different. Basically, he has three jars full of rice and water. He bad-mouths the one jar, praises the other, and ignores the other. The results are interesting. Whether or not they are reproducible under scientific conditions is beyond my point.

I buy these results, to some extent. I don't however, buy the explanation. Rice is not a temperamental food with human emotions. Please, Mr. Emoto, don't anthropomorphize your rice. It is very possible, though, that talking to rice release germs that help ferment rice (which hardly seems like a positive outcome save for the "sweet" smell). Also, I can imagine that rice that didn't have mouth germs spread in its vicinity might react differently. Finally, it's very possible that using different words, or even more emotion can spread a different amount of germs or even a different kind of germs (tongue germs, throat germs, etc.). What's your take on this guy?

Tomato juice helps your liver process alcohol

This may cure hangovers, or by saying so, make Kagome rich

According to a recent study by Kagome and Asahi Group Holdings, drinking tomato juice will help you sober up faster (source). Apparently, the tomato juice helps to cleanse your liver by making it secrete more of the enzymes needed to break down alcohol.

The study included an experiment of people given about two shots of shochu (焼酎, a Japanese liquor similar to vodka). After the two shots of shochu, the control group was given a pint of water while the experimental group was given a pint of tomato juice. Those drinking the tomato juice sobered up an average of 50 minutes faster than those drinking water.

Kagome and Asahi agree that a tomato would most likely work the same way, although it was not studied.

This is great news considering Japan loses an estimated $11.5 billion every year to hangovers according to a recent survey of close to 3,000 people (source). I wonder if Japanese government and businesses will take this news seriously and actively engage in promoting tomatoes after enkai. I could picture the market for トマトパワー (Tomato Power) After-Party Shooters. (Japan is often wont to either fully embrace something or just let it fall by the wayside, e.g., influenza masks; the insurance hikes on those with large waistlines; or even baseball for that matter.)

Beer for all ages! (photo)

Now, for those of you who don't know, Kagome claims to be Japan's largest supplier of ketchup and tomato juice (source) while Asahi is one of Japan's leading breweries with 40% of the Japanese beer market (source). It seems a little suspicious that a leading beer company and a leading tomato company "discover" that tomato juice can reduce the unwanted effects of alcohol. I would have liked to witness that first meeting where the two company heads discussed ways to join forces and increase money.

Did Kagome and Asahi formulate this as a publicity stunt? Or, were there scientists waiting for commercial sponsorship for their tomato juice findings? What are the chances that two companies put their heads together and found a scientific match for both of their leading products? I'll leave the musing up to you the reader.

You think that's Kobe Beef you're eating?

Real Kobe Beef presented on a geta (photo)

Morimoto, Ruth Chris, Four Seasons, Bellagio, Toscana 52...what do these higher-end restaurants all have in common? They all serve various dishes including Kobe Beef. Furthermore, they all currently serve Kobe Beef that isn't real Kobe Beef.

Dun dun dun. Apparently, since 2010 the USDA has deemed all slaughterhouses in the Kobe and larger Hyogo region to be unfit for US importation. This was also true from 2001 to 2005 when some speculated if Americans even gave a crap (source).

The truth is trademarks like "Kobe Beef" are only a nationwide observance. So, in Japan, no one sell Kobe Beef from cows raised anywhere else than Kobe, Japan. But in the US, we could ground up some hotdogs and Spam and legally slap a Kobe Beef sticker on it. (Of course, that's not where this article is heading...)

What the US is doing is marketing things like wagyu beef and even Kobe-style beef as Kobe Beef. Whereas wagyu beef (literally, Japanese cows) should be from cows at least descendant from anywhere in Japan and Kobe-style beef could be any cows from anywhere with food and preparation that might hint at a Kobe Beef flavor, the real Kobe Beef comes only from Tajima cattle in Kobe.

Real Kobe Beef has a marbling ratio, or BMS, of at least 6

Let me go further to say that while wagyu beef is considered better and even healthier than US prime, the Japanese cattle it comes from have probably been crossbred with Angus to fit the American taste (source). While "domestic alternatives" to Kobe Beef might be just as marbled with fat as their Japanese counterparts, the US stock may be corn-fed (leading to all sorts of undesired health and environmental proponents (source) including but not limited to flatulence) and are definitely not given beer (see video below).

Larry Olmsted from Forbes Magazine breaks it down for us:

Giving everyone involved the benefit of the doubt and assuming they were [sic] starting with an actual quality Japanese breed, after crossing both grandparents with American cattle, then doing it again with the parents, you are talking about selling Wagyu from a cow that is potentially less than half “Wagyu.” To me, that’s like selling orange juice that is less than 47% oranges. Except you go to jail for the juice scam (source).

Being someone who has tried Kobe Beef, I must tell you it is rich and delicious. It was so rich and savory that my stomach almost couldn't handle it. In the US, I have only tried a Kobe burger from Toscana 52 in late 2011 (during the current Kobe Beef ban). The burger was very delicious, but not near the grade I had tasted in Kobe. What's funny is that I had written this off to the fact that it was a burger, and of course a burger shouldn't be as rich as a steak. Now I realize that was a gross miscalculation due to the included American condiments, alcohol, dim lighting and generally peculiar atmosphere to which most higher-end restaurants subject us.

Now, I don't plan on explaining to you the massages,  and other strange things they do to the cattle in Kobe, Japan, but I will provide a highly entertaining video with all that information.

Read more here and here.

"The Japanese Tradition - Sushi" mockumentary

Here is a comical video on eating sushi at a sushi bar. There is a lot of culture here, but, a lot of the things these comedians do are downright absurd so it might be hard for some of us to pick up on. Guess what is wrong in this video in the comments below!

Here's my favorite part:

In the case of business colleagues the lower ranking staff must pour for their superiors first. "Maa maa maa maa". You must say this when pouring a drin.k The person receiving the drink must say, "Oh toh toh toh." "Maa maa maa maa." "Oh toh toh toh." "Maa maa maa maa." "Oh toh toh toh." "Maa maa maa maa." "Oh toh toh toh."

Maa maa (まぁまぁ) means something like "Now, now" or, in this situation, "Here you go, have a lot." Otto (おっと) means something like "Oops" or, in this situation, "That's far too much." So, while the one guy pours a lot and says, "Here, drink up," the other guy is saying, "Ok. Ok. Woah. Too much!" While it is Japanese tradition to pour for others and offer lots, you might see how this over-the-top repetition and insistence is not exactly customary at a sushi restaurant—or anywhere for that matter.

Japanese "Dancing Squid" dish causing quite a stir

Even though the mantle is sliced, the squid tentacles are still wiggling (photo)

What could possibly be fresher than Japanese sushimi? Live seafood, that's what.

And this cuisine just happens to be gaining some popularity across Japan. Called "odori-don", or "bowl of rice with something dancing on top," the appeal not only comes from the supposedly fresher taste, but also the entertainment of it all, obviously.

The mantle (the top "hat" part) of the squid is mostly sliced off leaving just parts of the nervous system intact. Whether the squid is actually cognizant, vegetable, or just a bunch of postmortem muscle spasms is something beyond what I learned in biology 101.

The meal is supposedly rather uncommon but is getting a lot of criticism overseas. In fact, in the comments of this video alone, there is a small war between Japanese and non-Japanese. My favorite comment would probably be:

They have bullfighting in Spain! Europeans exploit Africans for their resources! America slaughters the middle east for its oil! If you think doing this to a squid is cruel, you have no business living in modern society.

It's easy for outsiders to judge aspects of another culture, because they have a completely different vantage point. But in response to the Japanese, I'm sure it's helping their tourism, right?

I'm going to have to admit, the first time I saw or heard anything about this was in the extremely weird, yet awesome movie "Oldboy". If you enjoy this scene, the movie is going to blow you away.

Another concern of ikizukuri, or "prepared live," is the possibility that the seafood is unclean. SankakuComplex comments, "The practice is somewhat notorious for the risk of parasitic infection it carries, although in Japan the animal welfare implications appear mostly to be considered a non-issue."

At least it's not as dangerous as a live octopus—a meal that doesn't go down without a fight. In fact, some have died from it.

Japanese centenarians help longevity study

Dan Buettner, discovering the secrets of longevity. photo

Diets only work on two percent of any population.
Exercise routines are usually given up within 10 months.

If you're trying to live healthier, these quick fixes probably aren't working for you. Or at least that's what this guy is telling us.

To find the path to long life and health, Dan Buettner and team study the world's "Blue Zones," communities whose elders live with vim and vigor to record-setting age. At TED, he shares the 9 common diet and lifestyle habits that keep them spry past age 100.

Buettner studied groups in Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), as well a community in Costa Rica and Seventh-Day Adventists in California for their extraordinarily high rate of centenarians.

In Okinawa, Buettner has found that, aside from eating healthy and meshing exercise into your everyday life, the natives don't have a word for "retire". (The two years you are most susceptible to death are your first year, and your retirement.)

Instead, the Okinawan people have the word 生き甲斐, or ikigai, which roughly translates to one's reason for living, or as Buettner puts it, "the reason you wake up in the morning". When Buettner asked these Okinawan's what their ikigai was, they each could spout it instantly.

It kinda reminds me of that scene in Fight Club:


Guys, What Do You Wish You'd Done Before You Die?

It makes sense, though, that having your life goal(s) figured out would definitely add a couple years to your life. Now, what do I want to be when I grow up?

Suprisingly, "community" is among the top factors. Buettner says, "We know that isolation kills. Fifteen years ago, the average American had three good friends. We’re down to one and half right now."

Japan and a few others reppin' at Adfest

Thailand hosted the 15th Asia Pacific Advertising Festival (ADFEST) from March 18-20, 2012. The festival could best be described as a TED Event for advertising. Each of the commercials/items below speak for them self. Enjoy.

China: "Keyboard of Isolation"

by nonprofit Family Care For Grassroots Community 

won  Grand Prix in the Outdoor category 

 

South Korea - "The Origins of Pizza"

by Mr. Pizza / Addict Media in Seoul

won Film Craft Award

Japan - "Taxi"

by Japanese department store Sakae

a Gold Winner in film category

Australia - "Breakup"

by National Australia Bank / Clemenger BBDO Melbourne

won Lotus 360 Award 

And last but certainly not least: 

 Japan - "Design Nori"

by Umino Seaweed / I&S BBDO

won Best of Show in design category

These of course are all made out of dried seaweed (just like normal sushi) but cut with new technology. The patterns are classic Japanese designs. The project is intended to convey happiness, long life, respect for the past and hopes for the future in the wake of the Match 2011 Tsunami (source).

Hemp design

Tortoise Shells

Tortoise Shell pattern

Water drop

Cherry Blossom

White rice now connected to Diabetes

Japonica rice, the stuff on the left in large amounts is linked to diabetes

A review of previous studies confirmed that high consumption levels of white rice is likely to increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes. This news is especially troublesome for Asians, who tend to have a much higher white rice intake.

The review was done by experts at Harvard Medical and Harvard School of Public Health looking at Chinese and Japanese (as representatives of Asia) and Americans and Australians (as representative of Western society) (source).

The studies followed 350,000 people over time from 4 to 22 years. In these cases, over 13,000 people developed Type 2 diabetes.  There was a 12 percent difference between the Asian and Western groups with Asians 55 percent likelier

It also should be noted (or be pretty clear) that:

Diet is only one factor in Type 2 diabetes, a complex disease that involves high levels of blood sugar that cannot be processed by the hormone insulin. Obesity and lack of exercise are also cited as culprits (source).

What Dan Thinks:

What I find surprising is that this is news to anyone. It is not a secret that rice has a high glycemic index and contains little nutritional value. I remember reading somewhere that we always want to avoid spikes in sugar levels and that such an avoidance will let us live longer (pending other diseases or freak occurrences).

Starches (or, carbohydrates), just like candy or soft drinks, are basically sugar. The only difference is that starches are complex carbohydrates which means they need to be broken down to get at the sugar. But when a person overloads on carbs (no matter what it is) the sugar is released right into the bloodstream causing one of these nasty "spikes".

This was always something I considered in Japan when students were encouraged to go back for seconds and sometimes thirds on the white rice. I'm guessing most of them thought it was healthy, a sign of genki-ness and made for a strong child. The same went for seconds of white bread which everyone thought was a healthy alternative to rice every once in a while. Sometimes we would have yakisoba (noodles), bread, butter and honey, and then a milk--all of which pretty much amount to sugar. And students' consumption was only checked by the amount of food that was left to eat. It really blew my mind.

Ramen in America

Bon appétit! - photo

America, freshman year of college, 2003. This was my first experience with ramen. You know, the cheap brick of noodles you can buy in economy packs. I remember the high-sodium seasoning packets, stepping on dropped and forgotten noodle bits, and dorm room arguments about whether ramen was meant to be a soup or a pasta dish. I even remember ramen bargains dropping somewhere around 15 cents an individual package! My understanding of ramen has come a long way since then.

Ramen is basically a Japanese noodle dish appropriated from Chinese hand-pulled noodles (hence its katakana/loan word writing (ラーメン). Its original name, "shina soba", was actually an ethnic slur. That's a good change, good change. Ramen as we know it today was first produced by Nissin Food Products who still have the majority of the market at 40 percent. Ramen was especially popularized in Japan after WWII with the influx of cheap flour from the US and the subsequent return of Japanese soldiers from East Asia countries with a taste for the noodles.  

Normal ramen in Japan. Whaddya think, 15 bucks or so? 110? photo

In Japanese ramen restaurants it isn’t uncommon for a quality bowl of the noodles/soup to run somewhere between 10 and 20 dollars. An average bowl includes bean sprouts, green onions and a few slices of pork. The list of uncommon ingredients is infinite, spanning from hard-boiled egg halves to fish cakes to cheese and curry. The most expensive bowl of ramen tops at about $110 a bowl in Tokyo at Fujimaki Gekijo which consists of 20 different ingredients (the actual noodles being free).

Of course, Japan has the square blocks like Maruchan and Top Ramen as well as cheaper $3-a-bowl restaurants. But you can see how some things have been appropriated and/or lost in translation. Peering back stateside, there is actually a big community of people who invent new recipes with ramen. Imagine: the ramen burger, ramen spaghetti, ramen pizza, ramen hotdogs, etc. Yeah, that definitely sounds like the good ol’ US of A. I'm not sure I'd hop on this bandwagon though, considering that most packets of ramen come close to (or exceed) the recommended dietary allowance of sodium in a day. Yikes.

If you're still interested in the starchy dish, peruse this endless blog of "official" ramen news, miscellany and DIY recipes.

Take Notes America, This Will Be On The Test

So, yes, I live in Japan, and I’m approaching my 2nd year term but in no way do I feel myself shifting to the dark-side-Ex-pat status. No, no, that’s 3 or 4 years down the road. Nor am I in the mind frame that Japan is better than America (U.S. is number one, bitches!). With that being said, Japan has a few tricks up its sleeve…a few idiosyncrasies America should be taking notes on.

Where the Japanese suck in the areas of individuality, confidence, sandwiches, hoagies, pizza, Mexican food, large scary bugs, sweet candy, militaristic rigidity, bureaucracy, English pronunciation, English grammar on t-shirts, house insulation, the consumption of whales/dolphins, and a general distinction between mature adulthood and cartoon characters…

…they compensate for in the areas of comedy, hospitality, general health, low obesity rates, sanitary toilets, socially condoned drunkenness, legal public consumption of alcohol, literacy, reading/book sales, a public sense of tourism, peanut cream, Indian cuisine, horse/chicken/crab/whale sushi and sashimi, mind-boggling animated movies, lush scenery, explosive crop yields, fashion, and the general humbleness that usually goes hand-in-hand with incidents such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I guess some of those could really go either way.

This scribble is about the “General Health/Low Obesity” of Japan.

(I want to quickly mention that I don’t intend to be on any sort of “high horse” here; I know it’s easy for a skinny person to wax and wane about health but I must preface that I simply cannot gain weight. Although this is not as plaguing a problem as obesity, its not exactly a walk in the park considering I’m addicted to sports and athletic activites, have dangerously low fat and currently live in one of the healthiest, low calorie countries.)

If you’re sitting at home thinking how sick you are of hearing about America’s waistline, you may actually find some cool breezes (in awkward places) in this article. Starting now.

Japan teaches health to its population starting from preschool. Kids are presented with the ingredients of each school meal sorted into one of the Carbohydrate/Protein/Vegetable groups on a large board with colorful food magnets. And guess what, you usually find the vegetable group with the highest content of each meal. And, My! What variety! They’re taught why each dish is healthy. Kids aren’t served hotdogs, mystery meat or chicken nuggets; they’re given small servings of protein and carbs in each little dish.

A normal Japanese school lunch includes vegetables, rice, soup, milk, and a small meat or fish portion (in descending order of quantity). No buffets, no desert menu.

Here is one of many varieties of school lunches. Milk, Rice, Fish Tempura, A Salad with Tunafish, a Seaweed and Seed Salad.

The lunch ladies make everything fresh (nothing frozen) and pull together a school lunch that’s around $2.50--although I can't attest for the high schools. Also, kids grow their own vegetables right outside the school while almost all Japanese have a garden (or if pressed for room, at least a few scattered house plants). The idea of nature is linked with their culture.

I don’t think Japan has had this master plan of fresh ingredients from the beginning. I say it’s a happy mistake that Japan doesn’t have the room for massive cow farms (only a few expensive beer-drinking cows in Kobe)…a happy mistake that Japan happens to have a sea or ocean three hours from any place in the country…that Japan has one of the most fertile soils in the world (growing rice with something like 20 times more productivity than most rice growing countries)…that with the endless supply of rice and noodle varieties they have no market for freeze-dried French-fries, etcetera, ad nauseum.

Another example: my local grocery store plays a horribly catchy song that roughly translates to:

fish, fish, fish
we’ll eat fish
and we’ll get smarter

fish, fish, fish
we’ll eat fish
and we’ll get stronger

so everyone let’s eat fish
the fish are waiting for me

Talk about health education.

Japan is basically a magical dreamland for health activists like Ann Cooper. This hyped-up lesbian lunch-lady knows her shit and has an agenda: get kids involved in the lunch process. If you don’t have the twenty minutes to watch her TED video, just know she makes some damn good points about the USDA problems and the dubious food pyramid we currently use... "Go ahead kids, cheesesteaks have meat and bread, the two most important food groups. Eat up!"And here's the truth.

Dan Buettner, who studies the oldest living people in the world, and is considered a “longevity coach”, has some great insight about the common denominators including but not limited to gardening, portion control, and eating plants. He sites Okinawans as one of his long living focus groups. Check out his TED Talk.

I can't speak for other countries, but I know the problem with America is we consider school lunch to be outside of our control.  And, after working in a daycare and a gym program, I know many parents think, “As long as my kid isn’t complaining and isn’t hungry, I’m not worried.” This isn’t the kind of attitude that will help alleviate a diabetes crisis. We’re a bit lazy and our plates are already full with various other priorities. Good thing we have a few rabble-rousing Ann Coopers running around…but I think we might need a few more.