Life is a system of highly complex but well-organized chemical and physical reactions occurring within the defined space. The involved system must follow the second law of thermodynamics, one of the essential principle laws of the cosmos. Therefore tremendous energy is required to maintain internal “order”. In addition, there is a demand of regular part replacement to avoid degradation through damage by environmental risk factors on earth, oxidation and radiation. There are the reasons, we need to eat. “Eating” is one of the fundamental activities of living organisms on earth. However, human history of “civilization” turned such a “biological” activity to a highly “cultural activity”. Our species has evolved from eating wild grasses and animals to agriculture and cooking, and all tied up to economic growth! The most recent dramatic event was the industrial revolution originating in the 18^th century and the huge development of technology thereafter. We are forced to live in this historic stage, where humankind as a mass are exposed to unprecedented conditions where our genetic constitution is not prepared for, such as over-nourishing, or over-elongation of than the lifespan. Atherosclerotic vascular diseases, cancers, degenerative nervous diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and ALS, are all the consequences of our “new life style” on such a background. What can we do to alleviate the consequences?

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Age-adjusted stroke mortality in Japan increased until 1965, after the Second World War. Soon afterwards, it declined drastically until 1990. It was confirmed that the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) was far lower in Japanese populations than in Western populations in the “Monitoring Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease” (MONICA) project. Lower mortality from CHD in Japan was due to lower incidence of CHD. However, risk factors of CHD identified in epidemiological cohort studies in Japan were not different from those of other industrialized countries.
The most potent risk factor for stroke, either cerebral hemorrhagic or ischemic, is high blood pressure — although hypertension is more specific to cerebral hemorrhage. For CHD, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking and diabetes mellitus are the most important risk factors. These are not different from risk factors in the USA or European countries.
Systolic blood pressure (SBP) levels for both men and women in Japan have declined since 1965, and these declining trends were in parallel with the declining trends in age-adjusted stroke mortality. Daily salt intake in northern Japan was as extreme as 30 g in the 1950s and it was estimated that salt intake was reduced by about 15 g by 1990. This may have caused the fall in SBP, and in turn, this large decrease in SBP is believed to have caused the great reduction in stroke mortality.
The increase in fat intake from 10 % of total energy to 25 % has resulted in an increase in population serum total cholesterol level, which in turn, has had an adverse influence on CHD in the Japanese population. However, the increase in serum total cholesterol has mostly appeared in young to middle-age groups. In contrast, the elderly, a high risk group for CHD, still maintain a lower than 200 mg/dl total cholesterol level due to low fat intake, and also they had low serum cholesterol levels in the past decades. Therefore, it is estimated that these conditions maintain low incidence and mortality from CHD up to the present day.
Healthy dietary lifestyles with low salt and moderate fat intake are an important factor to prevent stroke and CHD in all stages of life.

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Sackett DL et al systematized the method of evidence-based medicine (EBM) , which translates epidemiological methods into clinical decision making. Originally, EBM was only used for clinicians. Now it has become a basic approach for all kinds of decision making in health science such as public health and nutritional intervention. Observational and intervention studies are major types of studies in epidemiology. Typical examples of the first one are cohort studies and case-control studies. An example of the latter is randomized controlled trials (RCT). Generally, cohort studies prove causality and RCT proves effectiveness of an intervention. Usually, the results of these are coincident; however, we sometimes observe discrepancy between them. For example, high plasma homocysteine was a risk factor for atherosclerotic diseases in many observational studies. In a prospective, nested, case-control study of the Japanese, high plasma homocysteine was associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke, of which multivariate odds ratio (95 % CI) for highest versus lowest quartiles of homocysteine was 3.89 (1.60 to 9.46). Because high plasma homocysteine levels can be reduced efficiently by dietary supplements of B-complex vitamins such as folate and vitamin B12, many RCTs attempted to decrease atherosclerotic diseases by vitamin supplementation. However, almost all RCTs evaluating the effects of vitamin supplementation failed to show any decrease in atherosclerotic diseases. So the discrepancy between cohort studies and RCTs suggests reverse-causality in cohort studies. On the other hand, meta-analysis is thought to be a good way for decision-making in EBM. Recently, we performed a combined meta-analysis of observational and intervention studies that examined the association between vegetarian diets and blood pressure. Seven intervention studies and 32 observational studies already published met our inclusion criteria. In both study designs, vegetarian diets were associated with lower blood pressure. In the field of nutrition research for humans, we should always consider EBM, in which final decision making is based on systematic epidemiological methods.

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Energy imbalance is a fundamental cause of obesity and diseases related to life-style. Control of food intake is an important solution, but appears as difficult to achieve as development of a successful anti-obesity medicine. Despite recent progress in molecular understanding of regulation of food intake, the impact during evolution of thrifty genes always makes homeostatic energy control difficult, and a new approach to control of our hedonic attitudes to food is required. Fatty acids are indispensable nutritional elements, biomembrane components, and physiological active substances, and because of molecular diversity their exact contributions to pathophysiology remain enigmatic. Recent progress in our understanding of molecular mechanisms of fatty acid interactions in cells may provide keys to obesity-related pathology and inflammation. Hormonal and neuronal networks linking the intestines to the brain are clearly deeply involved in energy metabolism. Since classic medical approaches to homeostatic energy control has not worked very well so far, we propose to make the most of these network systems by development of novel areas within food science.

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Cholesterol is an essential lipid molecule for plasma membranes of animal cells so that they can perform signal transduction functions and consequently an indispensable compound for life of multicellular organisms. A system to maintain strict homeostasis of cholesterol has therefore evolved. Our genetic machinery is designed to allow rigorous monitoring of its shortage and to prepare for self-supplementation. However, cholesterol requires a large amount of energy and labor for its synthesis, and many animals procure it by external supply to save the energy. Furthermore, the backbone structure of cholesterol is not readily degradable, so that we excrete it from the body only with modifications to facilitate break down by microorganisms in the environment. With this background, under normal circumstances oversupply of cholesterol would be beyond the scope of our physiology at the current stage of evolution. We may therefore consider ectopic cholesterol accumulation and atherosclerosis as a consequence of under-preparation of human crisis management at the psychosocial level.

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Fish sauce is a brown liquid condiment widely consumed in most parts of Southeast Asia. In Japan, two kinds of fish sauce, Ishiru made from squid liver and from sardine, have been produced on Noto peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture. Ishiru is basically produced from a mixture of fish and salt(4:1) which is allowed to ferment for 1-2 years. Kaburazushi and daikonzushi are traditional fermented foods which represents Kaga area of Ishikawa Prefecture. Kaburazushi is comprised of fillet of salted yellow tail sandwiched between salted turnip, which is piled up in a barrel with malted rice as fermenter. It is fermented for 4-10 days until ready to be consumed. Daikonzushi is made from Japanese white radish, dried and leached Pacific herring and malted rice processed the same as for kaburazushi. Narezusi is made from salt- (and vinegar-)treated fish, and boiled rice is used instead of malted rice. Narezusi is fermented over a longer period than kaburazushi or daikonzushi (exceeding 1 month). This narezushi exists in Noto area as a traditional fermented food. The fish used ranges from river fish such as dace and sweet fish, to saltwater fish such as sardine, hachime rockfish, salmon and small sea bream. In this review, chemical and microbial properties of these traditional fermented foods of Ishikawa Prefecture are explained. In addition, the physiological function of the food is articulated.

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Food irradiation is a technology to treat foods with ionizing radiation such as gamma-rays and electron beams to improve the safety and extend the shelf life of foods by reducing or eliminating microorganisms and insects, and by prevention of sprouting. Food irradiated with ionizing radiation is named “irradiated food”. Many international organizations have approved the safety and usefulness of food irradiation. Ionizing radiation can treat packaged foods and fresh and/or frozen products, and effectively and uniformly treat all portions of foods. Food irradiation is an environmentally friendly technology without usage of chemicals and contributes to the solution of food security and food safety problems, especially reducing post-harvest losses of foods and controlling food borne illness, as an alternative to chemical fumigation with ethylene oxide and methyl bromide gasses. Japan has a 50 year history of food irradiation research. The “Japanese Research Association for Food Irradiation” was launched in 1965. It was legally authorized to irradiate potatoes for preventing of germination in 1972 and since 1974 irradiated potatoes have been shipped from the Shihoro-cho Agricultural Cooperative Association in Hokkaido. Recently, commercial food irradiation has increased significantly in Asia, however, Japan is now far behind other countries and it is called a “food irradiation underdeveloped country”. To break through the current backward situation, this paper introduces the latest and objective facts related to food irradiation based on scientific data.

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Accidental ingestion of allergenic food is likely to occur in sites where meals are served to children in whom the prevalence of such problems is the highest. Thus in places like nurseries, schools and restaurants, management measures to avoid cases of food allergy are important. Labeling of allergens in processed foods is not only useful for prevention of accidental ingestion but also improvement of measures for food-allergic patients and their parents. However, there are issues remaining to be solved with allergen-labeling systems. Examples are incomprehensible labeling, food-packages with less than 30 cm² of surface, and foods which are excluded from food labeling despite strong cross-allergenicity with labeling-mandatory or -recommended foods. It is impossible to estimate the amounts of allergens accurately but tables in which allergen amounts in processed foods are listed would be very useful for selecting examples that are safe for food-allergic patients. Committees for safety management of food allergy should be established in each nursery, school and restaurant and hotel. Collection and analysis of incidents and accidents of food allergy, with preparation and blush-up of manuals and provision of training should be prime tasks of such committees.

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Vietnam is located in the subtropical and tropical region, but the size of the country and population are about 10 % smaller than that of Japan. The land lies from north to south at a length of around 1600 km, just like 90 % of Japan. Rice is a staple food of the Vietnamese but the degree of dependence is more prominent than that of Japan. In Vietnam, agriculture and fishery are still the main industries, and therefore various fresh vegetables including spices, condiment vegetables, savory herbs, fruits, fish and meats are abundantly available for various cuisines. From the view point of seasoning usage for cooking, green peppercorn, chili pepper and so on, used for seasoning foods, are served in a small dish, differing from Thai and Indonesian cuisines which use various kinds of hot and strong seasoning directly in the dishes; therefore Japanese customers can use them depending on the choice of the customer.
For the daily meal, Pho made from rice powder is characteristic for breakfast; especially Pho Bo with added beef and Pho Ga with added chicken are representative breakfast noodles. Bread and coffee are also eaten due to the influence of colonization. For lunch and dinner, rice, noodles and various kinds of cuisine are widely eaten.
For the Tet festival for New Year, people cook special foods for the purpose of their relative's prosperity, plentiful harvest and longevity. Especially, shrimp for the purpose of longevity and career advancement by the action of molting, Banh Chung or Banh Tet, and so on, are prepared and eaten.
Regarding custom and behavior on the day of a wedding ceremony, it is conducted based on traditional and spiritual beliefs, using areca nut and betel leaf which means to the Vietnamese “matters of betel and areca” (synonymous with marriage). In addition, glutinous rice with red colored dye using GAC fruit (Momordica cochinchinensis) and boiled chicken are served because of their meaning of good harvest, fertility and prosperity.
At the wedding reception, many relatives and friends come and celebrate their marriage. At this party, invited guests drink beer and eat various lucky foods, such as vegetables, oranges, mangos, seafood, fish and meats. Especially, chicken and waxy rice are eaten due to their special meaning for prolificacy and fertility. This article is constituted of 3 parts as follows. 1: Daily meals of Vietnamese people; breakfast composed of some kind of noodles, lunch and dinner composed of rice and other foods, 2: Foods prepared and served for the Tet festival of New Year and 3: Foods in the wedding ceremony and wedding reception.
As a result, various kinds of food ingredients are available, and the taste of the cuisine is also quite mild, so almost all cuisines are acceptable for the Japanese.

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