Complementary medicine aimed at improving patients’ QOL by complementing modern medicine has recently become the focus of attention. These alternative supplements or functional foods are commonly biologically based. Contained within food itself, these specialized components serve a tertiary function regarding biological regulation and defense. Further, in vivo mechanisms are considered to be closely linked to mucosal immunity of the intestine. As the mechanism of innate immunity is further elucidated, the significant role of certain food components in relation to mucosal immunity of the intestine has become a focus of interest.
In this paper, I would like to describe the experimental and clinical applications of complementary medicine in cases of chronic and/or intractable inflammatory bowel disease.

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Stone age humans were nomadic and dependent on hunting, which made genes for “thriftiness” beneficial for survival. However, in modern man—with his gluttony and lack of exercise—this gene possesses no merit, leading to the increase of lifestyle-related disease and necessity of exercise. Continuous exercise improves insulin resistance and decreases visceral fat. In the case of elderly with less muscle volume, resistance exercise is necessary. According to the 2007 Exercise Guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association (AHA), exercise for health is different from typical movements in daily life, and vigorous exercise is necessary. In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare formulated the “Exercise and Physical Activity Guide for Health Promotion 2006”, in which physical activity is classified into exercise and non-exercise activity (NEA), and the quantity goal of physical activity for health promotion was set at 23 units or more per week. In the exercise formula for respiratory rehabilitation, we can set 4 variables of frequency, intensity, time and type (FITT), and utilize Target Dyspnea Rating (TDR). And for cardiac rehabilitation, we can use the guidelines of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) and Guidelines for Exercise Training in Patients with Heart Disease (JCS 2002).

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Specific medical checkups and health guidance procedures to prevent and alleviate metabolic syndrome in middle-aged or older subjects (aged 40–75 years old) were initiated in workplaces and autonomous communities throughout Japan in April 2008, according to the guidance of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan. As it is important to provide instruction regarding exercise, physical activities and diet, a safe and efficient evidence-based instruction program is required. The requirements for such a program are as follows: (1) knowledge of necessary exercise and physical activity levels for prevention and alleviation of metabolic syndrome; (2) ability to appropriately evaluate the physical activity level of subjects; (3) motivation of subjects to positively modify their behavior; (4) sufficient consideration of exercise and diet combination; (5) conducting sufficient risk management to prevent accident and injury; and (6) acquiring necessary licenses for instruction. The subject should then actively engage in exercise and physical activity based on the instruction given.

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Approximately 100 kinds of Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU) are used to “control postprandial elevated blood glucose level”. In this review, we describe their safety and effectiveness.

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This study is to examine whether health food containing α-lipoic acid, Ginkgo biloba extract, and L-carnitine can improve cognitive function of human subjects complaining amnesia. A before-after study was done on 31 adult subjects comprising of 14 males and 17 females with an average age of 57.3±5.8 years who had symptoms of memory impairment. The Japanese version of ‘Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of the Neuropsychological Status (RBANS)’ was utilized to evaluate cognitive functions of these subjects before and after the supplementation for 12 weeks. As a result, the placebo group showed no improvement of cognitive functions. In contrast, in the supplementation group, immediate memory (story), language (picture naming and semantic fluency), attention (digit span), and short-term memory (list, story and figure recall) were significantly improved. In conclusion, the present health food is useful for improving cognitive functions such as memory and attention.

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Objective: The purpose of this research was to assess healthy people’s psychological and physical changes when spending time in an green area in the middle of the urban square.
Method: 10 subjects (20–26 years old) were asked to remain for one hour in a green area area in the JR Akihabara station square, in the middle of the urban square, on a sunny September morning. 10 other control subjects were asked to remain in a tent erected near the green area which was positioned so that the participants could not see the green area.
Results: Participants in the green area showed a reduced Profile of Mood State (POMS) for anger-hostility (p<.01), whereas control participants showed no significant change on the same test. Furthermore, subjects in the green area showed either positive results or no change using Wartegg Zeichen Test, whereas control subjects showed negative scoring (p<0.05). Recorded quantities of salivary cortisol of subjects in the green area also reduced.
Conclusion: Green areas in the center of busy towns have a positive effect on health psychologicaly and physiologicaly. These results were obtained from a study commissioned by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and undertaken by the Organization for Landscape and Urban Greenery Technology Development in which the author participated.

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Objective: In this study, the neuroprotective effects of a water-soluble extract from culture medium of Ganoderma lucidum mycelia (WER) on oxidative stress-induced injury were examined using H₂O₂-treated PC12 cells. Additionally, we investigated both the acute and chronic effects of WER on brain necrosis and apoptosis induced by hypoxia/ischemia (H/I) followed by reoxygenation in mice.
Methods: Viability and apoptosis index of H₂O₂-treated PC12 cells were determined by 3,4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl (MTT) assay and TUNEL staining, respectively. H/I in mice was induced by unilateral ligation of carotid artery and exposure of 8%O₂ for 30 min. Twenty-four hours after H/I, neurological deficits, cerebral infarction volume, and apoptosis level were evaluated.
Results: WER–pretreated PC12 cells showed an increased viability evaluated by MTT assay compared to untreated cells. TUNEL staining indicated that WER induced a concentration-dependent decrease of the number of apoptotic cells. In the mouse model of H/I, acute (pre-H/I) treatment of WER (1 g/kg, p.o.) did not affect neurological deficits, total plasma oxidative stress, cerebral lipid peroxidation, and infarction volume assessed 24-h after reoxygenation. However, chronic treatment of WER (1 g/kg, p.o., for 7 days) significantly improved these parameters compared with distilled water-treated mice. Moreover, chronic treatment of WER decreased the levels of apoptosis in two brain areas, the sensori-motor cortex and the CA1 of the hippocampus, analyzed by TUNEL and cleaved caspase-3 immunostaining.
Conclusion: These results show that daily intake of WER relieves the cerebral ischemic injury, which may be attributed to decrease of oxidative stress.

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