Dietary vegetables contain a wide variety of free radical-scavenging antioxidants such as phenolic compounds and anti-oxidative vitamins. Epidemiological studies have been shown that vegetable consumption is associated with a reduced risk of life-style related diseases such as cancer and coronary heart diseases. Therefore, antioxidants in vegetables have been received considerable attention in recent years for their role in human health. In Japan, the recommended intake of vegetables is 350 g/day.
  Vegetables are usually consumed after thermal cooking. Thermal cooking might affect the radical-scavenging activity of the fresh vegetables. The changes in DPPH radical-scavenging activity, the total phenol and ascorbic acid (ASA) contents of various vegetables popularly consumed in Japan were investigated after various thermal cooking processes. In most of vegetables, the radical-scavenging activity and total phenol content tended to decrease during boiling and simmering, and to be retained during microwave heating, pan-frying and deep-frying. However, the ASA content decreased after all cooking processes. Thermal cooking of vegetables did not extensively affect the radical-scavenging activity in spite of loss of ASA, since vegetables contain large amount of phenolic compounds which are stable to heating. These results suggest that the intake of boiled or simmered vegetables with cooking water or microwave-cooked vegetables is recommended to take radical scavenging activity efficiently and to prevent life-style related diseases.
  Generally the main component of fishy flavor is considered to be trimethylamine. Our recent studies suggest that the fishy flavor of fresh fishes dose not derive from trimethylamine, but from oxidative products of polyunsaturated fatty acids by lipoxygenase or by autoxidation. Thermal cooking of sardine in the presence of “mirin” suppressed the oxidation of its oil. This effect might be due to the amino-carbonyl reaction products (having strong radical scavenging activity) formed after the reaction of amino acids in sardine and reducing sugars in “mirin” . These results are expected that “mirin” could decrease the formation of fishy flavor of boiled fishes.

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  Trans fatty acids (TFA) are positional isomers of cis fatty acids. TFA are mainly produced by partial hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids and widely found in a variety of foods, including margarines, shortening and frying oil. A small amount of TFA is also found in ruminant fats and milk. The amount of TFA intake in Western Europe and North America probably ranges from 5 to 15 g / day. Epidemiological studies have shown that the excessive consumption of TFA raises LDL-cholesterol and lowers HDL-cholesterol in humans. Therefore, high intakes of TFA are thought to be a risk factor of coronary heart disease. On the basis of the scientific evidence, the U. S. FDA required labeling of the TFA content in conventional food and dietary supplement on January 1, 2006. TFA intake in Japan is estimated to be approximately 0.7 to 1.3 g / day, the amount is markedly lower than that in western countries. Although the low TFA intake in Japan is not thought to be an important issue at present, we should pay attention to an excessive intake of TFA in the future.

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  We examined the daily nutrition, the physical status and biochemical analysis of the blood effect of retort pouched rice containing pre-germinated brown rice on healthy female university students. The subjects daily ingested 400g of retort pouched rice containing pre-germinated brown rice (polished rice : pre-germinated brown rice = 1 : 1) as a staple food for 10 weeks. Consequently, the investigation showed high amounts of fat consumption and low amounts of carbohydrate consumption, however, during the retort pouched rice intake study, the energy ratio of the Protein : Fat : Carbohydrate mixture was improved. Though the measured values of the BMI, the percent of body fat and serum cholesterol with the period of experiment did not practically change, those values were decreased to appropriated range for the participants who have a high level from the first. As a result of this study, the validity of the benefits of eating retort pouched rice containing pre-germinated brown rice was suggested on the basis of the improvement in the general health and its maintenance as well as prevention of lifestyle related diseases, such as dietary obesity and hyperlipemia.

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  In order to assess the basic cooking and processing properties of Aqua-gas treated food materials, a comparison between the Aqua-gas treatment and boiling and steaming using conventional cooking methods was undertaken using Japanese radish as the test material. The quality was assessed on the bases of its properties, color, levels of components (total vitamin C, free amino acids) and organoleptic test.
The results are as follows.
  1. The heating time to a temperature of 95°C in the center of the sample increased in the order of the Aqua-gas heating, the steam heating, and the boiling. It was shown that the temperature rise in the center part of the sample was the fastest for the Aqua-gas treatment.
  Moreover, a decrease in the degree of moisture by heating was only slightly observed.
  2. As for the color, the samples had no color even though they were heated. The color tone differences of the Aqua-gas-treated and the boiled, and boiled and steamed were of the degree of “The person hardly noticed the difference”
  3. As for the physical properties, the Aqua-gas heating as for the hardest the boiling heating of the hardness of the center part of the sample was the middle of boiling and heating and the steam heating. Moreover, the Aqua-gas heating had an intentionally small value compared to the boiling and steam heating, and showed that it was not like the streak about the “Average Drop Off”.
  4. When the content of the unheated sample was assumed to be 100%, the residual ratio of the total vitamin C of the Aqua-gas-treated was 95.8%. This is intentionally high compared to the boiling and steam heating.
  5. The content in the sample where the glutamic acid and the aspartic acid that showed an alanine, professional phosphorus, and the profit that showed sweetness of the total free amino acid composition were heated by the Aqua-gas was intentionally abundant compared to the unheated sample and the boiling heating, and was equal to the steam heating. However, the steam heating produced results that were about the arginine that presented a stronger bitterness than the Aqua-gas-treated one.
  6. The evaluation of the hardness during the sensory inspection corresponded to the result of the physical properties, and the Aqua-gas heating was softer than the boiling heating, and the result no streak.
  It was the intentional fragrant compared to the boiling treatment, and in the evaluation of the smell, there was an advantage compared to the boiling, and the evaluation of the taste were intentionally good compared to the boiling of the profit. A significant difference was not observed between the steam heating and the Aqua-gas-treatment.

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  By choosing guardians with preschool children as subjects, this study has been conducted for understanding the caries prevalence conditions among preschool children and the actual state of caries prevention. In addition, this study examined the effects of the way guardians regard dental health as well as the between-meal eating environment on the dietary behavior of children. The results are summarized as follows.
1. The caries prevalence rate amounts to 33.8%, and the prevalence rate significantly increases with age.
2. As for the caries prevention method (caries guidance), the same tendency is seen in both homes and dental hospitals, in which the state of dental health is highly evaluated and the state of the practical habit of dietary life is less evaluated.
3. The rate (60.3%) of the guardians among the caries-affected group who believe that caries can be prevented is significantly low, compared to the rate (72.3%) of those among the caries-free group.
4. The reasons of the guardians who think that the caries of children cannot be prevented or it is difficult to judge are based on hereditary reasons or weak dental qualities in many cases. Recognition of the involvement in dietary life is scarce.
5. It has been clarified that the between-meal eating environment at home produces irregular between-meal eating by the children, which is likely to induce caries.
6. Judging from freely written opinions, many people seem to have realized the importance of caries prevention methods as well as between-meal eating and dietary life, and also realized the problems of the between-meal eating environment and between-meal eating behavior. This questionnaire may have a become a motivation for the discovery and solution of such problems.
7. The needs of the guardians who seek an information service and learning opportunities on eating have been found to be high.
  As for the prevention of caries occurrence among children, it has been suggested that the active dental health behavior and awareness by guardians become important factor, and that the involvement of the regional society to support this behavior is important.

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  The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a health education program for reducing body weight via E-mail, which was presented by a company for their employees as one of the methods of health promotion. We recruited subjects via the intranet, and fifteen people who had no metabolic disease and whose body mass index (BMI) was over 25 participated in the program. Before the program commencement, a questionnaire concerning eating habits was administered, and we decided on the targets for improving the eating habits of each individual. Using of a self-monitoring method, the subjects recorded their body weight and whether they achieved their own targets every day. The subjects sent their record every two weeks, and a dietician responded to them with dietary advice. Eight weeks after starting the program, we asked again about eating habits.
  The percentage of subjects who submitted all records during the program was 86.7%, and the average weight reduction was 2.4±1.5 (Mean±S.D.) kg. After the program, eating habits improved, especially “Reviewing their own eating habits”,“Reducing the use of mayonnaise or oil dressing”, Referring to the nutritional indication when they choose their meal”, “Do not eat too much at supper”, and “Not eating within two hours before bedtime”. There was a significant positive relationship between the points of improving eating behavior and reducing body weight (p<0.01). In this study, we clarified that the health education program via E-mail had a positive effect on improving eating habits and led to body weight reduction.

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  In order to make good use of the eluate from adzuki bean seeds, a by-product of adzuki bean jam, as a food material, the effects of ultrasonication on the nutritional components, anti-oxidative activity, color tone and taste were examined.
  There was no significant difference in the nutritional components including minerals, and free amino acids between Material A (without ultrasonication) and Materials B-0,1,2, and 3 (Bs) ultrasonicated for 5, 10, 15 and 20 min, respectively.
  The total polyphenols and the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity in Materials Bs were slightly lower than in Material A, although all the materials showed a strong anti-oxidative activity.
  The reaction conditions of a 40°C temperature and duration of 10 min (Material B-1) were found to be optimal for the ultrasonication of the eluate.
  The ultrasonicated eluate showed a better hue than those without ultrasonication (Material A). Furthermore, the unpleasant odor from the eluate was markedly reduced by ultrasonication and the flavor was of a better quality for the ultrasonicated material. Ultrasonication was proved to be promising technique for improving the quality of the eluate from adzuki bean seeds.

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  To investigate if deep sea water and bottled drinking deep sea water can be used as a supplement for magnesium, the porridge, plain soup, potato and spinach boiled with salt, and boiled Japanese radishes and eggplant were cooked using them. Using tap water as the control, their tastes were then compared.
  The results indicated that the deep sea water and bottled drinking deep sea water used for cooking had no demerit with respect to acceptability, especially in sensory assessment, compared to the tap water used for cooking.

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  In order to assess the basic cooking and processing properties of Aqua-gas treated food materials, a comparison between the Aqua-gas treatment and boiling and steaming using conventional cooking methods was undertaken with green soybeans as the test material.
  The quality was assessed on the basis of its properties, color and organoleptic test results.
  The results are as follows.
  1. The physical properties of the Aqua-gas-treated green soybeans showed lower values of “hardness” and “crunchy texture” with the heating time, and became gradually softer.
  However, the values of “adhesiveness” and “adherability” gradually increased for 15 minutes, then decreased.
   The change in the physical properties with the boiling and steaming heating time was different for the Aqua-gas-treated material.
  2. As for the change in the color of the green soybeans based on the heating time, the difference was due to the heating method.
  In the Aqua-gas and the steaming heating, the a^* and b^* values and the chroma saturation significantly changed after ten minutes, and the green became discolored. During boiling, the color significantly changed by heating for seven minutes.
  3. As for the color of the green soybeans heated with the pod, a difference based on the heating method occurred. The values of a^*, b^* and the chromas of the Aqua-gas-treated green soybeans were the highest. For the three kinds of heating methods, the Aqua-gas-treated green soybeans had bright green. However, for each heating method, a remarkable difference was not observed in the color of the heated green soybeans (heating without pods).
  4. he green soybeans chilled for preserving, had become discolored during storage when preserving by light irradiation. However, the change when preserving was slight when shading and preserving, and no difference in three kinds of heating methods was seen.
  5. As for the result of the organoleptic evaluation, the evaluation of the Aqua-gas heating was the highest of the three kinds of heating methods, and the superiority of the Aqua-gas heating was suggested. For the color of the green soybeans, the measurements from the evaluation of the color by the organoleptic evaluation and the color-difference meter were similar. The measurements based on the evaluation of the hardness and the texture during the organoleptic evaluation and by the texture analyzers were also similar.

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  Kokuto-moromi vinegar (KMV) was prepared by freeze-drying the supernatant that was obtained after the centrifugation of the post-distilled slurry. The bioavailability of iron in the KMV was evaluated in the iron deficient rats
  The iron deficient group was fed on the iron deficient diet, and the KMV group was fed the diet that was added the freeze dried KMV. The iron content in the KMV diet was equivalent to the iron content in AIN-93 mineral mixture in the control diet.
  In the iron deficient group, the body weight gain, total iron content of liver and blood, hemoglobin, ferritin and hematocrit values were lower, and values unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC), total iron binding capacity (TIBC) values were higher than those in the control and KMV groups.
  The body weight gain, total iron contents of liver and blood, hemoglobin, ferritin, hematocrit values, UIBC and TIBC were recovered to the same levels of the control diet group by adding the KMV to the iron deficient diet.
  These results indicate that the iron KMV is efficiently absorbed by iron deficient rats.

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  A questionnaire study of elementary school children from the 4th to 6th grades was performed to investigate the role of not only the frequency of communication, but the subject matter of the communications at meal time with family members regarding their feeling of happiness.
  The questionnaire was composed of the mealtime details, frequency of communication with family members and their intimate feeling toward their parents and themselves.
  Significant differences were observed between the boys and girls regarding the answers to “Do you like cooking? ” and “Do you feel loneliness at school?” and between their grades at school regarding the answers to “Do you help with the cooking at home?”, “Do you feel loneliness at home?”, “Do you have a dream about what you will do in the future?” and “With whom do you usually have breakfast?” The children who lived with their grandparents felt a greater sense of fulfillment than those who lived with only their parents. Three factors, conversation, feeling of happiness and felling of loneliness, were extracted by a factor analysis using the Promax rotation technique. Pass model according to our hypothesis that communication with the family has a positive correlation with children's sense of fulfillment and respect for their parents, and has a negative correlation with their loneliness showed that the more children who had communication about various subjects with their family members, the more they respected their parents and had a sense of fulfillment. In addition, the best chance for children to have communication was shown to be at mealtime.

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  Kokuto (brown sugar)-shochu (a brewed and distilled alcohol beverage) is produced mainly in the Amami area of Kagoshima.
  Kokuto-shochu lees was separated from the post-distillation slurry of brown sugar-shochu by centrifugation, and the precipitation was freeze-dried.
  The effects were determined of the freeze-dried kokuto-shochu lees on the serum and liver lipid levels and on nutritional value in rats. An atherogenic diet containing 5% or 10% freeze-dried kokuto-shochu lees was given to 5 week-old Wistar rats for 35 days.
  The serum total cholesterol level in the rats fed on the kokuto-shochu lees was significantly lower than the level in the control diet group, but the addition of kokuto-shochu lees to the diet induced no change in the concentration of HDL-cholesterol, free cholesterol, triacylglycerol or phospholipids in the serum.
  The liver total lipids, cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels in the rats fed on the 10% kokuto-shochu lees diet were significantly lower than those in the rats fed on the control diet.
  The excretion of fecal bile acids and cholesterol were significantly higher from the kokuto-shochu lees diets than from the control diet.
  These results suggest that the diet containing kokuto-shochu lees had a beneficial effect on the level of serum and liver lipids in rats.

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  In order to obtain data on the nutritious characteristics of yacon (Smallanthus Sonchifolius), the present study investigated the free amino acid composition in yacon cultivars from different production districts.
  The percentages of water, protein, lipid, carbohydrate and ash in the yacon were 85.9-91.1%, 0.49-0.96%, 0.04-0.13%, 7.9-12.9%, and 0.33-0.56%, respectively. The main component was water. The protein and lipid levels contained in yacon varied among the cultivars from different production districts.
  The total free amino acids in the yacon ranged from 147.9 to 341.1 mg/100 g and it differed among the samples from different producing districts. The main free amino acid in yacon were arginine and glutamine in all cultivars. The content of proline significantly varied among the cultivars from different producing districts, ranging from 1.1 to 97.4 mg/100 g.
  The free amino acids concentration was lower in the upper portion compared to the root and middle parts ; thus, the free amino acid content varied among the different parts of the yacon.
  The total free amino acids, glutamine, and arginine in the freeze-dried yacon powder were 1941.2 mg/100 g, 212.4 mg/100 g, and 994.2 mg/100 g, respectively.
  The results from the present study suggest that although the free amino acid content varies among yacon cultivars from different production districts, the main amino acids, glutamine and arginine, were functional amino acids in all cultivars.

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  We conducted a questionnaire survey in 264 women regarding their status of dietary supplement use and health-related behaviors. Of the subjects, 38% were using supplements, 40% had used them, and 22% had never used them.
  There was no difference observed between those with and without supplement use regarding skipping meals, eating with the family, and an interest in fashion trends. However, many supplement users (both the current and previous users) were attached importance to a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere at the table. Also, many had the experience of using aesthetic salons or going on a diet to reduce weight. Many supplement users considered that sufficient nutrition would be impossible with normal diets alone, and used supplements specifically “to be healthy,” “to maintain nutritional balance,” “to become beautiful,” or “to eliminate nonspecific complaints.” These findings suggested that dietary supplement use might be driven by users' active behavior.
  On the other hand, those who used supplements specifically “to be healthy” or “to maintain nutritional balance” were significantly more in the current than in the previous users. Many current users had purchased fashion magazines and clothes every month. Furthermore, there was a trend whereby current users considered themselves as “health-conscious people,” while previous users saw supplement users as “trend-sensitive people.” These results suggest that supplement use is based not on the actual status of dietary habits, but on the recognition that normal diets do not adequately provide essential nutrients or that taking supplements is healthy lifestyle. Therefore, the attitude that supplement use is a positive health-promoting behavior is expected to contribute to their continuous use.

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