In Chinese medicine, ginger has been believed to warm up the human body. We investigated whether ingestion of ginger raises human peripheral body temperature, and found that it increased the body surface temperature (at the forehead) in comparison with ingestion of water (p<0.05). It was also shown that gingerbread raised the surface temperature of some parts of the body compared to bread without ginger (at forehead, p<0.05; at wrist, p<0.05). These results indicate that ginger does indeed raise body surface temperature, as has been traditionally handed down in China since ancient times. A sensory analysis of gingerbread indicated no significant differences from bread without ginger in terms of smell, taste, texture and total evaluation. Thus, ginger can be used as an effective additive for bread to warm the body.

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The cholesterol lowering efficiency of plant sterols extracted from soybean germ oil (SBGO sterol) and soy sterol were investigated in rats. SBGO sterol was prepared by saponification, solvent extraction, and recrystallization in cold ethanol. After young male SD rats had been fed 0.5% cholesterol high-fat diets supplemented with 0.17-0.5% SBGO sterol or soy sterol for four weeks, their serum, liver and fecal cholesterol concentrations were measured. The serum and hepatic cholesterol lowering effect of SBGO sterol was significantly stronger than that of soy sterol, and the amount of fecally excreted cholesterol was significantly greater in the rats fed SBGO sterol than in those fed soy sterol. This difference in the cholesterol lowering effects of the sterols might be due to the difference in their sterol composition.

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Although the Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) leaf has been drunk as a tea since early times in South America, there have been no reports concerning its effects on glucose metabolism. We conducted screening of disaccharidase inhibition activity using various foodstuffs, and found that a boiling water extract of Mate leaf inhibited the sugar hydrolyzing activity. When maltose, sucrose, and starch were used as substrates, the IC₅₀ values were 0.1, 0.5, and 0.6mg/mL, respectively. The results of these sugar tolerance tests in normal rats showed a significant suppressive effect on the increase of blood glucose levels compared to the control group. These results suggest that the Mate leaf has an inhibitory effect on saccharide digestion in the intestine based on inhibition of the activity of saccharide hydrolyzing enzymes.

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During my academic career, I have conducted studies on inborn errors of metabolism, disorders of calcium-phosphorus-vitamin D and development of nutritional support, particularly for patients with chronic liver diseases, for 18 years as a pediatrician and for 12 years as a scientist in a department of clinical nutrition. Control of lifestyle including food intake can have remarkable effects in both preventing and treating inborn errors of metabolism. In addition, it should be emphasized that successful control of lifestyle to combat such diseases has been supported by reliable genetic information, since the amount of calcium required daily differs among individuals according to their degree of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism. Although phosphorus is important for energy production, bone metabolism and other functions, its role has not been adequately clarified. Recent changes in Japanese eating habits mean that individuals need to pay attention to excess phosphorus intake in order to maintain healthy bones. Clinical studies of chronic liver disease indicate that small and frequent meals are required as nutritional treatment for protein energy malnutrition and impaired glucose tolerance in patients with hepatic cirrhosis.

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