Japanese food is of interest worldwide as healthy food. However, comparison of Japanese food with European and American food has not been performed using DNA microarray analysis. In this study, we examined differences in gene expression levels in the liver of rats fed “Japanese food” or “American food” using a DNA microarray. Two meals were cooked based on a menu of Japanese food and American food. The cooked meals were prepared to a freeze-dried powder and given to rats for three weeks as test diets. Total RNA was then extracted from rat liver and used in DNA microarray analysis. The expression levels of stress response genes were lower in rats fed Japanese food compared to those fed American food, and expression of genes of the sugar and lipid metabolism system was higher in rats fed Japanese food. Expression of genes associated with cholesterol catabolism increased markedly in rats fed Japanese food, although the ingested lipid content was low, and cholesterol accumulation in rat liver was prevented. Therefore, the results suggest that Japanese food is healthy and profitable compared with American food due to activation of metabolism and reduction of stress.

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The traditional vegetable “Kakinomoto”, found in Niigata, is a type of edible chrysanthemum flower, Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. forma esculentum Makino. This study examined the effect of this edible chrysanthemum on gastrointestinal transit, digestion and absorption. A hot water extract of the edible chrysanthemum flower petals was added to a mixture of olive oil and sucrose solution at 10% by weight, and administered orally to mice. The edible chrysanthemum extract showed remarkable enhancement of gastrointestinal transit, reduction of the blood triglyceride level, and inhibition of blood glucose level elevation. The edible chrysanthemum extract also showed strong inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase derived from rat small intestine. The 50% inhibitory concentrations for sucrase and maltase were 34.6 and 20.0 mg/mL, respectively. In the 50-g sucrose tolerance test in 11 human volunteers, lyophilized powder of the edible chrysanthemum added to sucrose solution at 10% by weight significantly decreased the rise in the blood glucose level at 15 min and 30 min after sucrose loading, and reduced the integrated value of the area under the curve (ΔAUC) of the blood glucose level for 60 min after sucrose loading. These results suggest that the edible chrysanthemum “Kakinomoto” has promise as a functional food material with a suppressive effect on postprandial blood glucose level elevation.

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The purpose of this study is to show how the daily energy intake is distributed among meals. The subjects were 153 married male workers aged 30-59 years living in metropolitan areas. First, subjects were classified into 4 groups by quartile on the basis of what proportion of daily energy intake was represented by breakfast both on weekdays and weekends. For Q1 (less than 25 percentile), daily energy intake was significantly lower than any other group for both weekdays and weekends. Dinner represented a higher proportion of energy intake than any other meal across the four groups for both weekdays and weekends. Second, we studied dietary intake in every group and examined the distribution of eight nutrients. Q2 (from 25 to 50 percentile) had a better nutrient intake on weekdays and Q3 (from 50 to 75 percentile) had a better nutrient intake on weekends. There were significant differences in the intake distribution in respect of protein, iron, Vitamin B₁, Vitamin B₂ and Vitamin C among the four groups. Third, with regard to snacks, we examined the proportion of energy intake for every meal by quartile by setting the energy intake of breakfast as 1. For Q1, in which breakfast represented the smallest proportion, the proportion of energy obtained through snacks was greater than that of breakfast. The proportion of each daily energy intake (that is breakfast vs lunch vs dinner vs snacks and breakfast is 1) in Q1 was 1:12.8:15.3:3.3 on weekdays, and 1:4:6:1.9 on weekends respectively. The proportion of energy obtained through snacks is larger than that obtained from breakfast. Q3 was the closest to the recommended energy distribution (that is breakfast vs lunch vs dinner=1:1.5:1.5) for both weekdays and weekends. The proportion represented by snacks in relation to breakfast for Q3, however, was as much as 0.4 for both weekdays and weekends.

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The Committee of Food Labeling and Nutrition Education of the Japanese Society of Nutrition and Food Science has reported a survey on food labeling and has held symposia on these issues based on the results. In the last term, we have surveyed the awareness and recognition of food labeling in various fields and compared recent results with those in the previous report (2001).
In the future, we would like to present our opinions on desirable food labeling by conducting a further survey. This report summarizes the survey focusing on the recognition, utilization and information sources for nutrition claims, Food for Specified Health Use (FOSHU), and so-called health foods.
The results are as follows:
(1) Nutrition claims are commonly seen and utilized for maintenance and promotion of health. However, it is desirable for consumers that the presentation method of food labeling be improved because the present labeling system is difficult to understand and is restricted to certain foods. This result is the same as that of the previous survey.
(2) There is a general awareness and use of FOSHU items. Especially the younger generation and students often know and utilize FOSHU items, and have keen interest in some of their functions, whereas the elderly and readers of healthy life-related magazines seldom use them. The health claims of FOSHU that are of most interest are related to body fat and the condition of the intestines. However, there seems to be hardly any relationship between the components of FOSHU and their claimed health benefits.
(3) Although “Foods with Nutrition Function Claim” are hardly recognized and utilized in comparison with FOSHU, the trends seen among the generations are the same as those for FOSHU.
(4) So-called heath foods show a different trend of utilization compared with FOSHU. There is no obvious difference in usage among the generations, and elderly people also use such kinds of foods. As consumers obtain information on these foods mainly from TV and friends, it seems difficult for them to have access to accurate scientific information on health foods. In the future, in order to ensure the safety and effectiveness of health foods, a suitable framework of regulations should be est ablished.

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