Search Results (9)

Background/Objectives: Some Japanese people still adhere to a systematic traditional Japanese diet pattern (the Shokuyo diet) consisting mainly of brown rice, vegetables, legumes, and small amounts of fish. We investigated the impact of this dietary pattern on the intestinal microbiota of its female consumers. Methods: The intestinal microbiota of 19 Japanese females in their 60s and 70s consuming the Shokuyo diet (Shokuyo diet group) and 50 females of the same age consuming a normal Japanese diet (NJ diet group) were compared. The NJ diet group was further subdivided into a healthy NJ diet H subgroup, comprising females (n = 19) without any diseases, and an unhealthy NJ diet UH subgroup (n = 31) consisting of females with certain diseases, and a subgroup analysis was performed. Intestinal microbiota analysis was performed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Results: The β-diversity of the intestinal microbiota significantly differed between the Shokuyo diet and NJ diet groups. Similarly, in the subgroup analysis, β-diversity also significantly differed between the NJ diet UH subgroup and the Shokuyo diet group. However, no significant difference was observed between the NJ diet H and Shokuyo diet groups. These results indicate that the intestinal microbial composition of the Shokuyo diet group resembled that of the healthy participants, and that differences in intestinal microbial composition between the Shokuyo and NJ diet groups were strongly influenced by the presence of participants with diseases in the NJ diet group. That is, differences in β-diversity may have been strongly mediated by the health status of the participants. Conclusions: Consumption of the Shokuyo diet may be associated with a healthy intestinal microbial composition in older Japanese female, suggesting its potential as a viable dietary intervention option. Full article

Purpose: Cross-sectional analysis using open data has revealed an association between the traditional Japanese diet score (TJDS) and healthy life expectancy (HALE). This study aimed to clarify the association of the TJDS with the HALE and average life expectancy (LE) via a longitudinal analysis. Methods: Data regarding the food supply and total energy were extracted from the database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and data regarding HALE and LE were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The supply of items consumed frequently (rice, fish, soybeans, vegetables, and eggs) and less frequently (wheat, milk, and red meat) in the Japanese diet were scored (total: −8 to 8 points) and stratified into tertiles by country. The gross domestic product, aging rates, years of education, smoking rate, physical activity, and obesity rate were used as covariates. Longitudinal analyses were conducted for 143 countries, using the HALE and LE for each country from 2010 to 2019 as dependent variables and the 2010 TJDS as an independent variable. Results: The fixed effects (standard errors) were HALE 0.424 (0.102) and LE 0.521 (0.119), indicating significance (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The nine-year longitudinal analysis using international data suggests that the traditional Japanese diet based on rice may prolong the HALE and LE. Full article

Increasing attention is being paid to the role of diet quality in the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases. We developed a scoring system for the traditional Japanese diet and its modified version considering the dietary culture in Japan, dietary guidelines for the Japanese, and updated evidence for disease prevention. The traditional Japanese diet comprises white rice, miso soup, soybean products, vegetables, mushrooms, seaweeds, fish and shellfish, high-sodium foods, and green tea. In the modified Japanese diet, unprocessed or minimally refined rice and raw vegetables, milk and dairy products, and fruits were additionally considered, while salty food was reverse-scored. The cutoff for the intake frequency of each food/food group was determined with reference to a health survey of >12,000 workers. Among the participants in the validation study, we confirmed the nutritional gradient with increasing scores in the expected direction. The scores were closely correlated with the respondents’ backgrounds, including occupational factors. This simple scoring system can be used for diet quality assessments and epidemiological research. Full article

Western-type diet with high salt and sugar, sedentary behavior, obesity, tobacco and alcoholism are important risk factors for hypertension. This review aims to highlight the role of western diet-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in the pathogenesis of hypertension and the role of various types of diets in its prevention with reference to dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet. It seems that it is crucial to alter the western type of diet because such diets can also predispose all CVDs. Western diet-induced oxidative stress is characterized by excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with an altered oxidation-reduction (redox) state, leading to a marked increase in inflammation and vascular dysfunction. Apart from genetic and environmental factors, one important cause for differences in the prevalence of hypertension in various countries may be diet quality, deficiency in functional foods, and salt consumption. The role of the DASH diet has been established. However, there are gaps in knowledge about the role of some Indo-Mediterranean foods and Japanese foods, which have been found to decrease blood pressure (BP) by improving vascular function. The notable Indo-Mediterranean foods are pulses, porridge, spices, and millets; fruits such as guava and blackberry and vegetables, which may also decrease BPs. The Japanese diet consists of soya tofu, whole rice, in particular medical rice, vegetables and plenty of fish rich in fish oil, fish peptides and taurine that are known to decrease BPs. Epidemiological studies and randomized, controlled trials have demonstrated the role of these diets in the prevention of hypertension and metabolic diseases. Such evidence is still meager from Japan, although the prevalence of hypertension is lower (15–21%) compared to other developed countries, which may be due to the high quality of the Japanese diet. Interestingly, some foods, such as berries, guava, pumpkin seeds, carrots, soya beans, and spices, have been found to cause a decrease in BPs. Omega-3 fatty acids, fish peptide, taurine, dietary vitamin D, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, flavonoids, nitrate and l-arginine are potential nutrients that can also decrease BPs. Larger cohort studies and controlled trials are necessary to confirm our views. Full article

Retort sterilization is cost-effective for small-scale production of specialized nutrition products. However, the sensory properties and stability of active ingredients after sterilization remain undetermined. This study aimed to investigate the effect of retort on the existence of functional compounds and the sensory satisfaction of a fortified complete nutrition formula with branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), and fish oil providing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Changes in EPA and BCAA contents after retort were determined by using LC-MS/MS. Nutrient values, osmolality, rheology and sensory acceptance of the processed fortified and control formulas were compared. After retort, the fortified formula had an increase in all types of BCAAs but 30% loss of EPA (p = 0.001). The fortified formula had slightly higher protein and fiber contents, along with increased osmolality. It had higher viscosity and shear stress, but similar IDDSI level at 0. Among flavors tested, the fortified formula with Japanese rice flavor received the highest satisfaction scores with over 80% sensory acceptance. In conclusion, retort sterilization preserved BCAAs of the functional drink, but the addition of 30% fish oil was required to compensate for the EPA loss. The sterilized fortified formula with Japanese rice flavor was sensory acceptable. Full article

The U.S. and Japan are both democratic industrialized societies, but the numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths per million people in the U.S. (including Japanese Americans) are 12.1-times and 17.4-times higher, respectively, than those in Japan. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of diet on preventing COVID-19 infection. An analysis of dietary intake and the prevalence of obesity in the populations of both countries was performed, and their effects on COVID-19 infection were examined. Approximately 1.5-times more saturated fat and less eicosapentaenoic acid/docosahexaenoic acid are consumed in the U.S. than in Japan. Compared with food intakes in Japan (100%), those in the U.S. were as follows: beef 396%, sugar and sweeteners 235%, fish 44.3%, rice 11.5%, soybeans 0.5%, and tea 54.7%. The last four of these foods contain functional substances that prevent COVID-19. The prevalence of obesity is 7.4- and 10-times greater in the U.S. than in Japan for males and females, respectively. Mendelian randomization established a causal relationship between obesity and COVID-19 infection. Large differences in nutrient intakes and the prevalence of obesity, but not racial differences, may be partly responsible for differences in the incidence and mortality of COVID-19 between the U.S. and Japan. Full article

The relationship between genetic variation and phenotypic traits is often poorly understood since specific genotypes do not always easily translate into associated phenotypes, especially for complex disorders. The genetic background has been shown to affect metabolic pathways and thus contribute to variations in the metabolome. Here, we tested the suitability of NMR metabolomics for comparative analysis of fish lines as a first step towards phenotype-genotype association studies. The Japanese rice fish, medaka (Oryzias latipes), is a widely used genetic vertebrate model with several isogenic inbred laboratory strains. We used liver extracts of medaka iCab and HO5 strains as a paradigm to test the feasibility of distinguishing the metabolome of two different inbred strains. Fifteen metabolites could be detected in uni- and multivariate analyses that showed strain-specific levels. Differences could be assigned to specific metabolic pathways. Our results show that NMR spectroscopy is a suitable method to detect variance of the metabolome caused by subtle genetic differences. Thus, it has the potential to address genotype–phenotype associations in medaka, providing an additional level of phenotypic analysis. Full article

The use of juvenile and larval fish models has been growing in importance for several fields. Accordingly, the evaluation of behavioural tests that can be applied to larvae and juveniles is becoming increasingly important. We tested medaka at four different ages (1, 10, 30, and 120 dph) in the open field test, one of the most commonly used behavioural assays, to investigate its suitability for larvae and juveniles of this species. We also explored ontogenetic variation in behaviour during this test. On average, adult 120-day-old medaka showed higher locomotor activity in terms of distance moved compared with younger fish. Our analysis suggests that this effect was derived from both quantitative changes in locomotion related to the ontogenetic increase in fish size as well as qualitative changes in two aspects of locomotor behaviour. Specifically, time spent moving was similar between 1- and 10-day-old medaka, but progressively increased with development. In addition, we revealed that adult medaka showed constant levels of activity, whereas younger medaka progressively reduced their activity over the course of the entire experiment. The thigmotaxis behaviour typically used to assess anxiety in the open field test emerged at 120 days post-hatching, even though a difference in the temporal pattern of spatial preference emerged earlier, between 10 and 30 days post-hatching. In conclusion, some measures of the open field test such as total distance moved allow behavioural phenotyping in the medaka of all ages, although with some degree of quantitative and qualitative developmental variation. In contrast, immature medaka appear not to exhibit thigmotactic behaviour. Full article

A lower-than-recommended potassium intake is a well-established risk factor for increased blood pressure. Although the Japanese diet is associated with higher sodium intake and lower potassium intake, few studies have examined the source foods quantitatively. Studies on dietary patterns in association with potassium intake will be useful to provide dietary advice to increase potassium intake. Twenty-four-hour (hr) dietary recall data and 24-hr urinary potassium excretion data from Japanese participants (574 men and 571 women) in the International Study of Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure (INTERMAP) were used to calculate food sources of potassium and compare food consumption patterns among quartiles of participants categorized according to 24-hr urinary potassium excretion per unit of body weight (UK/BW). The average potassium intake was 2791 mg/day per participant, and the major sources were vegetables and fruits (1262 mg/day), fish (333 mg/day), coffee and tea (206 mg/day), and milk and dairy products (200 mg/day). Participants in the higher UK/BW quartile consumed significantly more vegetables and fruits, fish, and milk and dairy products, and ate less rice and noodles. Conclusion: Advice to increase the intake of vegetables and fruits, fish, and milk may be useful to increase potassium intake in Japan. Full article