​The young heart has a lot of capillaries and the blood circulation is good so that sufficient nutrition is delivered and the heart can beat vigorously.
 
But the number of capillaries decreases with age so that the nutrition delivered to the heart also decreases, making the heart beat weak. Ignoring this condition can cause serious heart diseases.
 
But recently a substance to stop the aging of heart has turned out.
 
The substance is GLP-1.
 
According to a research published on The New England Journal of Medicine, people who took GLP-1 for 3 and a half years had 22% less development of heart diseases that people who didn’t. Therefore, GLP-1 can be expected to prevent the aging of the heart and keep vigorous heartbeat.
 
GLP-1 is a hormone secreted from the small intestine.
 
The keys to increase the secretion of GLP-1 are:
 
(1)What to eat
(2)When to eat
 
(1)  What to eat
 
The important things of what you eat are foods containing proper amount of sugar and insoluble dietary fiber, which stimulates the small intestine and promotes the secretion of GLP-1.
 
The foods containing proper amount to sugar and insoluble dietary fiber are root vegetables such as  carrot, burdock, potato, sweet potato, yam, etc. Different from carbohydrate, the sugar contained in root vegetables is appropriate to stimulate the small intestine and root vegetables are rich in insoluble dietary fiber as well (Fig. 1).
 
(2) When to eat
 
The important thing of when to eat is eating 3 meals a day at the same time. This makes the small intestine stimulated at the same time, leading to more secretion of GLP-1.
 
GLP-1 originally got attention as a hormone lowering blood sugar and is used as the medication for diabetes. But it has turned out that GLP-1 protects the blood vessels of the heart as well.
 
2 functions of GLP-1
 
(1) It was said that lost capillaries wouldn’t increase again, but according to various researches, GLP-1 can increase capillaries.
 
(2) It was also said that plaque, which  rapture causes heart attack, created once in the blood vessel wouldn’t be removed, but GLP-1 can decrease plaque, prevent the hardening of the arteries and protect the function of the heart.
 
Eating root vegetables at the same time 3 times a day stimulates the small intestine regularly and activates the secretion of GLP-1. It seems a little difficult.
 
But there is a food that is easy to take with you and is expected to secrete GLP-1.
 
Almond is the food expected to secrete GLP-1.
 
Nuts are rich in insoluble dietary fiber and almond has a higher content of insoluble dietary fiber than other nuts and root vegetables.
 
So it is recommended to eat root vegetables 3 times a day at the same time as often as possible and to take almonds when you can’t eat root vegetables at the regular time.

According to a research published on British Journal of Nutrition, 2015, it has turned out that taking a certain oil a lot lowers the risk of developing heart diseases by about 40 % and the death rate by about 25 %.
 
The oil is Olive Oil.
 
The area where the death rate due to heart diseases is fewest in the world by using olive oil is Crete in Greece.
 
Why olive oil is good for the heart?
 
Oleocanthal contained in extra virgin olive oil is a type of polyphenol. Spicy taste of extra virgin olive oil is due to oleocanthal. Oleocanthal has the anti-inflammatory effect that calms the inflammation of the heart and the blood vessel caused by aging and prevents the aging of the heart.
 
How to use olive oil by people in Crete, Greece whose heart is young
 
(1) Olive oil is used for cooking with heat as well
 
Olive oil is hard to be oxidized by heating, compared to other oils, so it is suitable that olive oil is used for fried food or stir-fried food.
 
(2) Olive oil is used with compatible food
 
The compatible food is tomato. Tomato contains a lot of substances that have antioxidizing effect such as lycopene. Lycopene is oil-soluble substance so that lycopene is easily absorbed in the blood when it is cooked with oil.
 
How much olive oil should be taken a day?
 
2 to 4 tablespoons a day are suitable, but it is better to replace the oil in your daily life to olive oil to prevent too much oil consumption.

High blood pressure can be improved by eating Canned sardine.
 
Canned sardine is rich in EPA. Canned sardine contains about two times as much as canned mackerel.
 
Why EPA improves High Blood Pressure?
 
When we eat meals, salt comes into the blood vessel. To reduce the density of salt, a lot of water also comes into the blood vessel. The increase of water pressurizes the wall of the blood vessel. This condition is high blood pressure. When EPA comes into the blood vessel, EPA softens the wall of the blood vessel and lowers the pressure.
 
Canned sardine in brine is recommended because raw sardine is canned, so EPA is not lost, compared to seasoned canned sardine.
 
The benefit of eating canned sardine in brine is that you can lower your blood pressure without changing your usual diet.
 
Tomato helps more improvement of high blood pressure when eaten with canned sardine in brine.
 
Since EPA is easily oxidized, the amount of EPA reduces because of being oxidized by active oxygen. But lycopene contained in tomato removes active oxygen and protects EPA from oxidization.
 
Recipe: Almighty sauce of canned sardine in brine and tomato
 
Mix 2 cans of canned sardine in brine (about 200 grams, 7 oz.), 2 cans of diced tomato (about 800 grams, 28 oz.), tubed ginger and garlic and 3 teaspoons of sugar in the frying pan and heat them up. If you refrigerate it, you can use them for 3 days. You can put it on a bread (Fig. 1), an omelet (Fig. 2) or bake it placing a slice of cheese (Fig. 3). When you cook rice adding the sauce and chicken brose, you can make seasoned rice (Fig. 4).
 
Trial
A 63 years old man whose blood pressure was 165 tried to eat one canned sardine in brine a day for 2 weeks. He had been eating foods containing a lot of salt, but he didn’t change his diet. 2 weeks later his blood pressure dropped to 146.

​Canned salmon improves aged eyes (presbyopia).
 
Astaxanthin which is a substance contained in canned salmon improves aged eyes.
 
We can change the thickness of the lens in the eye with ciliary muscle and focus on what we want to see. But as we age, increased active oxygen attacks the ciliary muscle and the function of the ciliary muscle declines, causing to unable to change the thickness of the lens. This condition is aged eyes. (Fig. 1)
 
But when you eat canned salmon, astaxanthin contained in canned salmon removes the active oxygen, the function of the ciliary muscle is restored and you can focus on what you see.
 
If the lens is not already very hard, aged eyes can be improved by eating canned salmon.
 
Check the degree of aged eyes
 
If you are wearing reading glasses, take them off.
If you are wearing contact lens or glasses for nearsightedness, keep wearing them.
 
(1) Hold the pad of your index finger in front of your eyes (Fig. 2).
(2) Move your index finger away and stop when you can focus your eyes on the finger print (Fig. 3).
(3) If the distance between your eyes and the finger is more than 30 cm (1 foot), you have aged eyes (Fig. 4).
 
The longer the distance, the higher the degree of aged eyes.
 
How much canned salmon and how long should be eaten to improve aged eyes?
 
1 canned salmon (about 200 grams (7 oz.)) a day for 2 weeks should be eaten to improve aged eyes.
 
Sockeye salmon is recommended.
 
It is recommended to eat canned salmon with sesame oil because astaxanthin is dissolved in oil, so eating canned salmon with sesame oil raises the absorption ratio by liquefying astaxanthin.
 
Astaxanthin decreases on the way to the eye by being attacked by active oxygen in the blood vessel, but the substance contained in sesame oil, which is called sesamin, protects astaxanthin from active oxygen and makes more astaxanthin reach the eye.
 
Trial
A 52 years old female whose degree of aged eyes was 2 ate 1 canned salmon a day for 2 weeks. 2 weeks later her degree of age eyes was improved from 2 to 1.

​Fatty liver (Fig. 2) is caused by the repeat of too much eating and drinking.
 
Fat stored in the liver disturbs a long-healthy life.
 
20 % of people who had had fatty liver developed type II diabetes within 10 years.
 
Leaving fatty liver as it is makes the risk of stroke and heart attack double. In addition, in the case of men, the risk of developing colon cancer will be double and in the case of women, the risk of developing breast cancer will be double.
 
But it has turned out that there is food preventing and improving fatty liver.
 
The food is soy (Fig. 3).
 
Protein contained in soy acts on the liver, leading to secreting a hormone called FGF21 which burns extra neutral fat stored in the liver.
 
FGF21 is also expected to improve blood sugar, neutral fat and cholesterol.
 
How much soy products do we need to eat?
 
If you eat 100 grams of soy a day, the improvement of fatty liver can be expected.
 
Experiment
 
A 43 years old female whose fat in the liver had been 60 % (referenced value: 5 %) tried to eat more than 100 grams of soy products a day for a week.
 
The amount of soy contained in soy products:
A pack of Natto: 25 grams
A piece of Tofu: 80 grams
A piece of Aburaage (deep-fried bean curd): 7 grams
A cup of Miso soup: 5 grams
A cup of Soy milk: 12 grams
 
After a week of the experiment, her fat in the liver became less than 5 % (referenced value: 5 %).

​Apple pectin is a dietary fiber contained in apples and harmonizes the intestinal environment.
 
At the time of constipation, apple pectin softens the stool and encourages the bowel movement.
 
At the time of diarrhea, apple pectin protects the inside of intestines not to damage.
 
The best method to eat apples to harmonize intestinal environment is…
 
Cutting an apple with the skin into round slices (Fig. 1).
 
Why cutting an apple with the skin into round slices is good?
 
Because apple pectin is rich between the skin and the flesh, it is important to eat an apple including the skin.
 
Cutting into round slices makes it easier to eat the skin and enables to eat near the core of the apple.
 
Other nutrition like polyphenol or vitamin E is rich around the skin, so it is better to eat an apple with the skin.
 

Lycopene contained in a tomato has the effect to lower blood sugar.
 
When blood sugar in the body goes up, blood sugar is lowered by secreting insulin. Lycopene contained in a tomato has the effect to make insulin work better.
 
The best method to increase lycopene contained in a tomato to lower blood sugar is…
 
Storing a tomato at room temperature.
 
Why storing a tomato at room temperature is good?
 
Because storing a tomato at room temperature accelerates the ripening process which increases lycopene.
 
A tomato comes from South America originally, where the weather is warm so that a tomato doesn’t like the cold. Storing it in a refrigerator doesn’t accelerate the ripening process.
 
When you store a tomato, it is important to face the calyx of the tomato down because the flesh of the calyx side is thicker than the other side so that facing calyx down prevents bruising easily (Fig. 1 & 2).
 
Cooking a tomato increases the absorption of lycopene.
​

​According to a recent research, if the density of vitamin D in the blood was high, the risk of developing cancer decreased by 20 % and the risk of developing liver cancer decreased by more than 50 %.
 
Shiitake mushrooms (Fig. 1) are rich in vitamin D, but there is a method to increase vitamin D of raw Shiitake mushrooms.
 
The method to increase vitamin D of raw Shiitake mushrooms is…
 
Leaving raw Shiitake mushrooms in the sun.
 
Shiitake mushrooms contain a substance called Ergosterol which turns into vitamin D by being exposed to UV. Vitamin D of Shiitake mushroom becomes more than tripled by leaving in the sun for 1 hour.
 
Generally raw Shiitake mushroom is grown in the dark place so that it is not left in the sun.
 
It is recommended to leave raw Shiitake mushroom in the sun for about 1 hour before cooking.
 
When you leave Shiitake mushrooms in the sun, it is more effective to face the back of cap of Shiitake mushrooms up to increase vitamin D (Fig. 2).

​Distortion of the cervical spine causes symptoms like stiff neck and shoulders, headache, ringing in ears, insomnia, etc. and distortion of the lumber spine causes symptoms like low back pain, constipation, tingling sensation in the leg, etc.
 
3 major factors causing distortion of the spine
 
(1) Bad posture
(2) Decline of the muscle
(3) Osteoporosis
 
Especially distortion of the spine caused by osteoporosis is very dangerous. Osteoporosis causes a fracture without any impact and subjective symptoms. According to a research, 63 % of women with the age of 60 and over whose spines are distorted have had a fracture.
 
The bone with osteoporosis can’t resist the weight of the body and is crushed. When one bone (vertebrae) is crushed, the bone directly under it is crushed and then the next bone is crushed as shown in the above, because distortion of the spine becomes greater and more weight is applied on the bone. This is called chain fracture. If chain fracture is progressed, a bent back can’t be restored.
 
The peak of bone density is at the age of 20s to 30s and after that, it gradually goes down. Women’s osteoporosis patients are 3 times as many as men’s patients because around age of 50, women’s bone density suddenly goes down due to the decrease of estrogen caused by menopause.
 
Eating a red food and a white food together helps absorption of calcium
 
The main cause of osteoporosis is lack of calcium.
 
The calcium absorption ratio at the age of 10s is about 45 %, but it becomes 30 % at the age of 30s and becomes the half at the age of 70s. So even if the same amount of calcium is taken, absorbed calcium deceases with age.
 
The red food is Umeboshi plum (Fig. 1) containing citric acid that raises the absorption ratio of calcium. Calcium is difficult to be absorbed in the body. The calcium absorption ratio of milk which is considered absorbing calcium very well is only about 40 %. 60 % of calcium is discharged from the body. Fish’s ratio is about 30 % and vegetable’s ratio is about 20 %. But citric acid raises the absorption ratio of calcium.
 
The white food is Shirasu, which is the young of sardine, herring or eel, containing 5 times as much as milk (520 mg/100 g).
 
Eating Umeboshi Plum and Shirasu together raises calcium absorption ratio by about 1.5 times.
 
Shirasu also contains vitamin D a lot which raises the absorption of calcium.
 
The amount of calcium required for a day is the same as 600 ml of milk, which is equal to a cup of rice in soup with Umeboshi plum and Shirasu (Fig. 2).
 
Japanese stock without salt is good enough because Umeboshi plum contains salt, or you can spread bonito flakes before pouring hot water into rice with Umeboshi plum and Shirasu.
 
Another red and white food is Umeboshi plum and mayonnaise which is made of eggs rich in vitamin D. The recipe is mix Umeboshi and mayonnaise 1 to 2 ratio. You can dip some food in it. (Fig. 4)

​Other effects of Umeboshi plum
 
Mumefural contained in plum flesh extract makes the blood flow smooth and vanillin contained in plum flesh extract has an effect on burning fat.

​Dietary fibers and fermented foods are famous to improve constipation.
 
But what is introduced today is Kiwifruits.
 
Kiwifruits were paid attention to from the medical profession in an international symposium in New Zealand 2 years ago.
 
The dietary fibers in kiwifruits contain a lot of water. Water-retaining amount of kiwifruits is twice as much as apples or oranges. When kiwifruits come to the large intestine, hard stools are moisturized and softened by the retained water. The softened stools move quickly in the large intestine and are smoothly eliminated.
 
Experiment
 
A woman suffering from constipation for 30 years tried to eat at least one kiwifruit a day in one of three meals for 1 weak. The 2nd day she had 4 bowel movements, and the stool was soft and formed instead of small pieces. After that, she had a bowel movement every day. In addition to the improvement of constipation, she lost weight.