There are various kinds of milk, and it is difficult to choose one. Let’s think about which milk we should drink among cow milk, soy milk and almond milk when we have 6 specific health problems.
 
Q1. Which is the best milk for skin problems?
(A)  Cow milk
(B)  Soy milk
(C)  Almond milk
 
A1. (B) Soy Milk
 
Soy milk contains a lot of isoflavone that works for the skin. Isoflavone promotes the rebirth of collagen related to the elasticity and firmness of the skin, leading to the improvement and prevention of wrinkles. Isoflavone has the function to suppress the production of melanin that causes spots. Isoflavone is contained in neither cow milk nor almond milk.
 
Tofu is something that Nigari (concentrated solution of salts left over after the crystallization of seawater or brine) is added to Soy milk. Soy milk is easier to digest and absorb to the body than tofu because it is liquid.
 
It is recommended to take 40 mg of Isoflavone a day. If you drink 200 to 400 ml (7 to 14 fl oz.) of soy milk, you can take 40 mg of isoflavone.
 
Q2. When is the best time to drink soy milk to increase the absorption ratio of Isoflavone?
(A)  In the morning
(B)  At night
 
A2. (A) In the morning
Soy milk is liquid, so even if you don’t have appetite in the morning, it would be easier to take than solids.
 
Q3. What lowers the effect of Isoflavone to work for the skin when you use soy milk for cooking?
 
A3. Boiling soy milk
Isoflavone doesn’t decrease when soy milk is frozen.
 
Cow milk contains vitamin B2 that is also good for the skin.
Almond milk is rich in vitamin E that is called vitamin for rejuvenation and works for the skin.
 
Q4. Which is the best milk for the prevention of weight gain?
(A)  Cow milk
(B)  Soy milk
(C)  Almond milk
 
A4. (C) Almond milk
Almond milk contains less than half of calorie and sugar compared to Cow milk and Soy milk. Fat of Almond milk is less than Cow milk and Soy milk.
 
Why is Almond milk white?
Because more than 50 % of almond is fat and when the fat of almond and water are mixed, they are emulsified, that means changing into a milky white liquid.
 
Oleic acid contained in almond discharges excess fat stored in our body.
Oleic acid stimulates satiety center in the brain before you feel full and decreases the amount of your meal. So it is good to drink Almond milk 1 hour before your meal or between your meals.
 
Soy protein and saponin contained in Soy milk decrease excess fat in our body.
 
Q5. Which is the best milk to increase the quantity of the muscle?
(A)  Cow milk
(B)  Soy milk
(C)  Almond milk
 
A5. (A) Cow milk
The important substance to build and repair the muscle is protein. The quantity of protein contained in Soy milk is more than Cow milk, but the quality of the protein contained in cow milk is different from Soy milk. Cow milk contains 2 kinds of proteins that are Whey and Casein.
 
Whey is fast to be absorbed into the body.
Casein reacts to acid in the stomach and becomes solids and stays in the stomach for a long time. By that, protein is absorbed slowly and completely and building of the muscle lasts long.
 
Drinking cow milk helps maintaining the muscle even not after exercises.
 
Q6. When is the best timing to drink cow milk after exercises?
 
A6. It is recommended to drink cow milk within 30 minutes after exercises because essential amino acid to strengthen the muscle is efficiently absorbed into the muscle.
 
There is research that drinking more than a glass of cow milk almost every day decreases the fat ratio compared to not drinking cow milk. It is considered that drinking cow milk increases the muscle, leading to the increase of metabolism.
 
Q7.
People who complain headaches due to wearing a mask are increasing. When you wear a mask, you breathe CO2 filled inside the mask. CO2 expands the blood vessel in the brain and stimulates nerves, causing headaches.
 
Which is the best milk to prevent headaches?
(A)  Cow milk
(B)  Soy milk
(C)  Almond milk
 
A7. (B) Soy milk
 
Soy milk is rich in magnesium and iron.
Magnesium suppresses the function of the substance causing headaches. It is said that about 30 % of migraine headache is caused by lack of magnesium. It is recommended to drink 400 ml (14 fl oz.) of Soy milk a day to prevent headaches.
 
Iron causes anemia and hemoglobin that delivers oxygen to the brain doesn’t work, causing headaches.
 
Q8. Which increases the absorption ratio of iron by taking with Soy milk?
(A)  Tomato that has the effect of anti-oxidization
(B)  Kiwi that contains vitamin C
 
A8. (B) Kiwi.
The iron contained in Soy milk is not absorbed in the body very well, so taking Kiwi rich in vitamin C with Soy milk increases the absorption ratio of Iron.
 
Q9. Which is the best milk to prevent common cold?
(A)  Cow milk
(B)  Soy milk
(C)  Almond milk
 
A9. (C) Almond milk
Almond milk is rich in vitamin E expected to strengthen immune system. Almond milk contains more than 30 times of vitamin E compared to Cow and Soy milk.
 
One of the causes of the decrease of immune system is active oxygen. Vitamin E removes active oxygen, strengthening the immune system.
 
It is expected that drinking 200 ml (7 fl oz.) of Almond milk a day prevents common cold.
 
Q10. Which recovers the tiredness of the stomach and intestines by drinking continuously for 2 weeks and increasing good bacteria?
(A)  Cow milk
(B)  Soy milk
(C)  Almond milk
 
A10. (B) Soy milk
Normal foods are broken down and absorbed by the function of digestive enzyme, but Soy oligosaccharide is neither digested nor absorbed and reaches the large intestine and becomes bait of good bacteria (Bifidobacterium). The increase of good bacteria suppresses the activity of bad bacteria and improves the tiredness of the intestines.
 
Soy protein protects the membrane of the stomach.
 
Lactose contained in cow milk also becomes the bait of intestinal bacteria and increases good bacteria.

I want to share my experience of shingles and how I treated it.
 
Right before the Christmas of 2 years ago, below my right shoulder blade started to feel itchy with some rash. I thought I got a bug bite even though it was winter. When a few days passed, pain was added to the itchiness. I thought it was because I scratched the area. After that, the itchiness went away and the pain increased, and I also started to feel pain in my right chest with deep breathing or small movement. At this point, I was convinced that  I got shingles even though it was not diagnosed.
 
I was wondering how to heal this shingles. If it had not been mine, I would have burn moxa on the shingles, but of course I couldn’t and I didn’t want to take antiviral drugs.
 
So I decided to go on fast for 3 days.
For 3 days, I just drank water and ate one Umeboshi plum a day.
I got hangry and lost some strength sometimes, but it was very simple and effective.
3 days later the pain in my back and chest decreased by half, and in 7 days the pain and discomfort in my back disappeared.
Since then, I haven’t had the same symptoms.
 
I can’t say this in a loud voice and I recommend you to go to the doctor but I have to admit that fasting could be the best medicine sometimes.

This video was taken when I visited Japan. She is 2 years and 4 month old, who has eczema and runny nose.

1. Rough skin
 
Magnesium moisturizes the skin. Magnesium has the effect to pull water into the skin, so if you take enough magnesium, your skin gets smoother.
 
2. Obesity
 
According to a research, people who take sufficient magnesium have 31 % lower risk of metabolic syndrome, compared to people who don’t take enough magnesium.
 
With every 100 mg of magnesium taken a day, the risk of metabolic syndrome decreases by 17 %.
 
Magnesium increases metabolism in the cell, so it is a nutrient that is expected to prevent obesity.
 
3. High blood sugar
 
Magnesium has the effect to strengthen insulin that attracts sugar accumulated in the blood vessel into the cells.
 
According to a research in 2010, it has turned out that people who take sufficient magnesium have 47 % less risk of diabetes development than people who take insufficient magnesium.
 
Food containing a lot of magnesium
 
Fruit: Banana (32 mg of magnesium per piece)
 
It is good to eat banana with yogurt because bifidobacterial and calcium contained in yogurt increase the absorption ratio of magnesium. Adding soy powder (Kinako) increases the absorption ratio more because of oligosaccharide contained in soy powder.
 
Vegetable: Spinach (40 mg of magnesium per 100 g)
 
Dark green vegetables are rich in magnesium such as spinach, broccoli, okra.
 
When you eat eggs with spinach, the absorption ration of magnesium increases because of vitamin D in egg yolk.
 
Sea Vegetable: Sea weed (41 mg of magnesium per 10 g)
​

​Wrinkles
 
One of the causes of wrinkles is UV. The stratum corneum gets thicker to block UV. The thickened stratum corneum gets dry and becomes wrinkles.
 
But if you avoid UV too much,  there is a possibility that the bone could be weakened. Our body makes the bone from vitamin D and calcium. Vitamin D is made by soaking in the sun. That is why if you avoid the sun light, you can’t make the bone in your body.
 
You can prevent wrinkles and spots and also protect the bone by absorbing UV from the palms of your hands because the palms don’t have melanin pigments that block the UV so that vitamin D can be made efficiently in a short time. Sufficient UV can be absorbed by soaking your palms in the sun for 15 minutes a day.
 
Wrinkles that could be a sign of dangerous diseases
 
Wrinkles made in the ear lobe could be a sign of heart diseases (Fig. 1).
 
The ear lobe doesn’t have many blood vessels so that the ear lobe is easily affected by hardening of the artery (arteriosclerosis) and wrinkles are made by poor blood circulation due to hardening of the artery. The ear lobe is one of rare spots in our body where we can check the condition of our blood vessel.
 
It is said that wrinkles on the forehead are also made by hardening of the artery, but they are made by UV as well, so  the ear lobe that is not easily affected by UV is more useful to check the condition of the blood vessel.
 
According to a survey conducted on 108 people whose ages were 54-74 year old for 8 years in Chicago University, people who had wrinkles in the ear lobe tripled the risk of heart diseases.
 
Eating blue back fishes is recommended to prevent hardening of the artery because EPA contained in blue back fishes improves the blood flow and helps prevent hardening of the artery.

Reference articles:
Signs Appearing When You Get Sick: Lung/Hardening of the Arteries
​

​Damage to the skin
 
Which lowers the damage to the skin due to UV by about 25 %, drinking coffee or green tea?
 
According to a research in University Witten/Herdecke, Germany, drinking green tea lowers the damage to the skin due to UV by 25 %.
 
Spots and wrinkles are caused by active oxygen due to UV, but catechin contained in green tea removes active oxygen.
 
Catechin is a type of polyphenol, which is a substance protecting the plants from UV so that antioxidant action is expected.
 
Green tea contain vitamin C. 3 cups of green tea contains as much vitamin C as a piece of lemon.
 
Which is better to prevent the damage to the skin, drinking green tea before going out or after returning home?
 
Drinking green tea before going out is better to prevent the damage to the skin.
 
This is the same as you apply sunscreen before going out.

The patient is a 6 years-old girl.
 
She sometimes comes to my clinic with symptoms like sleeping problem or stuffy nose. This time she has had dry and rough skin around her left wrist for a few weeks. She also has 5 bug bites on her legs which are red and swollen. According to her mother, she got the bug bites the day before.
 
I gave her pediatric acupuncture treatment shown in the video of Pediatric Acupuncture.
 
In addition to Pediatric Acupuncture Treatment, I touched around the area of rough skin with a round tip needle. For the swelling due to bug bites, I tapped around each bug bite with another round tip needle to remove heat.
 
When she came to the second treatment, the swelling and redness around the bug bites were all gone. The roughness around her left wrist decreased. So I gave her pediatric acupuncture and only additional touching needles on the rough skin around her left wrist.
 
On the third treatment, the roughness around her left wrist was almost gone except only a part of it so that I gave her the same treatment as the second one and ended the treatments for the rough skin.
 
[discussion]
 
I think the rough skin around the wrist was caused by the weakness of her Lung energy because she had signs on Lung related acupuncture points, though she didn’t have any cold-related symptoms.
 
In the case of adult, I usually use heart therapy called moxa for bug bites, but tapping around bug bites was as effective as moxa for pediatric treatment.

Reference: Pediatric Acupuncture at Cozy Acupuncture in Salem, MA

Do you know what diseases rapidly increase among women after menopause?
 
The diseases are stroke and heart attack which are life-threatening blood vessel diseases. The cause is menopause. After menopause, the secretion of female hormone (estrogen) which protects women’s body decreases, causing not only wrinkles and sagging but also hardening of blood vessels, and makes it easier to have lifestyle-related diseases.
 
The decrease of female hormone happens to all the women with age and it is not avoidable. That has been the common sense of medicine.
 
However, it has tuned out that a substance protects the body instead of female hormone.
 
The substance is Equol.
 
If you can get Equol, the blood vessels that arteriosclerosis progressed with age can be rejuvenated. The prevention of stroke and heart attack also can be expected. Another good news is that it can be expected that wrinkles will disappear and you look younger, and the prevention of cancer also can be expected.
 
Equol is not only effective for women but also effective for men and the same effect such as rejuvenation of blood vessels can be expected.
 
What kind of substance is Equol?
 
Equol can be extracted from urine of pregnant horses.
 
Why does Equol protect the body instead of female hormone?
 
Because the chemical structure of Equol is very similar to female hormone, so Equol has the same function as female hormone.
 
There is a research result that administration of Equol makes age of blood vessels younger, and Equol prevents breast cancer for women and prostate cancer for men.
 
In fact, you can create Equol in your body without depending on urine of horses.
 
How can Equol be created in the body?
 
Equol protects blood vessels like female hormone (estrogen).
Equol improves wrinkles, shallowing the depth of wrinkles and shrinking the area of wrinkles.
 
There are people who can create Equol and who can’t create Equol, and among people who can create Equol, there are people who can create Equol a lot and people who can’t create Equol very much.
 
The secret to create Equol is Soy Products (Fig. 1).
 
Equol is created in the intestine. When Soy products come to the intestine, the intestinal bacteria break down soy products and create Equol.
 
If you regularly eat soy products for a long time, the number of the intestinal bacteria creating Equol increases and more Equol is created.
 
How much soy products have been eaten until now decides whether you can create Equol or not.
 
The foodstuff helping increase Equol if you eat with are burdock and onion.
 
Burdock and onion contains Fructooligosaccharides which are food of the intestinal bacteria. Fructooligosaccharides increase good bacteria in the intestine, making better environment to create Equol. Other foodstuff containing Fructooligosaccharides are tomato, banana, garlic and asparagus.
 
Even if you can’t create Equol, if you continue to eat soy products for a long time, there is a possibility that you can become a person who can create Equol.
 

Antiaging
 
A prefecture is the highest of all the prefectures in Japan about both the average life span and the healthy life expectancy in both men and women.
 
Average life span: Men: 80.88 years old, Women: 87.18 years old
Healthy life expectancy: Men: 79.46 years old, Women: 80.04 years old
 
What kind of food are the people in the prefecture eating?
 
There are 3 factors considered to have a healthy and long life.
 
1. Reducing salt
 
High intake of salt can cause high blood pressure and can result in sudden death due to stroke.
The prefecture’s countermeasure is encouraging the people to increase vegetables when they eat soup (miso soup). Increasing vegetables reduces the amount of soup which contains salt and vegetables are rich in potassium which excretes salt from the body.
 
2. Preventing cancer by eating Mushrooms
 
Mushrooms have the effect to suppress cancer.
Enoki mushrooms, Nameko mushrooms and beech mushrooms are known to prevent cancer.
 
3. Eating Agar which is the king of dietary fiber
 
Agar which is vegetable gelatin is rich in dietary fiber. (Fig. 1)
The dietary fiber of agar is very good to absorb water. 1 gram of agar absorbs more than 100 ml of water. It is important for health to eat dietary fiber containing a lot of water.
 
Health Effects of Agar
 
(1) Prevention of Obesity
Agar jelly (Fig. 2) containing a lot of water makes you feel full, preventing over eating which leads to obesity.
 
(2) Improvement of Constipation
 
Agar jelly containing a lot of water increases the amount of stools and makes the stools softer, so it is effective to improve constipation.
 
(3) Prevention of Rapid Elevation of Blood Sugar
 
Elevation of sugar in the body ages the body. Sugar damages the blood vessel from the inside of the blood vessel, causing aging of the blood vessel. Sugar also attaches collagens in the skin and damages them, causing flaccid skin.
 
(4) Decrease of LDL Cholesterol
 
Continuous eating of agar jelly decreases LDL cholesterol which is the cause of hardening of the blood vessel.
 
How much agar should be eaten a day?
 
It is effective to eat 2 grams of dried agar stick (about one fourth of a stick) a day.