I came across an　interesting article about a study on married women.
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Married women suffer fewer problems: Study

A study by Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital has found pregnant women who are married are less likely to face spousal abuse or to have substance abuse problems or post-partum depression.

Dr. Marcelo Urquia, an epidemiologist at the hospital’s Centre for Inner City Health, analyzed data from the 2006/07 Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey, a nationwide sample of 6,421 child-bearing women compiled by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Urquia’s study found that 10.6 per cent of married women reported partner abuse, substance abuse or post-partum depression. The figure rose to 20 per cent for women living in common-law relationships and even higher — 35 per cent — for single women. Most dramatically, it rose to 67 per cent for women who were separated or divorced in the year prior to the birth of a child.

The study was published Thursday, Dec. 13, in the American Journal of Public Health.

“We expected to see differences, but not as big,” Urquia said.

“One cannot recommend people get married, that is their choice. But what this (study) is showing is that those who commit to marriage may have some characteristics that make them different from others and those characteristics play a protective role for psycho-social well-being,” Urquia said.

The study also showed the longer the relationship among the common-law, the better a woman’s chances of not suffering abuse by her partner, having a substance abuse problem or having post-partum depression, though they still experienced more problems as opposed to married women, who experienced higher well-being from the beginning of their marriages.

Urquia said the study was motivated by the increasing number of children being born in Canada outside of traditional marriage. The figure is about 30 per cent today, a dramatic increase from 9 per cent in 1971.

A future study of the impact on children of different relationships —marriage, habitation or singlehood — would be beneficial, Urquia said.

Above was written by Bruce DeMara cited from the star.com.
http://www.thestar.com/living/health/article/1301764–married-women-suffer-fewer-problems-study
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What do you think about it?

What do you think the business that has been increasing around the train station these days?  There are many, but one of them is the Mental Clinic. 

If you open a public phone book, you can find more than 10 mental clinics around each train station in Tokyo.  It did not happen a decade ago.  In those days, mental illness was a big issue and we seldom saw clinics in our normal life.  Consequently, it was obvious that we literally had to make up our mind and visit major hospitals if we needed to go see a mental health doctor.

However, about 10 years ago, I noticed that a clinic in my neighborhood, whose specialty was to consult the elderly with their blood pressure control, changed its name to “Cranial Nerves Clinic” in associated with cerebral apoplexy.  60% of the patients still wanted prescription of their medicine, but the rest was suffering from depression.  Not too long after changing its name, to my great surprise, this small clinic bought a four-story building and established a full-scale mental clinic.  I hear that the doctor prescribes a month’s worth of hypnotic drugs without hesitation and the nurse has to give him a warning each time.  This clinic is so strange.

In Italy, nobody goes to the public mental hospital (refered in Mental Immunology by Koichiro Fujita, Shinchosha Publishing Co., Ltd.).  Professor Fujita, M.D., the author of the book pointed out that the number of bed in the department of Psychiatry in US, France, or England has rapidly dropped down, but contrarily, that of in Japan has kept growing.  There is a significantly big difference in acknowledging mental illness between those countries between Japan.  It has been aware of a limit on a treatment solely dependent on drugs in those countries whereas in Japan, a treatment is to prescribe each patient for medicine as many as 30 tablets a day.

Professor Fujita, M.D. talks about Professor Feng Jin, The Chinese Academy of Science that he mentions in his book that it has been proved in animal experiments that lactobacillus acidophilus improve intestinal bacteria which help to stabilize emotions.  What I found more interesting is the study of Dr. Micheal Gershon, University of Columbia.  In order to find out where serotonin is usually stored, he injected 5-hydroxytryptamine labeled with radiation to a mouse and found that it quickly changed into serotonin and 95% of it is stored in the intestine.  Serotonin (lacking of this could outbreak depression.) is a substance that leads cerebrum to a relaxing state and it is believed to shift to cerebrum more smoothly on condition that the temperature of intestines and the state of lactobacillus acidophilus are proper. 

Modern people should be aware and understand that what is effective to stabilize the state of brain lies in far from the cerebrum, which has never been pointed out in terms of brain science.  Now it has been more accepted that a drug like SSRI should not be given too much because it could have the opposite effect in dropping down the quantity of synthesized serotonin.  As I mentioned earlier, if serotonin has something deeply to do with the intestine, we should eat food that includes lots of fiber.  Soy beans, notto, and tofu include tryptophan.  They are not only healthy but also rich in fiber.. They also increase serotonin in the intestines.  In the end, they improve the intestine environment. 

In ancient times, coelenterates like earthworms were believed to think in their intestines because they didn’t have brain.  They produced neurotransmitter called serotonin in the intestines and controlled their whole body with it.  Humans are also the descendants of them, so that is why even in the recent times; we store 95% of serotonin in our intestines.  Serotonin rapidly breaks if one feels stressed.  So it is important to stay away from work or people that you may feel stressed with.

It’s holiday party season, so bling it on with the most gorgeous — and flattering — shimmery makeup. Read on for these pro tips.

By Eleanor Langston

Read more: Holiday Makeup – Party Makeup Tips – Redbook

Above was cited in RedBook, written by Eleanor Langston.
http://www.redbookmag.com/beauty-fashion/tips-advice/holiday-makeup#slide-1

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23 Ways To Prevent Colds & Flu
From the latest research to time-honored remedies, here are the very strategies for your healthiest winter ever

Read more: http://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/best-colds-flu-prevention-strategies#ixzz2F2S58e00

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Above was written by Susan Ince, cited from Prevention.com.
http://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/best-colds-flu-prevention-strategies
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Let’s try and stay healthy!

Here is the article.
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“Umami,” which appears in the presence of other foods, represents the “Fifth Taste” essential to Japanese cuisine.
Umami is one of the five tastes in Japanese cuisine and is said to be the fifth taste after sweetness, sourness, saltiness and bitterness. Fermented foods like cheese and vegetables like tomatoes contain high levels of umami. In Japanese cuisine, using the umami contained in seafood, seaweeds, mushrooms and fermented foods extracts the natural flavor of the respective ingredients and provides an excellent seasoning even in foods with low fat content. Umami represents the cornerstone of healthy Japanese food.
 

Yuzu pepper used in a French sauce.

A variety of ingredients containing Japanese “umami.”
To use the umami element in Japanese cooking, water and dashi ingredients must be used to obtain dashi stock. Mostly dried ingredients are used to make dashi stock. The umami elements increase during the drying and processing stages and nutrients are also concentrated. Miso paste or fermented soybean paste and soy sauce, both essential ingredients in Japanese cooking, also gain added umami during processing. It is well known that sushi and sashimi is eaten with soy sauce as the umami of soy sauce enhances the flavor of fish with minimal salt. Japan is blessed with a wealth of umami food ingredients that extract the natural taste of the raw ingredients.
 

“Katsuo bushi,” dried and fermented bonito flakes.
 

“Miso,” fermented paste made from soybeans and usually rice or barley.
 

Soy sauce, made from soybeans,wheat, and salt by fermentation for several months.

Secrets behind the flavor of dashi stock ? its constituents.
The constituents of dashi stock include inosinic acid and glutaminic acid, types of amino acids. It is known that these produce a stronger umami effect when used in combination. Just as meat flavor improves when simmered together with vegetables, savoring Japanese dashi stock in conjunction with food ingredients creates a masterpiece of flavor.
 

A salad enjoyed with a sauce made of miso.

Using favorite Japanese seasonings in world cuisine. Unusual combinations are delicious.
An increasing number of chefs around the world are using distinctive Japanese seasonings like soy sauce, miso paste and yuzu pepper. The unique aroma and sensory stimulation of these ingredients are popular among diners. They make ideal seasonings for vegetable dip, pasta sauces and stir-fried vegetables and enable diners to discover completely new flavors.

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Above was cited from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
http://www.maff.go.jp/e/foj/food/umami.html
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Please try!

Male business recession has clearly been showing the increase in numbers year after year.  Male business recession means that the unemployment rate for men has been exceeding that of women for about 1%.  

Why!?  There seems to be various reasons, but most practically, it is because that the manufacturing and construction industries that require men’s physical labor, and which women cannot generally get involved in, have been declined.  As the population of Japan has become smaller, the number of constructing new buildings and houses also decreases, and I assume it will not end.  On the contrary, where there is a big growth in employment is the service industry.  The labor cost in this field is low and women are highly appreciated.  Many women in 60s and over are working at well-known fast food restaurants.  Nursing assistants for the elderly are also mostly women. 

In addition to male business recession, another trend that has been increasing is the widened income gap among newly married couples.  People with high income such as highly educated doctors, elite business persons, and others tend to get married with those who have similar job status and income.  Their total income as a family can become about 1.5million yen a month.  On the other hand, the number of couples who are both temporary employed is also increasing.  Their total income as a family makes about 300,000 yen a month.  Although it is an extreme case, the income gap between two examples of married couples is almost as big as 5 times.  

Statistically, men’s marriage rate drops down to 10% when their annual income drops below 3 million yen. This result indicates that one’s income affects the possibility of getting married and this may end up to create an image that it is an unattainable dream to get married as long as their income continues to decrease.

Don’t be afraid to be poor!  In fact, have fun and be good at being poor!!  I think that those people with low income should think that they have been tested whether they are wise and tough enough to have their own life.  When I got married, we were very poor.  But I used to go shopping all the way to Okachimachi for reasonable goods.  I would buy meat and fish in bulk, and separate them in smaller packages to keep in stock in a freezer.  I was always ready to welcome guests at home and serve them with rich and delicious meals.  I knew how to make my guests feel satisfied.  Now we have Costco, grocery store for retailers, 99yen shops or many others where we can find reasonable goods to prepare good meals with.  Home Gardening is also a good way to cut down expenses on foods. (Please check my previous article about Home Gardening.)  Besides Tokyo, the house rent is relatively low and over 70% of young people shall be able to inherit their parent’s house later.  More and more people like to share an apartment room or a house, which is also a good idea.

Finally but not the least, you must be worried about the education fee for your children.  But often times, I think many people are fooled by advertising of cramming schools and end up in wasting much money.  What I recommend for children to learn is an abacus.  Then they should practice reading and transcribing their textbooks daily at home.  Writing book reports is also recommended.  Those learning habits can enable you to settle a firm base for your children without spending money in order for them to become ready for upcoming learning.  If you want them to learn English, Disney DVD is a good tool.  Watch the DVD in Japanese twice and watch it in English for 30 times.  The smaller your children are, the more quickly they acquire how to speak English with the proper pronunciations.  There is always a way to provide good education for your children.  Make sure your children play in the nature.  Have them experience much adventure and they will develop their own personalities. 

Children who will shine in the international society would be those who don’t lie or break promises.  Those who grow up feeling loved by parents, or a parent, usually have fabulous smiles.  I think such children will be able to open to any professional fields.  Rather, children who are gentle and kind to the weak will be much more appreciated.  Those traits cannot be purchased; if anything, I’m afraid that children may lose those traits as long as their education continues to be bought.    

If a couple can earn 4 or 5 million yen annually, the family can manage to have a rich life.  We should think over again and live vigorously.  And I wish each family will choose to engage in child rearing for a happier family life.

Recession of male business is not only happening in Japan, but also in the US and many other countries in the world.  That is why it is important to change our ways of thinking.  Maybe women need to respect and praise men more consciously so that men will not lose their self-confidence.

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Enjoy this healthy, delicious drink anytime, anywhere.
Full of highly acclaimed natural constituents.
Nutritious as a drink and as a food ingredient.
The astringent constituent in Japanese tea is a type of polyphenol called catechin. There are various types of catechin, and research showing that they work to lower blood cholesterol and moderate fat absorption has attracted attention. Furthermore, the vitamin C in green tea is protected by the simultaneous consumption of catechin so that it is not destroyed by heat, allowing ample vitamin C uptake. It also contains constituents such as caffeine and theanine, which has relaxing properties. While drinking green tea is nutritious, using the entire leaf in food provides even greater nutritional content.

A flavor with depth, attracting attention from gourmets worldwide.
Apart from sencha, which is drunk after steaming the leaves, a less astringent tea called gyokuro has become popular among gourmets overseas in recent years. The tea used in Japanese tea ceremony is called matcha, Its leaves are grown without exposure to direct sunlight. They are steamed and dried without being rubbed then stone-ground to a powder. Naturally, matcha is full of catechin and provides health benefits. There has been an increase in the use of matcha in confectionary and cooking overseas, so even more people are enjoying its depth of flavor.

 
Surrounded by lush mountains, Japan produces fresh, fragrant green tea.

The matcha, or powdered green tea, in this ice cream gives it a refreshing finish.

Produced in a variety of ways.
Find a type of tea to suit any occasion.
There are various ways of manufacturing Japanese green tea. In addition to sencha, the most typical Japanese tea, and deep-steamed sencha, which is steamed for twice as long as usual, each variety has its own unique taste and nutritional elements. These include bancha, which uses the hard leaves and stalks after the new leaves have grown, houjicha, which is made from bancha or sencha that has been roasted over high heat, and genmaicha, which blends sencha with brown rice roasted under high pressure. There are a variety of occasions on which each type of tea is drunk. Sencha is drunk after a meal in Japan. It is effective in reducing stickiness in the mouth and also helps prevent teeth from decaying. Tea drinking is suggested for various purposes and occasions which are commonly observed in Japan. Sencha is recommended as a drink before playing sports and also for quenching thirst. With their lower caffeine content, bancha or houjicha can be drunk before going to sleep.

“For flavorsome tea, it must be at the ‘right temperature’.”
Unlike black tea, the secret to making green tea is to let the boiled water cool slightly before pouring it over the leaves. This will allow you to enjoy beautiful color and a deep flavor that is similar to umami.

Elizabeth Andoh
（Food Journalist in Japan ）

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Above was cited from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
http://www.maff.go.jp/e/oishii/ingredients/japanese_tea.html
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Very interesting.

Many Japanese people must have been so surprised and felt deeply sad to hear about the death of NAKAMURA, Kanzaburo, one of the greatest Kabuki actors in Japan.  I also felt so sad about it.

NAKAMURA, Kanzaburo was too young to be lost.  He must have left many tasks undone.  I just can’t help thinking how much he must have been feeling regretful for not being able to spend more time with his two sons and his grandson.  Kanzaburo was mostly praised for his genius performance that he achieved through working his fingers to the bone days and nights.  He also didn’t neglect his efforts to learn about Japanese classic literatures.  Of all his efforts, I believe his best achievement was to have us experience the origin of Kabuki at Heisei Nakamura-Za which he established in Asakusa, the old town in Tokyo.  This enabled us to have an idea that Kabuki is not only for the rich or some elder people. 

I’ve been feeling that Kabuki performed at Kabuki-Za keeps in slow tempo that it makes the audience feel sleepy.  In addition, Kabuki-Za has a break in-between which results in restraining the audience for a long time.  For that reason, I could not help thinking but Kabuki is only for those who have ample time. 

On the other hand, the performance at Heisei Nakamura-Za keeps in quick tempo, using contemporary languages.  Thanks to it, I always enjoy all through the stories and understand the content well.  I never knew until I visited Heisei Nakamura-Za that stories of Kabuki is full of developments and unexpected twists.  I never felt the real pleasure of Kabuki is to watch the actors so close that I could even see their sweat.   Being in the middle of enthusiasm, excitement, and laugh of the audience, I remember feeling as if I were with the people in Edo period.  

Some commentators criticized that they deviated too much or they were even obscene.  But Kanzaburo did not pay attention to such criticism; instead, he bravely focused on how they can entertain the audience more.  He was always willing to upgrade their performance by costumes and stories that could draw us in.  

Back in Edo period, the Kabuki theaters would work together for the first day of the performance by practicing hard, writing new stories, or preparing the best costumes with all the money and technique that they could use.  Now I can easily imagine that the audience would cheer up the Kabuki actors with a shout, “Yo!” when the performance commenced.  A star actor was so called because he would spend almost all the money on surprisingly brave costumes.  I assume that Kanzaburo took a big risk in establishing the Heisei Nakamura-Za at the beginning in terms of a small budget for building a theater with a limited space for audience seats, which would not bring good business accounts. 

His family lineage has a history of over 300 years.  He must not cease to extinct.  Meanwhile, he must brush up his performance of art maintaining the traditional custom.  But at the same time, he must be brave enough to break through the traditions for better performance.  And most of all, he must raise his own children into excellent, earnest, and gifted Kabuki actors for the next generations.  This is what is expected the most, and I think this is the hardest task to accomplish.

As a mother of three children, I believe that there is nothing but child rearing that we will be required to make the hardest decisions.  In order to train children, we need to be strict.  So is to teach manners.  If we are too strict, we may result in depriving their self-esteem.  I know that many of my musician friends have siblings who have failed to be musicians, who became to hate music, or who even ended in hating their parents because of the exceedingly strict trainings that their parents forced in their childhood
So I wonder what kind of essence that Kanzaburo possessed to train his children this miracle, traditional performing art was.

I guess it was genuine trust and love that their father and mother had toward each other, and deep love that they had toward their children.  To rear children to be strong enough to conquer the severe trainings, first of all, parents must be filled with love.  Considering that, I truly think that Kanzaburo has a great family that the Japanese will refer to as ideal. 
I sincerely hope that his two sons will overcome Kanzaburo’s death and make what Kanzaburo has achieved bigger and bigger.

Ryokan, a Japanese style Inn usually serves unique breakfast.  As you can see in the picture, there are about 10 to 15 dishes for breakfast.  Each dish is served neatly in a small dish and they are all low calories.  Even if you eat all of them, the total intake calories will not exceed 500 calories.

This Ryokan started to serve breakfast way back in Edo period, about 300 years ago, when it was the greatest pleasure for the people to travel between Tokyo and Osaka on foot.  The Ryokan master served each guest breakfast and dinner set on a portable small table individually.  Even back in those days, breakfast had 5 dishes at least.  It seems that the Ryokan has added dishes to the menu during the past 10 years. 

Rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, small pot dish with vegetables and meat, grilled fish, octopus Carpaccio, vegetable sticks, Japanese style omelet, boiled vegetables with soy sauce, shrimp paste dumpling, 3 more small dishes, yogurt for a dessert, and a glass of apple juice.

It may be hard for foreign people to understand.  But I really recommend that many foreign people to try this cool Japanese culture when they visit Japan.

I was curious about school lunch in other countries so I asked my English friend, Mary. She teaches English in a Japanese elementary school and eats Japanese-style school lunch daily.

“In England, the school lunch had pizza, hot dog, fried chicken, or other junk foods that could lead children directly to obesity until around the year of 2005. No one had ever made a complaint about it.

Then it was Jamie Oliver, a famous, handsome chef in England who initiated a campaign to change school lunch. He directly pleaded with Prime Minister Blare that the school lunch in those days succeeded only in mass production of obese children. Prime Minister Blare agreed and accepted 100% of Jamie’s appeal. He also incorporated Jamie’s original menus that have less fries and pizza, but use more vegetables with lots of varieties. And most of all, they are all low calories.”

This is so great! I checked Jamie’s picture and found that he gained weight recently. Mr. Handsome Chef has already become middle-aged.

Mary continued, “The ordinary lunch that children bring from home has a sandwich, a sweetened flavored yogurt, an apple, and a Kit Kat! I guarantee you that every child has a Kit Kat for their lunch! Their lunch is a sweet, not a meal. I prefer a bento, a lunch box, in Japan.” Her evaluation is scathing. She continued talking bitterly about Japanese school lunch.

“I agree that school lunch in Adachi City is great. But I sometimes find my school lunch needs improvements. Of course, not all the time.
For example, one day when we had a hamburger menu, my hamburger patty was not fully cooked. Sometimes I find the squashed rice grains. I can tell you that they use cheap rice.”

Considering what Mary told me, I think that we cannot necessarily blindly be happy and satisfied about the Japanese school lunch that it has been improving. What we can rely on the most is the leftover ratio because it measures how much children are satisfied. I truly hope that the regional administrations conduct a research on the leftover ratio in all over Japan.