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Diet-fads-in-japan--bananas--natto--and-agar
Tom Aaron
The island nation of Japan whole-heartedly throws itself into fad after fad from hula hoops to banana diets. Moving from post World War II and postwar hunger in Japan toward greater and greater problems with metabolic syndrome and obesity, more and more people are fascinated with diets. Some might even say obsessed. Like many other people around the world, many Japanese are looking for a quick answer. Lifestyle changes involving more exercising, better dietary habits and fewer calories could be the answer, but this does not seem to have overpowering attraction for many people who should lose weight and many people who want to lose weight. They are on a quest, searching for the magic bullet. Recent years have seen these quests turn into fads focusing on bananas, natto, and agar.
The banana has been the most recent. Living under a rock, just like Homer Simpson, I didn't realize how pervasive the banana fad was until I stopped by at a local supermarket to buy some bananas. They are usually piled high in bunches of five, six, seven, or eight bananas. Instead I was greeted by the sight of a few bunches, each with three bruised and browning bananas wrapped together in plastic wrap. A giant sign over these few lonely banana bunches read only one bunch per customer. I bought some apples instead.
The banana was based on eating bananas with room water temperature in the morning and whatever you want during the rest of the day. A pharmacist created the banana for her overweight husband. He lost weight and posted the information on Mixi, the social networking service. The banana boom exploded. Bananas were rocketing off the shelves and prices went up. I ate fewer bananas for a while. Then, banana consumption seemed to decrease. Now I can easily buy bananas.
Before the banana fad was the natto fad, propelled into fame by appearing on a television. The television show claimed that natto was the magic bullet. Natto, which is fermented bean paste, is very healthy food, but the TV program made even greater claims. Eat two packs of natto, the first in the morning and the second in the evening, and that would be enough. People could lose weight without any other work. Exercise was not necessary, nor were any changes in diet. The claim was that the isoflavones in natto and something else that caused DHEA secretion enabled this. Natto sold out at supermarkets all over Japan.
The natto began to fade when the true story emerged: the program simply made up the story. The actual science behind the story was fabricated as was the study that the program claimed to have conducted.
Before the truly amazing and incredible natto was the truly incredible and amazing agar diet. Agar is a gelatinous substance that comes from seaweed. You can use agar to make jellies, puddings and custards. Agar is approximately 80% fiber. If you eat agar, it triples in size and absorbs water. The agar simply required eating a dish of jelly made from agar before each meal. The agar also came from same television show as the amazing natto diet.
Going back in time before the agar or forward in time from the banana will certainly produce another amazing diet. Agar, natto, and bananas all offer great health benefits, but none was the magic bullet. Still, hope lives on and millions of people still watch television programs about health and diets, waiting for the next grand solution to the world's weight problem. Who knows? A real magic bullet could be just around the corner. Article Source: http://www.upublish.info About the Author:
Tom Aaron
At Aaron Language Services, (http://www.aaronlanguage.com/ ) we offer translation from Japanese to English, proofreading, and online English coaching to a primarily Japanese client base. We also provide ESL writing coaching via the Internet and many resources for ESL students. Keywords: diet, natto, bananas, Japan, agar, metabolic syndrome, obesity **NOTE** - Tom Aaron has claimed original rights on the article "Diet Fads in Japan: Bananas, Natto, and Agar" ... if there is a dispute on the originality of this article ... please contact us via our Contact Form and supply our staff with the appropriate details of dispute.
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