Soy helps prevent breast cancer in postmenopausal women
Another one is soybeans, which I mentioned earlier.
In addition to strengthening bones, soybeans have also been shown to reduce the incidence of breast cancer.
Asians, including Japanese, unfortunately have breast cancer structures that are different from Westerners in that they are prone to breast cancer.This is also a genetic disadvantage, but in spite of this, the number of people who develop breast cancer in Japan is about one-third that of Western developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, which is much lower.
Various researchers have investigated why soybeans have a low incidence of breast cancer in spite of their unfavorable structure.
In a survey conducted in Japan, postmenopausal50?60Women around the age of XNUMX were asked to determine how much they ate soy foods, such as tofu, in terms of isoflavones, which are contained in soybeans. After dividing, the people in each group then10Compare breast cancer rates per year. (See Figure XNUMX)
Then, if the incidence rate of the group that did not eat isoflavones was set to XNUMX, the incidence rate was clearly lower in the group that ate well.The group that eats the most is XNUMX.32So it's one-third of the group that eats the least.
[Figure 4] Postmenopausal women can prevent breast cancer with isoflavones
On the other hand, be careful with the intake of dairy products.
There are some other similar data.
Soybeans seem to be helping Asian women avoid breast cancer.
Isoflavones are found only in soybeans.Since no conclusion has been reached regarding the efficacy and safety of taking large amounts of it as supplements, it is certain that you should take it from food.
There is also data suggesting that dairy products are bad for breast cancer.The consumption of dairy products may be one of the reasons behind the gradual increase in breast cancer in Japan, although it is still small.
Recently, the data that "Japanese food is good" has begun to appear
―In summary, does it mean that traditional Japanese food is good for Japanese health?
that's right.In the end, when you think about the constitution of the Japanese people, you end up with Japanese food.
I didn't write the book with the intention of recommending Japanese food, but the more I researched it, the more I came to the conclusion that Japanese food is good.Even if you look at overseas literature, it is often written that "this is how it is in Japan" and "fish and soybeans are good."
I think everyone has known from experience that Japanese food is good, but only recently has scientific data about it started to appear, albeit only a little.
Relationship between dairy products and fats and breast cancer
For example, it was said in both the United States and Japan that people who consume a lot of dairy products and fat are more likely to develop breast cancer.
However, when we ask people who have actually had breast cancer about their usual diet, we find that not all of them eat a lot of fat.
The year before last, data that could answer that question came out.It's not the diet you have now as an adult,10It means that there were many people who ate dairy products and fat content in their teens.
Eating habits at an early age affect later
Cancer is not limited to breast cancer.10Depending on age and type of cancer20?40Cancer cells grow slowly over the years.
So maybe10To put it simply, people who ate a lot of fat and milk in their teens had a tiny cancer seed that had grown at that time, and it took a long time to grow and grow.30Yoya40So it's not strange that you'll develop breast cancer when you're in your teens.
-It's a real time bomb.
That's right.
Therefore, in other diseases besides breast cancer,10I think there is a good chance that we will find out that the eating habits of teenagers and even younger children are related to the onset of diseases in adults.
However, the idea of epigenetics is that such influences can be changed at any age.
Potassium intake from vegetables and seaweed rather than low-salt
―When it comes to Japanese food, salt content is often a problem.Salt is said to be the cause of high blood pressure, and people have been actively trying to reduce their salt intake.
It is true that the old Japanese ate too much salt.
However, this was not so much due to miso soup and other Japanese foods, but rather because the climate was hot and humid, there were no refrigerators, and the distribution system was not developed. It was a lot.
Since then, with the spread of refrigerators and the diversification of seasonings, the salt intake of Japanese people has almost halved.High blood pressure is also below the average worldwide, and it is by no means common.The proportion of people with high blood pressure is lower than in the UK and France.
If we simply compare the amount of salt intake in Japan, it is still higher than in Europe and the United States, so high blood pressure is not determined solely by the amount of salt intake.Even if you just think about it, summer in Japan is hot and sweaty, and I don't think it's the same as Europe and the United States.
And considering various studies in Japan and Europe and the United States, it is said that taking potassium is more important than reducing salt intake.
Potassium is abundant in vegetables and seaweed, and it helps to excrete excess sodium.If you doubled your intake of vegetables and seaweed, your sodium would be balanced and your blood pressure would go down even more. (See Fig. XNUMX)
I think it will be quite difficult to reduce salt content further due to climate and customs, so I would like you to focus on increasing potassium rather than that.
[Figure 5] Blood pressure decreases as the sodium/potassium ratio approaches 1
alcohol that raises blood pressure
- If you want to reduce the amount of salt, use XNUMX kg per bag instead of miso soup.10I think instant noodles with grams of salt are more of a problem.
Miso soup contains not only isoflavones but also various active ingredients, so it would be a waste not to drink it.
-Is high blood pressure related to alcohol?
Alcohol raises blood pressure.Especially for Japanese people, it is easy to rise due to alcohol.
If you compare the blood pressure of a Japanese person who gets red in the face and a Western person who doesn't get red, even if they drink the same amount of alcohol every day, the Japanese person's blood pressure rises in half the number of days. .
After all, alcohol is quite a demon for Japanese people.
