Sushi Singularity Stateside

[Taro Toporific]

♪sushi rollin', they hatin’…♬

sushi-rolling.jpg

Via yume @ukekigoe

[Takechanpoo]

New Gut Bacteria Research: What's So Special About the Japanese Gut?

Recently, scientists have determined that distinct differences in gut microbiota can develop depending on what region a person is from and, consequently, what foods are eaten. One study in particular discovered that the marine bacterium found on seaweed, Zobellia galactanivorans, has a specialized set of enzymes called porphyranases that break down the sulfur-rich carbohydrates found in marine algae, specifically nori.

.... Japanese guts are equipped with special enzymatic tools that help to digest seaweed carbohydrates.

Further research includes a study that looked at the gut microbiome of 13 Japanese volunteers and 18 North American volunteers. Seven potential porphyran-digesting enzymes were found in the gut bacteria of the Japanese volunteers, while researchers could not find a single similar gene among the North American volunteers.

http://bodyecology.com/articles/bacteria-foods.php
https://www.facebook.com/BodyEcology/po ... 0726719066

[matsuki]

I've heard this from many Japanese who have been so bold to assume nori give me the shits or I can't digest it. I digest it just fine and while I have never asked, I've yet to hear of a furrin barbarian claiming they can't digest seaweed. So scuse me for being a bit skeptical of another iteration of this claim to "North Americans" about the magic Japanese gut while trying to sell them a product to allow their obviously inferior guts to enjoy the same unique digestive properties. (...while basically implying the bacteria on raw seaweed do the same thing?)

[Coligny]

The phrasing of the article feels all over the place... might be that language barrier thingy...

and who needs seaweed to get the shits when tap water is ample enough...

[wagyl]

I've heard this from many Japanese who have been so bold to assume nori give me the shits or I can't digest it. I digest it just fine and while I have never asked, I've yet to hear of a furrin barbarian claiming they can't digest seaweed. So scuse me for being a bit skeptical of another iteration of this claim to "North Americans" about the magic Japanese gut while trying to sell them a product to allow their obviously inferior guts to enjoy the same unique digestive properties. (...while basically implying the bacteria on raw seaweed do the same thing?)

Two comments: can you call it research when it involves a total of 31 subjects? I think that number doesn't exceed the standard of "anecdote."

Second; chicken or egg? As I think you alluded to, does the intestinal flora come from consuming a certain quantity of seaweed, or do they claim that the intestinal flora came first and it is an incredibly happy coincidence that the population with that flora also lived near a coast in the correct latitude?

Now I will admit that I have guts of steel, so robust that I shit rust, but I have never heard a claim that seaweed is indigestible by the ethnically disadvantaged. Maybe I just haven't been listening. But I would tend to assume that if there was any gut troubles, it would be more to do with potentially dodgy seafood.
There is one further point: the Welsh are also ethnically advantaged (just ask them).

EDIT: Yeah, the original source looks like trash anyway.

[Wage Slave]

EDIT: Yeah, the original source looks like trash anyway.

One of Tacky's sources trash? You're avin a laff, incha?

[wagyl]

EDIT: Yeah, the original source looks like trash anyway.

One of Tacky's sources trash? You're avin a laff, incha?

Oh I don't know. Is viewtopic.php?f=11&t=30974&p=391751&hilit=breitbar%2A#p391751 the bottom of the barrel, or the foamy stuff at the top? Or the bit on the extreme right of the barrel, in a conspiratorial huddle?

[legion]

I'd type something clever but I'm too busy eating natto gohan

[matsuki]

I have never heard a claim that seaweed is indigestible by the ethnically disadvantaged. Maybe I just haven't been listening.

I've heard it enough that I'm fairly confident it was on one of those "feel good and special, you're a unique Japanese!" segments on the local TV shows. Obviously a well researched fact...

[Takechanpoo]

'Sushi face' is real, says Julianne Moore — and doctors agree

In an interview with New York Magazine, Moore described what happens to her face after she eats the Japanese dish, which is made by combining specially prepared rice with seafood and vegetables.

“It’s because of the sodium. My husband loves to have sushi in L.A. because it’s so good out there. But if I’m there for an awards show or something, I’m like, ‘No, I’m not doing it the night before the Golden Globes. My face will be puffy,” Moore told the magazine, which credited her with popularizing the term.

People might notice puffier faces and more pronounced bags under their eyes several hours or even a day after eating sushi because it can be a salty meal. Soy sauce contains loads of sodium; one tablespoon includes 900 milligrams of sodium, which is a big chunk of the daily allowance for sodium intake. (The American Heart Association recommends people eat no more than 2,300 milligrams per day but urges people to consider 1,500 milligrams, ideally.)

While soy sauce contains a whopping amount of sodium, sushi fish and sushi rice also contain salt. Eating all that sodium causes the cells to retain fluid.

“Your body wants to be in balance," said Dr. Adam Friedman, an associate professor of dermatology at George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences. "Your body wants to hold onto more water so you have a balance of water and salt."


Want to really exacerbate your sushi face? Drink a little saki, or any other alcohol, with your meal.
“You would be swollen and dehydrated,” Friedman said. “That combo is worse.”

https://www.today.com/health/sushi-face ... ss-t112729

[matsuki]

I'm always bewildered by the locals dismissing western food as too salty and talmbout everything being fried...when the bento selection in most supermarkets here has anything in the west beat in either of those categories.

[Grumpy Gramps]

And the Japanes pour soy sauce over everything

Kikkoman soy sauce contains a large amount of sodium per serving -- 920 mg, or 38 percent your maximum daily sodium intake of 2,400 mg. The Mayo Clinic suggests keeping sodium intake to 1,500 mg, especially if you have high blood pressure, kidney disease or diabetes. Sodium can increase blood pressure, which can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of developing heart disease.

Source

So if you die, it's most likely Kikkoman's fault.

[TennoChinko]

Similar to how in the 70’s, the USG decided saturated fats were the cause of cardiovascular disease and promoted substances like margarine over butter, we might see the the current doom and damnation over salt reverse itself in the near future ...

There's increasing evidence that healthy people don't need to worry about salt intake
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-bad- ... ure-2017-5

[matsuki]

Similar to how in the 70’s, the USG decided saturated fats were the cause of cardiovascular disease and promoted substances like margarine over butter, we might see the the current doom and damnation over salt reverse itself in the near future ...

There's increasing evidence that healthy people don't need to worry about salt intake
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-bad- ... ure-2017-5

I wonder what "healthy" will be in 20 or 40 years.

[TennoChinko]

Similar to how in the 70’s, the USG decided saturated fats were the cause of cardiovascular disease and promoted substances like margarine over butter, we might see the the current doom and damnation over salt reverse itself in the near future ...

There's increasing evidence that healthy people don't need to worry about salt intake
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-bad- ... ure-2017-5

I wonder what "healthy" will be in 20 or 40 years.

Cesium-infused rice from Fukushima ...!

[Russell]

Similar to how in the 70’s, the USG decided saturated fats were the cause of cardiovascular disease and promoted substances like margarine over butter, we might see the the current doom and damnation over salt reverse itself in the near future ...

There's increasing evidence that healthy people don't need to worry about salt intake
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-bad- ... ure-2017-5

Holy frack, that is quite shocking. My blood pressure is at the low end, and I didn't worry in the first place, only to be warned by Wifey, but now I just continue in the same way. Maybe I should even increase my consumption of salt.

Here is an article in Scientific American saying the same as the Business Insider article.

[Grumpy Gramps]

4 benefits of using Himalayan salt

Source 100% legit!

In the meantime, I keep avoiding salt

[TennoChinko]

4 benefits of using Himalayan salt

Source 100% legit!

In the meantime, I keep avoiding salt

Funny how that still trendy salt is actually mined in Pakistan... hundreds of miles from the Himalayan mountains that most people are imagining...

But still... some people who aren’t salt-high blood pressure sensitive but nevertheless strongly conditioned to avoid salt have the a hard time dealing with the fact that in some cases - i.e. if doing a low carb high fat ketogenic diet - increasing salt consumption actually helps all-around.

Another mainstream article:

Why Everything We Know About Salt May Be Wrong
http://archive.is/dAXBT

Either this guy is way off or he’s on to something:

James DiNicolantonio
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ja ... colantonio

His new book/website: http://thesaltfix.com/

[Russell]

It's funny that yesterday night I felt a strong urge to eat very salty Dutch liquorice, and unexpectedly felt more energetic afterwards. I am not on a low-salt diet, but admittedly I drink lots of fluids, so I may have had a lack of salt...

[wagyl]

The saltiness in Zoute Drop is not sodium based, but from ammonium chloride.

Maybe your energisation was due to the long-held claim that liquorice is an aphrodisiac.

Before Matsuki gets too excited, it should be noted that liquorice root also includes his Kryptonite, phytoestrogens.
Too much will also reduce your potassium levels below normal.

[matsuki]

The saltiness in Zoute Drop is not sodium based, but from ammonium chloride.

Maybe your energisation was due to the long-held claim that liquorice is an aphrodisiac.

Before Matsuki gets too excited, it should be noted that liquorice root also includes his Kryptonite, phytoestrogens.
Too much will also reduce your potassium levels below normal.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

It's funny that yesterday night I felt a strong urge to eat very salty Dutch liquorice, and unexpectedly felt more energetic afterwards. I am not on a low-salt diet, but admittedly I drink lots of fluids, so I may have had a lack of salt...

No! Dutch licorice is one of the world's great culinary treats and it is totally justifiable to have had such a reaction to eating it. (Merkin science at work, but still...)

[Russell]

It's funny that yesterday night I felt a strong urge to eat very salty Dutch liquorice, and unexpectedly felt more energetic afterwards. I am not on a low-salt diet, but admittedly I drink lots of fluids, so I may have had a lack of salt...

No! Dutch licorice is one of the world's great culinary treats and it is totally justifiable to have had such a reaction to eating it. (Merkin science at work, but still...)

I thought that only the Dutch can fully appreciate the taste of their liquorice, but I now see I was wrong. Did you learn to eat it at a young age?

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

It's funny that yesterday night I felt a strong urge to eat very salty Dutch liquorice, and unexpectedly felt more energetic afterwards. I am not on a low-salt diet, but admittedly I drink lots of fluids, so I may have had a lack of salt...

No! Dutch licorice is one of the world's great culinary treats and it is totally justifiable to have had such a reaction to eating it. (Merkin science at work, but still...)

I thought that only the Dutch can fully appreciate the taste of their liquorice, but I now see I was wrong. Did you learn to eat it at a young age?

Growing up, my neighbors included the de Groots, de Winters, Druivens, Roelinks, Roeloffs, Tesselars, van der Drifts, de Boers and van Berkels. We were the tulip capital of Australia!

[Taro Toporific]

...I thought that only the Dutch can fully appreciate the taste of their liquorice

Huh?
"Lakrica" (when raw, "saldymedis") is a primary food group in the Baltic nations.

lakrica-saldymedis.jpg

Sen-Sen® used to be the main breath freshener for old alcoholics in the Lithuanian and Baltic communities.

[Russell]

...I thought that only the Dutch can fully appreciate the taste of their liquorice

Huh?
"Lakrica" (when raw, "saldymedis") is a primary food group in the Baltic nations.

lakrica-saldymedis.jpg

Sen-Sen® used to be the main breath freshener for old alcoholics in the Lithuanian and Baltic communities.

The taste of liquorice differs among countries. The worst are the Brits with their English liquorice.

This Baltic variety looks like I want to try it. But I don't hold out much hope for the colored ones (i.e., the non-black ones).

[matsuki]

The worst are the Brits with their English liquorice. anything they call food

[inflames]

MiL looks at me weird when I don't eat tempura, which she fucking covers in salt - her BP is in above 150 and so is FiL, and they consider by 125 to be high. She has the washoku = healthy shit in her mind, but I think she is illiterate so she couldn't read the wikipedia page I showed her that it is actually from Portugal.

[Takechanpoo]

it is actually from Portugal.

no worries. almost all of the university educated japaneese know such a basic fact against your guess.
and the unhealthy factor regarding tenpura is vegetable oil rather than salt.

btw, just inspect your home countries cuisine. there must be almost no truly originals but the time your ancestors copied is so long-time ago that you and your buddies just forgot it. in addition the western mass medias dont focus on it. (yea somehow the western mass medias always try to focus only on the copies by japanese and ignore their own ones.)

[matsuki]

btw, just inspect your home countries cuisine. there must be almost no truly originals but the time your ancestors copied is so long-time ago that you and your buddies just forgot it. in addition the western mass medias dont focus on it. (yea somehow the western mass medias always try to focus only on the copies by japanese and ignore their own ones.)

Says the guy from an island nation known for self inflicted isolation....

Besides, the issue isn't adapting cuisine from other countries, it's being prick exceptionalist about it.