新しい発見

I visited Ms. Bere the other day. She introduced new thing to me, which attracted my interest. It was a Trader Joe's brand Rice, "Brown Rice Medley A Delicious Blend of Long Grain Brown Rice, Black Barley & Daikon Radish Seeds". As by now almost everybody knows that brown rice is one of healthy food. (By the way, in Japan, germinated brown rice is "HOT". It is another healthy food, which its effect is different from the one of Brown Rice. You can make it at home if you have normal brown rice.)

この間、ベレの所に行ったとき、私の興味をそそるような物を紹介してくれた。それは、トレーダージョーズのブランドの玄米、黒麦、そして大根の種が混ざったお米のある。日本ではもちろん、こちらでも玄米は健康にいいということは、大抵の人は知っていると思う。

The things which interested me were Black Barley and Daikon Radish Seeds. I have never seen black barley and daikon radish seeds. I knew that people were talking Black Barley as one of healthy food but I never heard someone talking about Daikon Radish Seeds to eat. Daikon is a Japanese radish and Japanese eat it quite often. I was a bit shocked that I didn't know about it because, first of all, I am Japanese and second of all, I am a person who loves healthy food. So now I want to know what health effects of Daikon Radish are.

私の興味をそそったのは、もちろん玄米ではなく、黒麦と大根の種である。黒麦は結構な人が健康食品として食べていたり、話題として取り上げられていたのは知っているけど、私は大根の種を食べるということは聞いたことなかった。日本人として、健康食品大好き人間として、ちょっとショックだった。大根の種の効能はなんだろうと思い、ちょっと調べてみた。日本人の人はもう知っているよね～、きっと。

Of course, I used Internet to look it up. First I did research in English but didn't get anything. So I did research in Japanese. It took some time to find the effect but I found it.
It seems like it is used in Chinese medicine. In Chinese medicine, its effects are
1. promote the digestion
2. activate stomach and bowel movement
Therefore, it helps us after overeating.
Another effect, (Listen, women!!) is for overweight.
Daikon Radish has the enzyme that dicomposes lipid, which is FAT and protein. This is proved by the experiment.
I got this information from Japanese website: http://blog.livedoor.jp/ssshouzi/archives/cat_50009461.html

はじめは英語でインターネットで調べていたんだけど、やっぱり英語では答えが出てこなかった。そして日本語で次検索してみると、時間はかかったけど、答えが出た。消化促進と、胃腸の働きを助けるって言うことだった。それだけではなく、たんぱく質、脂質を分解するということで、ダイエットにも効果的らしい。この情報は、こちらのホームページで見つけたよ。http://blog.livedoor.jp/ssshouzi/archives/cat_50009461.html

I also found an easy way to consume Daikon Radish. You can make tea with daikon radish and peel of tangerine. It helps digestion for people who has weak stomach and intestine, like me. The tea recipe is here. http://www.kirindo.com/medical/menu/cha1.html
As I think about it, my dad always made finely grated daikon radish in order to help my digestion. (To make this finely grated daikon radish, you need Japanese grating tool.)
Well, Thanks to Bere to introduce this rice mix. I still want to find out where I can get only Daikon Radish though. :-)

大根茶というのもあるらしい。レシピはこちらから。http://www.kirindo.com/medical/menu/cha1.html
今よく考えると、昔お父さんが胃腸の弱い私のために大根おろしを作って、食べさせてくれたわ。

Another thing Bere introduced me is a on-line tea shop, Special Teas(specialteas.com). We exchange teas a lot. She gave me some of their teas before. It wasn't bad place to buy teas. So I decided to order some a few days ago. I got Organic Rooibos, Green Rooibos, Ceylon, and some herbal teas. I usually don't get herbal teas but they had some interesting things, like Allergy Soother, Flu Fighter, Immunity Booster, Hangover Helper and Memory Aid. Flu Fighter, Immunity Booster and Memory Aid are for me but Allergy Soother is for Bere. I am not sure to whom I should give Hangover Helper. I am excited to try these teas... :-)