|
 Log in |
Register
|
|
 Head To Head The Modern Antiquarian Stonehenge and its Environs Forum | Start a topic | Search |
35 messages | Select a forum: |
| Ahh, I must beg to disagree with you there :-) Extracts from a longer article by an old friend who exports sake to the US and soon to Britain - "It is certainly true that people that work with sake a lot often have smooth, youthful skin, but until recently the reason for this was unclear. Laboratory research has shown though that certain enzymes in sake have a moisturizing effect. In a recent experiment, the Ozeki Sake Brewing Company in Kobe, which has an active research department, asked some of its employees to drink 270ml of sake (about nine ounces). It measured moisture content in the skin two hours later and found that it had risen by 30 percent, according to a recent article in the Yomiuri Shinbun. Prof. Seiji Arase of Tokushima University found that when applied in powdered form, an extract of sake rice causes the surface layer of skin to absorb twice the normal amount of water over a two-hour period. According to the Yomiuri report, "Rice extract promotes the production of ceramide, a type of lipid that fills crevices in the surface layer of the skin...prevents dryness and irritation caused by water evaporation and keeps the skin smooth." The stress-reducing benefits of sake are accepted as fact in Japan, in line with the overall positive rating that alcohol consumption enjoys in Japanese society. This is partly due to the sanctity of rice in Japanese culture and the prominent role it plays in social and religious rituals, but there is more to it than that. The earliest Chinese accounts of the inhabitants of Japan note their propensity to enjoy alcoholic beverages. Japan is an intense country, with a small land area, big population and the second largest economy in the world. Under these conditions, a certain amount of stress is unavoidable. Sake won't make a problem go away, but at least if you lift a glass with friends you can forget it for awhile, and that's certainly a remedial measure." And then there are the poets, painters and writers (and I bet our old friend William wasn't adverse to a pewter or two :-) Reply | with quote |  24th August 2006ce 11:51 In reply to: Re: Stukeley's Stonehenge (nigelswift) |
Messages in this topic: |
|