Hello, I'm Miko, the manager of Kokaiko Shoten!
It's getting hotter every day. When it gets hotter, we need to be careful about mineral deficiency. However, modern people eat processed foods every day, so it is said that they are lacking in minerals not only in the summer but all year round.
"I've been feeling tired a lot lately," "My skin is not in good condition," "I can't concentrate," "I catch colds easily"
If any of these apply to you, it may be due to a "hidden mineral deficiency" that affects 96% of people today.
- Introduction: Your poor health may actually be caused by a mineral deficiency
- Understanding modern health issues through Dobeneck's barrel theory
- Why do modern people suffer from mineral deficiencies?
- The truth about the "6 fake foods" that store manager Miko will never buy
- 1. Bottled pure water: "dead water" that even kills plants
- 2. Refined white foods: Industrial products stripped of 99% of the nutrients
- 3. Multimineral supplements: 10 out of 90 minerals is pointless
- 4. Processed foods in general: The danger of "phosphates" that rob us of rare minerals
- 5. Boiled, frozen, and cut vegetables: "Vegetable shells" with zero nutritional value
- 6. Commercially available vegetable oil: "Fake oil" refined with petroleum-based solvents
- A genuine mineral supplement method born from Japanese tradition
- Five complete mineral foods from Kogaiko Shoten
- 1. Thick Sea Bitterness (Sea Melody)
- 2. Roasted rice bran flour made from Niigata Prefecture Koshihikari rice
- 3. 100% pure silken brown sugar, brown sugar syrup, and unheated, unfiltered natural honey collected by Japanese honeybees
- 4. Sea salt rich in minerals from Okinawa, where coral reefs are widespread, and nutritious sea salt carried by the Kuroshio Current
- 5. Pressed sesame oil, perilla oil, and olive oil made from domestically grown, pesticide-free ingredients
- Start today! 3 steps to resolve mineral deficiency
- Summary: True health begins with choosing the real thing
Introduction: Your poor health may actually be caused by a mineral deficiency
In fact, no matter how healthy a diet you try to follow, it is nearly impossible to get enough of the minerals we need in our modern diet.
I used to think that I was fine because I ate a lot of vegetables. However, after learning a shocking truth, my thoughts about food changed 180 degrees.
Today, I would like to share with you the "horrifying truth about modern food" based on what I have learned and experienced over the years, and the amazing mineral-supplementing power of traditional Japanese foods.
Understanding modern health issues through Dobeneck's barrel theory
Are you familiar with the "Dobeneck's Barrel Theory" proposed by the 19th century German chemist Justus von Liebig?
A concept used to explain plant growth and nutritional balance.The most deficient nutrients limit overall growthThis is expressed as an analogy: just as the heights of the boards in a bucket vary, so too does the amount of nutrients that can be absorbed, and the bucket can only hold water up to the height of the lowest board (meaning it cannot grow). This theory is used in various fields, including health and cultivation, to demonstrate the importance of nutritional balance.
That's why I always recommend Yaeyama Chlorella because it is a wonderfully balanced food with an amino acid score of 100.
▼ [Must-read this article!] Why is Yaeyama Chlorella called a "drinkable multivitamin"?
This article explains the secrets of the nutritional balance recommended by doctors, including the "amino acid score of 100" and "vitamin D" content.
Now, back to minerals.
The human body requires more than 90 types of minerals, but if you are deficient in just one mineral, your body will not function properly, no matter how abundant the other nutrients are.
for example:
- Zinc deficiency can lead to taste disorders and a weakened immune system.
- Magnesium deficiency can lead to muscle spasms and arrhythmias.
- Iron deficiency can lead to anemia and chronic fatigue.
- Selenium deficiency can lead to hypothyroidism
- Molybdenum deficiency leads to impaired detoxification
What's even more frightening is that not only these "major minerals," but also "trace minerals" such as cobalt, vanadium, chromium, and germanium are essential for enzyme function. If you are deficient in these, you won't even be able to produce energy from food.
Why do modern people suffer from mineral deficiencies?
Here's some shocking data.
Changes in mineral content in Japanese soil (1950 to 2020)
- Calcium : -73%
- Magnesium : -84%
- Iron : -91%
- Zinc : -88%
This is how much minerals have been lost from the soil over the last 70 years. Why is this happening?
1. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers
The postwar agricultural revolution led to the use of large amounts of chemical fertilizers to increase yields. However, most chemical fertilizers are made up of only three elements: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).
It does not contain any trace minerals such as zinc, copper, molybdenum, or boron, which are necessary for plant growth. Furthermore, excessive use of chemical fertilizers disrupts the pH balance of the soil, and minerals that were originally present in the soil are converted into a form that plants cannot absorb.
In organic farming, a variety of minerals are replenished through compost and leaf mold, but in conventional farming this cycle is broken.
▼ [Must read this article!] To protect your family's health
2. Soil exhaustion due to continuous cropping
Given Japan's small land area, it is unavoidable to grow the same crop repeatedly in the same field.
Tomatoes absorb copper, spinach absorbs iron, and cabbage absorbs boron. By continuing to grow the same crop, the soil will continue to lose the specific minerals that the crop prefers, causing the soil's mineral balance to become significantly unbalanced.
In the past, farmers would restore the soil by rotating crops and leaving the land fallow, but modern agriculture, which prioritizes economic efficiency, ignores this natural cycle of restoration. As a result, "vegetables with low nutritional value" that look good but have extremely low mineral content are on the market.
▼ [Must-read this article!] The mysterious power of plant hormones
▶︎What seedless grapes teach us about the essence of life: Reclaiming the power of nature
3. Effects of Acid Rain
While Japan is an industrialized country, it is also affected by transboundary air pollution from mainland China.
When acid rain with a pH of 5.6 or less falls, alkaline minerals such as calcium and magnesium in the soil dissolve due to neutralization reactions and are washed away into the ground with the rainwater. Even more serious, aluminum ions are dissolved in the acidified soil, which inhibits the growth of plant roots.
Plants that cannot grow roots sufficiently cannot absorb minerals deep in the soil. According to data from the Ministry of the Environment, the acidification of forest soil in Japan is progressing year by year, which is also affecting agricultural land.
▼ [Detox Details] For those concerned about heavy metals and mold toxins
4. The "evolution" of food processing technology
Ironically, the more technology advances to make food more delicious and last longer, the more minerals are lost.
For example, when white rice is made from brown rice, the nutritious bran and germ are removed. These parts contain 76% of the iron, 80% of the zinc, and 84% of the magnesium.
In addition, vegetable juice is heated during the process of concentration and reconstitution, which causes the loss of many minerals along with heat-sensitive vitamins. Furthermore, sterilization for long-term storage, bleaching to keep the color vibrant, and various other processes to improve the texture... all of these work to strip away the original nutrients.
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5. Consuming large amounts of minerals through the intake of food additives
Our bodies use large amounts of minerals to detoxify and metabolize the chemical additives contained in modern processed foods.
For example, when the liver detoxifies chemical substances such as preservatives, colorings, and artificial sweeteners, trace minerals such as zinc, selenium, and molybdenum are used in large quantities as enzyme cofactors. In other words, the more additives you take in, the more valuable minerals in your body are wasted for detoxification, and the less minerals are available for the body's natural life-sustaining activities.
▼ [Also, must read!] The mechanism by which you can't lose weight if you don't eat
▶︎"Eat and lose weight" is not a lie! A true healthy diet method to solve new types of malnutrition
The truth about the "6 fake foods" that store manager Miko will never buy
There are some foods that I never buy in my daily shopping. They may look like "normal foods" at first glance, but they are actually "fakes that rob us of minerals."
1. Bottled pure water: "dead water" that even kills plants
When you hear the name "pure water," it sounds like it might be good for your health, right? However, this is a big mistake.
Pure water is water that has had all minerals removed using a technology called "reverse osmosis (RO) membrane." It is true that impurities are removed, but at the same time, all the minerals necessary for life are also removed.
In an experiment where plants were grown using pure water, tap water, and purified water, only the plants grown using pure water died. Without minerals, even plants cannot survive. The same is true for us humans.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also warned about the health hazards of long-term consumption of pure water. If you absolutely must buy bottled water, be sure to choose "mineral water."
2. Refined white foods: Industrial products stripped of 99% of the nutrients
White rice, white sugar, refined salt . What they all have in common is that they are "white." Why are they white? It's because all the nutrients they originally contained have been thoroughly removed.
Minerals lost during the refining process from brown rice to white rice
- Magnesium: -84%
- Zinc: -80%
- Iron: -76%
- Manganese: -85%
- Vitamin B1: -92%
Minerals lost during the refining process from pure brown sugar to white sugar
- Calcium: 142-fold difference (brown sugar 240mg → white sugar 1.7mg/100g)
- Iron: 64 times difference (brown sugar 4.7mg vs white sugar 0.07mg/100g)
- Potassium: 550-fold difference (brown sugar 1100mg → white sugar 2mg/100g)
As for refined salt, all of the more than 80 minerals naturally found in seawater have been removed except for sodium chloride. That's why I always say to get rid of refined salt in your kitchen and use natural sea salt instead!
Why remove nutrients?
The answer is simple.
The reason is "to make it easier to handle as a product." If it contains minerals, it will discolor, harden, and have a complex taste. In other words, convenience of distribution is prioritized over our health .
▼ [Also a must-read!] A must-read for those in their 40s and older!
3. Multimineral supplements: 10 out of 90 minerals is pointless
When you see a supplement labeled "multi-mineral," you feel reassured. But look closely at the ingredients list on the back. It only contains 10 to 15 different minerals.
There are over 90 types of minerals necessary for the human body. Particularly important are ultra-trace minerals that are rarely found in supplements.
Just to name a few:
- Vanadium : Helps insulin work
- Molybdenum : Essential for Detoxifying Toxics
- Germanium : Regulating immune function
- Rubidium : Maintaining brain function
Even more problematic is that minerals in supplements are often "inorganic minerals," which means that their absorption rate is extremely low . In some cases, it is less than one-tenth of the "organic minerals" found in natural foods.
▼ [Also read this! ] Natural multivitamins are better than synthetic supplements!
4. Processed foods in general: The danger of "phosphates" that rob us of rare minerals
Ham, sausage, kamaboko, chikuwa... phosphates are always used in these processed foods.
In fact, phosphates have many more uses than you might imagine:
- Frozen foods in general
- Desserts such as pudding and jelly
- Coffee creamer, creaming powder
- Instant noodles
- canning
- Retort foods...
There are so many different products in it that I really can't write them all here.
Phosphate itself is not carcinogenic, but it has a more frightening effect: it binds with rare minerals in the body (such as cobalt, vanadium, and molybdenum) and removes them from the body . And because it is not known which mineral it will bind with at any given time, it is not known which mineral will be deficient at that time.
Trace minerals are essential for hundreds of enzymatic reactions. Deficiencies can lead to:
- Decreased energy metabolism
- Decreased detoxification function
- Weakened immune system
- Hormonal imbalance
In other words, the more processed foods you eat, the more minerals your body loses.
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5. Boiled, frozen, and cut vegetables: "Vegetable shells" with zero nutritional value
Boiled, frozen, and cut vegetables can be easily purchased at convenience stores and supermarkets. They may seem like a great help for busy modern people, but in reality they are nothing more than "fiber in the shape of vegetables."
Boiled vegetables manufacturing process
- Cutting vegetables
- Boil in a large amount of water ( minerals and vitamins are lost )
- cooling
- Packing
Why do they boil it down? It's because "if minerals remain, it will spoil easily." In other words, they are throwing away nutrients in favor of shelf life .
The truth about frozen vegetables
Many people assume they're "frozen raw," but read the packaging carefully; most will say "blanched."
Nutrients lost during blanching:
- Vitamin C: -50 to 80%
- Vitamin B1: -60%
- Potassium: -40%
- Magnesium: -30%
Moreover, most frozen vegetables are often produced overseas. What kind of pesticides were used? But don't worry. Blanching removes most of the pesticides. It doesn't have any nutritional value though. lol
The horror of cut vegetables
- After cutting, disinfect with sodium hypochlorite
- Wash with a large amount of water (minerals will also be washed away along with residual chlorine)
- Dehydration/packaging
Sodium hypochlorite is a disinfectant used in swimming pools. It's like eating vegetables that have been soaked in a swimming pool. As a result, there are almost no vitamins or minerals. It's like eating the " husks of vegetables" with only dietary fiber remaining.
6. Commercially available vegetable oil: "Fake oil" refined with petroleum-based solvents
The salad oil, canola oil, and soybean oil found in supermarkets are clear, smooth, tasteless, and odorless. They may look "pure" at first glance, but if you knew how they were made, you'd never want to eat them again.
In fact, the seeds and grains from which these cheap vegetable oils are made are naturally rich in minerals. For example, rapeseed contains zinc and magnesium, and soybeans contain iron and calcium. However, the "solvent extraction method" developed for mass production removes all of these valuable minerals.
Why have chemical extraction methods become mainstream over traditional expression methods? The answer is simple: cost and efficiency . Expression methods extract only 60-70% of the oil in the seeds, while solvent extraction can extract over 99%. This increases profits for the companies, but comes at a huge cost to our health.
General vegetable oil manufacturing process
- Hexane extraction : Dissolves oil with a petroleum-based solvent
- Degumming : Add phosphoric acid to remove impurities
- Deacidification : Remove free fatty acids using caustic soda (sodium hydroxide)
- Decolorization : Activated clay absorbs pigments
- Deodorization : High-temperature distillation removes odorous components
- Dewaxing : Cooling and removing solids
Why do we do this chemical treatment?
When minerals remain in natural oils:
- Cloudy
- Precipitate
- Bubbling
- Oxidizes easily
- It has a unique flavor
In other words, it is "difficult to handle as a product ." However, in this process, all of the vitamin E, carotenoids, and minerals contained in the oil are lost. In addition, there are an increasing number of doctors and scholars who claim that hexane, which is used in this manufacturing process, can remain in the body for a long time and cause problems as a neurotoxin.
Therefore, before we start worrying about the type of fatty acid, such as omega-3 or omega-6, it is important for us to first choose "real oil."
A genuine mineral supplement method born from Japanese tradition
Some of you may be feeling hopeless after reading this far. But please rest assured. Japan has wonderful wisdom left behind by our ancestors.
One of the reasons why Japanese people are the world's longest-living nation is their traditional food culture.
Miso, soy sauce, vinegar, natto, pickles, amazake...these fermented foods made using traditional methods use the power of microorganisms to increase the absorption of minerals.
Furthermore, being surrounded by the sea, Japan has a culture of eating whole seaweed and small fish, which leads to an abundance of minerals.
However, the eating habits of modern Japanese people are rapidly becoming Westernized, and opportunities to eat these traditional foods are drastically decreasing.
That's why we at Kokaiko Shoten carefully select and deliver "real mineral foods" that even modern people can easily consume.
Five complete mineral foods from Kogaiko Shoten
1. Thick Sea Bitterness (Sea Melody)
What modern people lack the most are minerals derived from the sea. "Umi no Essence Rich Nigari Liquid" is a natural nigari made using traditional methods from the pure seawater of Izu Oshima.
Contains over 60 types of minerals
- Major Minerals: Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Sodium
- Trace minerals: zinc, iron, copper, manganese, selenium, molybdenum, vanadium, cobalt...
How to use
- A few drops in your drink (approximately 3-5 drops per day)
- 1/2 teaspoon when cooking rice
- For finishing off miso soup and simmered dishes
Just a few drops can restore the lost mineral balance of the ocean. In particular, it is said that more than 80% of modern people are deficient in magnesium, and many people experience a dramatic improvement in their physical condition with just this one product.
Related article : For those who are on a diet but can't lose weight - How to supercharge your metabolism with natural ingredients from the sea
2. Roasted rice bran flour made from Niigata Prefecture Koshihikari rice
95% of the nutrients lost in white rice are actually contained in the rice bran. However, regular rice bran is easily oxidized and has a unique odor, making it unsuitable for consumption.
Our "Roasted Rice Bran Flour" is made from the highest quality Koshihikari rice bran produced in Niigata Prefecture, roasted at low temperatures using our unique technique to give it a fragrant finish.
Nutritional Information (per 100g)
- Vitamin B1: 2.5mg (3 times that of pork)
- Vitamin E: 10mg (equivalent to almonds)
- Magnesium: 850mg (5 times that of brown rice)
- Iron: 7.6mg (same as liver)
- Dietary fiber: 25g (4 times that of burdock)
How to eat it deliciously
- Mix into yogurt
- 1 teaspoon in a smoothie
- Ingredients for cookies and pancakes
- Just eat it with a spoon (sweet like soybean flour)
One tablespoon per day provides the same or greater nutritional intake as brown rice.
Related article: The appeal and benefits of brown rice and roasted rice bran from Niigata Koshihikari "Joint Farm" grown using organic farming methods
3. 100% pure silken brown sugar, brown sugar syrup, and unheated, unfiltered natural honey collected by Japanese honeybees
Remove refined sugars such as white sugar, granulated sugar, brown sugar, etc. from your kitchen.
Instead, try pure brown sugar made from Okinawan sugarcane using the traditional open-fire method without any additives, or real unheated, unfiltered honey collected by natural bees.
I don't think you need sugar in cooking. And if you want to eat something sweet, use these instead of white sugar. They contain incomparable amounts of minerals.
Mineral content of pure brown sugar (compared to white sugar)
- Calcium: 240mg (142 times that of white sugar)
- Iron: 4.7mg (64 times that of white sugar)
- Potassium: 1100mg (550 times that of white sugar)
- Magnesium: 31mg (31 times that of white sugar)
How to use brown sugar syrup
- As a sweetener for coffee and tea
- Yogurt and pancake topping
- Secret ingredient for simmered dishes (adds richness)
- Pre-workout energy boost
In addition, brown sugar contains a rare ingredient called octacosanol , which has been scientifically proven to improve endurance and relieve fatigue.
Related article - The health-changing power of brown sugar: The amazing effects of octacosanol and the blessings of nature
Natural honey from Japanese honeybees
The honey collected by rare Japanese honeybees is bottled as is, unheated and unfiltered. Most commercially available honey is monofloral nectar from Western honeybees, and enzymes and minerals are lost due to high-temperature processing. Japanese honeybee honey is a truly "complete nutritional food," containing complex flavors collected from a variety of flowers and over 180 types of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids).
By simply replacing white sugar with pure brown sugar or natural honey, the "sweetener" turns into a " mineral supplement."
Related article: Western honeybees and Japanese honeybees: their differences and rarity
Let's identify real honey! Its value and surprising effects
4. Sea salt rich in minerals from Okinawa, where coral reefs are widespread, and nutritious sea salt carried by the Kuroshio Current
This is the most basic of basics, but eliminate refined table salt (99.5% sodium chloride or more) from your kitchen immediately and replace it with natural salt.
The salt we sell is carefully selected to maintain a balanced balance of natural minerals.
- Sea salt from Okinawa, where coral reefs are widespread :
Seawater from coral reefs is slowly crystallized in a flat pot. Rich in calcium and magnesium. - Nutrient-rich sea salt carried by the Kuroshio Current :
This natural salt contains 84 types of minerals and is made from mineral-rich seawater brought by the Pacific Ocean's Kuroshio Current.
Related article - [Comprehensive comparison] Yukishio, Ishigaki, and Sun-dried Salt... Which one to choose? Professionals teach you how to use them and the next generation of salt
5. Pressed sesame oil, perilla oil, and olive oil made from domestically grown, pesticide-free ingredients
I recommend eliminating bottled refined vegetable oils from your kitchen.
All of the oils we sell are made with domestic ingredients, without any chemical solvents, and we only offer the first pressed oils bottled using traditional pressing methods.
- Pressed sesame oil : Domestically produced, pesticide-free sesame is cold pressed. Rich in sesamin and vitamin E
- Perilla oil : Made from domestically grown, pesticide-free perilla. Contains over 60% omega-3 fatty acids
- Olive oil : Domestically grown, pesticide-free olives are pressed within 24 hours of harvest. Rich in polyphenols.
Cold pressing ensures that heat-sensitive vitamins and minerals remain intact.
Related article: The importance of choosing the right oil and how to identify dangerous oils
Start today! 3 steps to resolve mineral deficiency
Step 1: Start with "Subtraction"
First, start by cutting down on foods that rob you of minerals.
- Pure water → Natural water
- White rice → Polished rice or brown rice (if this is difficult, add rice bran powder to your meals)
- White sugar → Brown sugar and honey
- Refined salt → Natural salt
- From commercial salad oil to pressed oil
- Processed foods → Homemade
You don't have to change everything at once, just start small and do what you can.
Step 2: Reinforce with "addition"
Next, be sure to supplement your minerals.
For breakfast
- Add 3 drops of "Umi no Sei Nigari" to a glass of water.
- Homemade soy milk yogurt made with Mygurt with 1 tablespoon of roasted rice bran powder
For cooking
- Use natural salt for all dishes
- If you want to add sweetness, use cooking sake or mirin.
- If you need a salad dressing, make it yourself using pressed oil .
For snacks
- Eat a piece of brown sugar and a lick of natural honey (to replenish energy and minerals at the same time)
Step 3: Improve your physical condition through "continuity"
It takes at least three months to improve mineral balance.
1st month : Reduced body fatigue, improved sleep
Month 2 : Skin condition improves, hair becomes shinier
3rd month : Improved immunity, less likely to catch a cold
We have received many happy comments from customers who use our products, such as "My health has improved." These comments encourage us to work harder every day.
Summary: True health begins with choosing the real thing
In modern society, we have lost something important in exchange for convenience. That something is "minerals."
But there is no need to despair. Japan has world-class traditional foods. These are the real deal that have supported the health of the Japanese people for generations.
At Kogaiko Shoten, we will continue to provide you with only the "real thing." This is because health cannot be achieved overnight. The accumulation of small choices you make every day will determine your health 10 or 20 years from now.
Finally, let me share with you one of my favorite quotes.
"What are you eating?"
" You are what you eat."
What you eat today will shape who you will be tomorrow. So choose the real thing. For the health of you and your loved ones.
Kogaiko Shoten will continue to focus on providing genuine products. Let's achieve true health together.
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At Kokako Shoten, I, the owner, personally use and offer only carefully selected Japanese seasonings and foods that I truly believe to be the "real thing."
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