The MAR 2024 Full Moon and A Health Update

 The First Full Moon Over Okinawa This Year

Well, let's just call it the first one visible to us down here.

Two nights in a row, I climbed the stairs of my house and took photos of the moon.

This one shows what the moon looked like at 100%.

It was only 99.3% full the night before.

So, what's the Health Thing All About?

From March 2d until March 13th I was a resident of Nakagami Hospital.

Somehow a pneumonia virus sneaked into my body and made breathing difficult.

They had me hooked to an oxygen machine and heart monitor.

Drugs, I don't even know the names of were pumped into my veins.

Cute nurses that looked boinkable watched over me.

The doctors and medical professionals all took good care of me.

They say it's best to take it easy for a while so, that's what we've been doing.

Getting lots of rest and climbing the stairs a few times a month, to see if the moon appears!

Holy Mackerel! Lookit What I'm Doin' Now

 March Is Sneaking Up

It's almost the end of February and the blog hasn't been touched.  It's time to update.

Not much outdoor activity has been going on due to poor health and the weather.

The health is improving and the weather almost seemed like spring for a few days.

Then winter came once again.

So Let's Get On A Health Kick

Pretty much hanging around the house and not exercising fattens folks up.

One day fumbling around on Google I discovered the benefits of canned fish.

Yeah, I consume a couple of cans of tuna each week but, here's something new.

A can of Saba Misoni is Mackerel simmered in Miso.

What the heck is Miso?  It's a paste made by fermenting soybeans in Japan.

Between mackerel and miso, there are all sorts of health benefits.

Like lowering blood pressure and cholesterol while boosting the body's immune system.

Supposedly, canned mackerel is more powerful than tuna.

During warm weather, I BBQ mackerel and think it tastes better than canned fish.

The canned stuff is like the first time you tasted beer. An acquired taste is required.

Part II Nothing to See Here

There won't be any images or videos posted, just use some imagination.

Since early September, I've had to take things easy. No lifting and no long walks.

A broken disk in the back makes life kind of miserable.  Things are slowly improving.

For the first few months, a back brace had to be worn, all day long.

No long walks and no heavy lifting were the doctor's orders.

Weekly rehabilitation visits and all sorts of therapy took place.

They even microwaved my bones!

Now that the broken disk has healed, muscles and nerves need some fine-tuning.

The painkillers I was taking (opiates) are no longer required. Amen.

Slowly getting back into an exercise routine, I still have to take it easy.

The left hip seems to malfunction frequently. Sometimes, it locks up.

Range of motion stretches and massage, along with heat therapy seems to help.

The Funny Part

Sometimes it's difficult for a therapist to determine what a patient needs to do.

Last Friday the guy says, "Mike walk on your fingers."

That seemed odd but, I bent over and started to kick my feet in the air, to do a handstand.

"No, your foot fingers."  He's Japanese. He meant to step with my toes down before my heels.

If he would have said, "Ashi no yubi," I would have understood. Now he knows, "toes."

Can you imagine what an old bearded guy looks like walking on his tip toes?

Well, I like to walk early in the morning. Before sunup, there are not a lot of people around.

Thinking I'd look like a fool, I only walked on the toes of the left foot.

That way, I'd only look like I was half crazy. Don't you think?

Whenever I spotted a car coming or someone walking their dog, I walked normally.

Tiptoes on both feet. Can you picture a ballerina in yellow flip-flops?

Anyhow, this therapy might be working. Let's wait and see.

Funny Translations: The Cat May Fly Out

Looking for Something New to Drink?

With things like Coronavirus flying around the world, it would be wise to stay healthy.

It's probably a good idea to check your vitamin C levels once in a while.

Not sure how you're supposed to do that, I walked down the street to a vending machine.

 It was easy enough for me to figure out BinVita was some sort of vitamin C drink.

Before opening the bottle I decided to scan the ingredients with Google Translate on my iPhone.

Here's what I learned:

Ingredients: fruit dextrose liquid sugar / carbonic acid, acidulant, flavor, vitamin C, carotene pigment, 

nicotinamide, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B2, vitamin B, Vitamin Bs, Vitamin B12.

Contents: 500ml ● Shelf Life: Described on the bottom side of the cap.

Storage Method: Store at room temperature away from direct sunlight.

Manufacturer: Okinawa Botlers Co., Ltd. 163 Izumi Nutrition Facts Labeled in Izumi, 

Kunigami-Cho,

 Motobu-Cho, Okinawa Prefecture.

And A Word of Caution:

Leave it at room temperature after drinking, it may damage your own equipment or 

the cat may fly out.

12 Scenes from the Kin Town 2019 Nuchigusui Festival

Mental and Physical Good Health

That's what it's really all about, nuchigusui - Okinawan language for well being.

Take a sip of a healthy, refreshing drink or, chomp down on some delicious Ryukyuan food.

Sniff the air and get a whiff of some soothing flowers and say, "Nuchigusui yaasa."

That'd be like saying, "Feels good."  What about seeing some boobs?  Wait 'til later.

Shortly after 10 AM, on a Sunday when the weather was predicted to turn, here's the entrance.

Anytime the sun shines in December, I'm feeling nuchigusui with that!

A light jacket or long-sleeved shirt would be all that's required on a day like this.

On the way to the festival food and flower displays, I spotted these caged chickens.

Dozens of roosters and hens were there but, really didn't cooperate with the camera.

Some fancy varieties of chickens were there and, I don't think they were for eating.

Hoping to see some of the "other white meat" I walked around looking for some piglets.

Nope, no porker would be seen. Pigs would have posed. I get along just fine with pigs.

Moving along to the main attractions, I knew I would be indoors or, under a roof outdoors.

On the second floor of a community center, I spotted firemen training families.

Here, a father has his children learning how to use an AED machine.

That's a pretty neat skill for children to know. They could save a life someday!

Members of the Ryukyu Rehabilitation Academy maintained stations in several areas.

Here they were doing some sort of posture analytics on volunteers. I declined.

With an aching back from over-exercising the night before, I had another plan.

There were about a dozen massage tables set up and, I could sure use a free massage.

Too many volunteers were waiting at the massage area so, I had to move along.

Mental and physical nuchigusui stuff was out of the way for today.

 Next, it was time to go downstairs to check out the foods and flowers.

The location was outdoors, sort of in a huge parking area. Windy but not wet.

Every kind of healthy festival food you could imagine was being cooked and served.

When hauling around a camera, I'm not really interested in eating.

Everybody was friendly and some tried to give me free samples but, I couldn't eat.

Ever try operating chopsticks and shooting a DSLR at the same time? Me neither.

Looking at colorful flowers, smelling them or, gardening, I'm not sure which is healthy.

Maybe, all three. All I know, for sure is, the prices for buying them weren't all that much.

The wife wasn't allowed to see this photo until the day after. Too late to buy any now!

What About the Boobs?

That part comes a little bit later. This is a festival sort of event, not pole dancing. OK?

Making the rounds under fairly horrible lighting conditions, I was bouncing around.

I'm deciding what to photograph with families continuously moving through scenes.

It seemed impossible to get a photo of this farmer's food and displays.

He was selling Okinawa's prized Agu Pig Pork servings, freshly grilled in his booth.

Noticing a photo of him posing with  Hidehiko Ishizuka, I asked if he could near it.

Ishizuka is sort of a comedian, food sampler, traveler, TV star in Japan.

Wouldn't it be neat if, he went drinking with me someday?

Here's what the open-air-sorta-garage looked like.

Families are seated at folding tables and chairs, sampling the health foods.

The food, flower and plant booths surround the tables and other displays.

My favorite activity would take place here, not outdoors as usual.

The closest thing to natural, outdoor lighting, was this display.

Pictured in the background, are the Taimo fields of Kin Town.

On display are some taimo plants (sweet potato) and produce.

Titty and Nipples Are You Ready?

Before anyone goes screaming off to the police station, let me explain.

This is supposed to be a blog the whole family could read.

Some fruits and plants must be Nuchigusui, just to look at.

What some people call Fox Fruit is in the photo above. They are poison so, don't eat any.

Titty Fruit, Nipple Fruit, and Cow's Udder are some of the other names for this plant.

Learn more about this yellow fruit from a lady at Japan Times.

My favorite part of the Nuchigusui Fest is featured here.

Better than carving a Thanksgiving Turkey is the cutting of a maguro.

Each year this knife-wielding chef, butchers a tuna, right before your eyes.

It doesn't take 10 minutes for him to hack that fish to pieces.

He's talking through a microphone so, you can learn how to carve a fish, too.

When he's done, the fish gets carried away and cut into smaller servings.

Then, the crowd line up, to get some maguro sashimi, for free!

Testing a Japanese Tea Named Healthya - Gonna Burn Some Fat

Look for These Bottles

It's a little more expensive than most green teas -160 or more Yen per bottle.

The taste is kind of bitter. One bottle a day is what's recommended.

It's only been about a week since I've started drinking the stuff.

KAO Corporation, the manufacturer has a website for Healthya Green Tea.

It's all in Japanese but Google Chrome will translate (somewhat) for you.

When's a good time to drink this special green tea? I had to take a screenshot.

Drink some at work, when you're chatting or, even when going down!

You don't have to drink it when you exercise but, you should exercise anyhow.

Companies in Japan may spend 3 years getting health products endorsed by the government.

So, I know this tea isn't some sort of snake oil. It's approved by scientists.

Apparently, 14 healthy fat people were used in this controlled experiment.

The ones who drank healthy tea lost 140% more fat than the unfortunates.

Not a large selection of the population but, it's hard to find lots of fat people around here.

They should take this tea to the USA, where people aren't so skinny.

Eight Weeks We'll Give It a Try

Not very scientific but, saving lots of money I used to spend on coffee and beer.

The doctors have me monitoring weight, blood pressure and oxygen daily.

So, after two months of drinking this nasty tasting tea, I'll see what happens.

Along with the consumption of tea, exercise and diet are important, too.

Well, I eat lots of salads, exercise like a nut and get plenty of sleep.

If this healthy green tea does anything noticeable for me, I'll let you know before Xmas! 

Read more about healthy green teas:

Benefits of Green Tea

Flower Photos and Facts: Peace Lily

First Some Nomenclature

Common Name: Spath or Peace Lily

Botanical or Scientific Name: Spathiphyllum

Japanese:  スパティフィラム属

Native of Tropical Americas and Southeast Asia

It is not a member of the lily (Liliaceae) family.

The leaves and flower are mildly toxic. Don't eat them.

The plants are grown for landscaping and make good houseplants, as well.

Recognized for it's ability, to purify air, it's good to grow them indoors.

The plants, remove toxins from rooms and, produce oxygen.



Those practicing Feng Shui, claim these plants work wonders.

Good Old Reflexology Board

It's Good for Your Health

Acupressure, Reflexology, Shiatsu, call it whatever you want, I call it a Poko-Poko Board.

That's because, whenever I stomp around on it, those pegs poke me and, it hurts.

A conversation I had with the Map It Okinawa dude, reminded me of this.

It was, while I was drinking beer at a Golden Week beach party. I made a mental note.

This gadget was gathering dust at home so, I cleaned it up and brought it to work.

Most folks probably, can't read the Japanese. Me, neither; hang on a minute.

Photo Credit: ISBN 0-89577-433-X

This chart, shows all the points on the feet, that are wired-up to body parts.

Once, you start hopping around or, just standing on that board, you'll feel some pain.

The worst pain, shows you where, one of your body parts, isn't working too well.

It might be a good idea, to visit your doctor. But, it'll probably cost you some money.

What I do, is hop around on the board and usually, mysteriously, the pain goes away.

It won't fix broken bones, pneumonia or, anything serious, like alcoholism and gonorrhea.

Acupuncture, Acupressure and Shiatsu, originated in the Far East and, they work.

Western medicine, caught up and, now practitioners, everywhere utilize the methodology.

The ultimate experience, for me, is walking on these uneven-sized rocks in an athletic park.

They have licensed therapists, at many locations, who can give professional foot massages.

But, I don't like guys, touching my feet.  And, girls drive me crazy if, you know what I mean.

So, I prefer doing the pokopoko thing by myself. I go as fast or slow, as I want to.

Doing this sort of therapy, balances and restores, good health to all parts of the body.

Checkout the Reflexology Foot Map and learn more about the technique involved.

One of the wires, in my foot, just told me, my beer has, too much blood in it !

The Ultimate Pork: Ryukyu Pig Named Agu

Served at a Health Festival

The annual Nuchigusui (health fair) was held in Kin Town today.

All sorts of, good for your health, items were on display including food and drinks.

They had health care specialists and, people who could give you massages.

Fruits, flowers, vegetables, tonics and special ingredients, to lift your spirits, were available, too.

The event most folks, come to see, is the butchering of the Maguro (tuna) and, they eat it.

A few hundred images of that, are in my pending files, to be seen some other day.

These little pigs called Agu (アグー) were a hot item today, as well.

Some were cooked in smokers, others, sliced and grilled over charcoal fires.

The Ryukyu pigs are special. Their pork contains less than 25% cholesterol.

Genetics wizards claim the hogs came from China, hundreds of years ago.

During the Battle of Okinawa, most of the livestock were destroyed.

Pigs from Western countries, were brought to the island so, people could survive.

Back during the 1980's someone, discovered Agu hogs, living in the wild up north.

Eighteen of them were determined to be pure bred; not, mongrels mixed with other breeds.

The little black pigs, called Shimabuta (locally) are making a comeback.

The pork is tender and sweeter than, the average hogs farmers are raising.

So, with the demand for healthy foods, on the increase Agu meat has become popular.

Checkout this video, in Japanese and English:

Aloe Plant Could Be Good for Your Health

Aloe Grows Year Round in Okinawa

 

 

It doesn't take much of a green thumb to succeed in keeping this vegetation alive.

The photo was taken out behind my office and, we also grow the stuff at home.

It's great for treating cuts, bug bites or rashes and, I use it all the time.

Just hack off one of those stalks and, take as much gel from it as you need.

Then, wrap up the leftovers and keep them in the fridge for future use.

Some Folks Around Here Eat Aloe

It would probably be a good idea to wait and watch somebody else, eat it first.

Depending on the variety of plant, it may have you running to the toilet.

There are probably 500 different types of Aloe plant.

And, not all of them are safe to eat.

Occasionally, somebody comes around, offering aloe sashimi, to me when I'm at the bar.

Not feeling like taking any laxatives, I decline and keep drinking beer.

They have an Aloe and White Grape juice in the Coke machines and, I've tried some.

It's sort of sweet and pulpy but, safe to drink. 

For those who have access to Walmart, they have some Aloe products, you can buy.

How Stuff Works

 

 

In all my research, this must be the most comprehensive article on Aloe, I've ever seen.

40 Amazing Uses for Aloe Vera !

For some strange reason, number 29, got written twice.

The editor should have caught that but, it gave me two good chuckles. 

So, I won't complain.

It was something about minor female problems.

That got me thinking. Maybe, I should rub some of the stuff on my wife.

And, she'd quit spending my money. Hah !

The New Healing Herbs ISBN 0-553-58514-2 is my favorite reference for these plants.

Holy Shakuyakukanzoto! Hachiko's Gone!

There Was a Dog Statue Here

 

 

The early morning walk, across the Kin Bridge, was for a reason.

In 2011, a photo was taken at this location late in the afternoon.

Hachiko, the most loyal and faithful dog in Japan, was there back then.

In my blog post, I mentioned, it would be best to take a photo of it, in morning light.

Thousands of dog lovers, read that blog.

Hopefully, somebody took my advice and, snapped a shot of Hachiko before it was too late.

Somebody must have came along and bought the dog statue.

And, they decided to replace it with a lion.

It was too early in the morning to ask where the dog statue went. Nobody was there.

One of these days, I'll have to go ask.

That dog statue must have weighed a ton and, I bet it cost someone a ton of money.

They couldn't have carried it too far away.

I'll find out where it went.

Shakuyakukanzoto

 

 

That's a new word in the ever-expanding vocabulary.

Don't worry, it's not a cuss word; you can use it around the children.

It happens to be, one of the medicines that got prescribed, to me.

Curious by nature, I researched them all.

The other three, you might call, traditional Western medicines or, drugs.

This stuff is a little different.

It's Chinese herbal medicine, manufactured in Japan.

All my other medicines, come as pills.

Shakuyakukanzoto, is like grains of dirt, in little aluminum pouches.

You rip open the bag and dump it down your throat.

It's sort of like swallowing a mixture of sand and brown sugar.

So, it's a good idea, to have an open bottle of water, standing close by.

Some folks, mix it with tea or, juice.

Kinda whimpy. Don't you think ?

Dosages and Precautions

 

 

Doctors, medical personnel, drugs and (recently) massage therapists, I don't fool around with.

Sometimes, you can't fix yourself and, have to go get help.

That's a last resort type of thing for me.

When, I turn myself in, they have to get the benefit of my doubt.

Then, I turn around and check them out. So far, the people are good.

Drugs ?  Eeeh, maybe.

There are warnings about this herbal medicine but, I like it the best.

It shouldn't be taken along with other medicines, without consulting a medical professional.

Got that covered.

Adverse reactions. None yet and I'm being monitored, whenever I feel like.

Use in Elderly Caution:

Shoot. Okinawans live to be 100. I'm just getting to be middle aged.

Pharmacology:

This deserves a quote, directly from the manufacturer, Tsumura Company:

"Administration of Shakuyakukanzoto in the duodenum suppressed tetanic contraction of

gastrocnemius induced by frequent stimulation of isolated tibial nerve in cramp model rats."

Whatever the hell that means, I ain't worried because, I'm not a rat !

More about Shakuyakykanzoto

Health at Yahoo

Tsumura Company English (PDF)