Harahachibu (eat until 80% full)

Diet control
Rudolf: One month away in Tokyo and I come home lighter. One month back here and I’ve put on weight.
Mari: In Japan you eat like a monk. 
Rudolf: You mean, miso soup and vegetables? 
Mari: Try eating more slowly. With chopsticks. Here in Berlin we eat with knives, forks, spoons… very quick, very filling. Pause while eating.
Rudolf: I’ll make a note of that.
Mari: Put it on the fridge door. And chew. Twenty to thirty times. Long time salivate, instead of eat, talk, eat, talk. Digestion begins in the mouth.

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Voice-over
In Okinawa there is a principle of harahachibu: stop eating at 80% full. Controls calorie intake, slows eating, lowers BMI, reduces risk of heart problems, stroke, diabetes, high LDL cholesterol.

Sarawak Laksa

Choon Hui Café 06:45 am…
Antonio: Sarawak Laksa. Medium size. Coffee and Poppia.
Mei: Poppia maker’s not in today, sorry lah.
Antonio: This was where he sat, right?
Mei: He sat there. Quietly. He finished the whole bowl.

Antonio: Breakfast of the gods. No photo of him up? The episode was filmed here.
Mei: Some things better left. He came as a guest.
Antonio: I understand. Pin the picture and trap the spirit.
Mei: Respect.
___________
Voice-over
There are many laksas. The Choon Hui Café laksa is special though. 

Noodles, Noise and a Vulnerable Voice

Argument over ambience…
Fred: Noodles? Kyushu Ramen, big, cheerful place.
Carl: Hmm. Loud? My hearing’s not what it used to be, and I have to raise my voice. How about Midnight Diner? Shinya’s noodles are good.
Fred: But don’t you miss the energy of a buzzing restaurant? 
Carl: Maybe when I was younger. Now, I prefer restaurants where people don’t have to shout just to place an order.
Fred: Okay. But doesn’t you ever feel it gets too quiet in a place like Shinya’s?
Carl: Nope. It’s less stress hearing the person across the table and tasting my food instead of trying to ignore boisterous braying and bellowing.
Fred: Fine. Let’s go to your quiet noodle place. If we find it too quiet, I can hum a tune.
_________
Voice-over
Croakiness creeps into the vocal box with age. Carl could benefit from some voice therapy. Like vocal training exercises such as humming and breathing, treatment like diet and hydration, environmental factors like stress and sleep.

Persimmons and Coffee

A guest arrives…
Janet: I’ve brought persimmons.
Kei: Astringent or sweet?
Janet: Sweetish. I like them crunchy.
Kei: Mmm. Where did you get them?
Janet: I planted a tree years ago.
Kei: From your tree! Nice.
_________
Voice-over
The persimmons were sliced, a sauce of soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil was poured over, Then sesame seeds sprinkled. Perfect with morning coffee instead of cake.

Destressing at School

Dean Erik meets Vice Dean Siri…

Erik: Student Affairs reports more students seeking counselling.

Siri: We’re deep in the semester. How about a de-stress event?

Erik: Like?

Siri: Yoga and meditation sessions. Art workshops. A music concert. Teach animal massage.

Erik: Animal what?

Siri: I have a friend who specializes in animal massage. Dogs. Cats. Rabbits. Helps the animals and the handlers feel more relaxed too.

Erik: Great. And we could draw them in with free donuts. Kremes I have a contact in there.

__________

Voice-over

Not so many came for the yoga, more to hold the animals, and the line for the donuts stretched way out down the corridor.

Winter Weight Gain

Stubborn winter weight loss…

Samantha: How’s the weather treating you?

Victoria: So up and so down. One day hot, one day cold. And I can’t control my comfort foods.

Samantha: Binging?

Victoria: Not binging but I’m putting on weight.

Samantha: You've got nothing to worry about. You always look fabulous!"

Victoria: Seriously. Six kilos up in six months.

Samantha: Mmm. Hard to stay active when it's freezing outside. And in cold weather, our bodies crave more calories, even if we're not using them all.

Victoria: I’ve tried indoor exercises.

Samantha: It’s got to be sustained. And vigorous. Have you tried dance?

___________

Voice-over

Dance, aerobics, tai chi, they all help. It’s harder than when we were younger.

Three Eggs

Good luck comes in threes…

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M. Poulet: Why do you say white rabbit three times every first day of the month?

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3 x 3 = 9

Mme. Lapin: Brings luck. For that month.

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M. Poulet: Is the number three critical?

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Mme. Lapin: I actually say it three times, three times, three times. Total of nine. Trebles the luck. I see you’ve made nine eggs. You always do things by threes?

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M. Poulet: Three soft-boiled eggs a day. That’s a three-day supply. I think ahead.

__________

Voice-over

Three eggs a day seems to be safe enough for cholesterol levels. Eggs raise HDL. For most people, there is no increase in LDL.

...

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Whack a Walnut

A hammer and a bag of walnuts appear…

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There are subtler approaches...

Brian: It’s therapeutic.

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Brendan: It?

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Brian: Cracking a walnut open with a small hammer.

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Brendan: Like Whack a Mole?

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Brian: Better. The meat of the walnut is nutritious: Omega 3.

__________

Voice-over

Double therapy. Stress dissipated through wise whacking of the walnut. Omega 3 to restore well-being.

...

Walnut as brain

Food for thought...

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Brian: Walnuts must be good for our brains, I mean the resemblance...

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Food for the cerebellum

Dr Alimentari: Walnuts are good for brain health, yes, because of their Omega 3 content. But it’s a questionable cause logical fallacy that just because it looks like a brain, it’s good for our brains.

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Brian: Why does it look like a brain then?

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Dr Alimentari: Inside the walnut shell, and inside the brain, there is scaffolding of white matter. The brain, or grey matter, grows around this scaffolding.

_________

Voice-over

Other food-body shape fallacies: celery being shaped like bone (although contains silicon which is good for bones), a tomato shaped like a heart (although it contains the antioxidant lycopene which might reduce risk of heart disease).

...

Ducks as a snail solution in The Biggest Little Farm

Biodiversity is difficult...

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Heather: All the leaves disappeared from the lemon trees.

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Laurel: Try some snail killer.

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Heather: Isn’t there a biodiversity solution?

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Laurel: Meaning?

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Heather: Well, instead of poison baits, can’t we bring in some other animal to eat the snails?

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Snails, yum!

Laurel: Like ducks?

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Heather: Mmm. Closest I have is a duck dish I bought in Angoulême.

__________

Voice-over

A 2018 film, The Biggest Little Farm, directed by John Chester during eight years of running an ecological, organic farm on biodiversity principles showed the use of ducks to stop snails from infesting their lemon trees. Good method, good film.

...