The new natural diet method in Japan

My coworker, who's 45 years old, eats Tokoroten before his lunch every day. I asked why? He replied that it is popular as a new diet method, he has lost 2 kg already after two weeks. Hmm I did not know that, so as a health geek, of course I checked it out.

In this diet, you drink a small cup of Kanten or Tokoroten before your regular meal. That is all. Kanten or Tokoroten? Well, you may think Kanten and Tokoroten are same stuff agar agar. Some sites say "way to make is different" or "a kind of material (Seaweed) is different" but I don't think these are a big difference. The difference between them would be "how to serve", we eat Tokoroten like this itself (in Kanto area with sour sauce, in Kansan area with sweet sauce. One difference between east and west.) We eat kanten like this with other fruits, muosse, sweetbeans-anko and also use agar (kanten) powder as a coagulating agent.

Anyway the boom began with a TV show. AruAru Daijiten is a popular TV show about health and wellness, and they had a Kanten / Tokoroten special last month. In the TV show they introduced this UK medical magazine's research. Kanten / Tokoroten have 7 effects for your health.

1. Relief of constipation : 81.2% of them is fiber. wow what a rich fiber food!
2. Calory is zero : yes zero. Because they are made from sea weed.
3. Feel full long time: Fibers move slowly in your stomach without absorption.
4. Refrain absorption of sugar. Your sugar in blood rise very slowly.
5. Decrease cholesterole
6. Burn your fat out without excersice.
7. Rise your body metabolism because of peristaltic motion of your bowl.
   Wow perfect! Actually on the TV show, people who ate Kanten for only two weeks had a really good result with their blood pressure, weight and cholesterol.

Okay I will start to eat Tokoroten and Kanten, it is very easy to get anywhere in Japan. Tokoroten is apparently better for dieting because like I said, in Kanto we eat it with sour sauce. It means Tokoroten is very close to a zero calorie food. If you are in Japan, or come to Japan, please try it at Japanese style cafe. Here is my magazine part 1 & part 2.

And if you try this at home, here are some sweet recipes. Awayuki, Mousse, Coconut jelly! Sounds delicious right? You want to know a lower calorie recipe? I understand, this is soup jelly. And this is a basic jelly recipe, you can use soup stock and vegetables as you want. Try it!

Comments

[rocio magaña]

HI,Iam from Mexico ,and Iwould like to know how can I prepare kanten in another ways.

[Melissa]

Here's another way to eat your agar: Add some powdered agar (I don't know if you can get it where you live, but here in Indonesia it's everywhere) to the water that you use to cook your rice with. I have a rice cooker and I just add a sachet of the powder (7 grams) to 2 cups of rice and the water. It doesn't alter the taste of the rice, the rice will just be a bit chewier. I would eat it and feel full almost immediately and it stays that way for hours! Here in Indonesia the health-conscious mothers do it that way :)

[weightloss guide]

i would love to try this. I have tried everything else lol.

weight loss guide

A Japanese cup is 200ml (American one is 235ml), so maybe a small cup is 200ml?

[Amy Tucker]

I bought five pounds of agar online: http://www.bulkfoods.com/cooking.asp?referer=yaagaragar

I just received the package and the stuff is of great qualify.

Prior to this I was purchasing 2 oz for $6 here in Canada. This stuff works.

I started my Agar Journey three weeks ago and have lost a total fof 17 pounds (original weight was 222). I also follow a eating plan comparable to the South Beach Diet. I also walk 30 min a day.

Agar makes me feel full. I take it three times a day as a shake. For example:

1 scoop of protien shake
1 teaspoon of agar
500 ml of water

Mix 1 teaspoon of agar in one cup of warm water for 12 - 15 minutes.
Then boil in microwave. It takes mine 2 minutes to boil. Remove asap or it will foam.
Let stand for a few minutes.

Mix your protien shake in 1 cup of ice cold water. Blend until smooth.

Add agar mixture.
Mix well.
Put in freezer or fridge till cool.

Drink.

This will fill you up for hours.

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I also make a pudding with protien powder using the above method but with 750 water. I have also tried it with cranberry juice, diet coke, etc.

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I also make sure I eat a minimum of 1400 calories a day.

Hope that helps!

[lucy tullo]

were can i buy it.can not fine your web sit to buy tokoroten?

[Mia]

Can I just add the dried powder to a drink? Such as tea or a smoothie. Or do I need to boil the powder first? Thanks

[Cindy]

I live in Canada - we can get Agar-Agar flakes or powder at any health food store. It's apparently pretty much the same as Tokoroten. I don't know if it works? But I'm gonna try it. Need to shed some post-baby pounds. Cheers!

[Gary]

Hi I live in Orlando Florida, where can I get this product in the USA.

[Mari]

Hi There
Really, it is hard to find Tokoroten. But agar agar powder will be okay? Anyway they say it is better to eat more than 150g Tokoroten once.

[Kawika]

While tokoroten may be difficult to find, many supermarkets and health food stores will stock agar-agar which appears to be the basis of kanten. Using a Google search with "kanten ingredients" (without quotes) gives some information and a number of agar-agar / kanten recipes.

Mari-san, I wonder how much a "small cup" translates into? How many cc of the gelatin/kanten liquid are mentioned in the article?

[shiro]

gambatte kudasai mari!!! :)

[Cath]

Hehe... I wonder if I can tolerate it without sugar!! Singaporeans love konniyaku jelly!

[Vorteks]

I wonder if you can get that in the USA? I'd like to try it.