＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
１．Soredame! ～Your common sense is insane! ~
Audrey’s Masayasu Wakabayashi and Maasa Takahashi will be the MCs for “Soredame! ～Your common sense is insane! ～is a popular TV program on TV Osaka.
This program is an “information entertainment” variety show that points out “various mistakes hidden in daily life” as “soledame.
It introduces “solemal” information that is useful for daily life and miscellaneous trivia like various backstage tricks.
However, if you look at this too seriously, your conventional wisdom will continue to be negated and you will lose your sense of understanding. Therefore, it is safer to take it easy and just think, “There is this new and different way of thinking.
By the way, not only this program, but from time to time, books with sensational titles such as “The Health Laws We’ve Followed Up to Now Are Wrong” or “Milk is Bad for You (Soy Milk Recommendation)” appear. When those are also books or comments by doctors or nutritionists, we are often perplexed.
In my junior high school “Health and Physical Education” class, I remember being taught, “In the past, we were told not to hydrate during exercise, but now we are told that moderate hydration is essential for safety,” or “In the past, jumping the rabbit was considered good for strengthening the legs and back, but now we are told not to do it because it damages the knees.
２．A Doctor’s Guide to Eating Well.
Zenji Makita’s best-selling book, “A Doctor’s Guide to Diet,” contains the following statements.
(1) “Just drink milk to strengthen your bones” is wrong.
Milk is rich in calcium, but its absorption rate increases when taken together with vitamin D. The most common sources of vitamin D are saury, sardines, and canned salmon.
(2) “Skipping one meal to avoid weight gain” is a mistake
Skipping one meal will instead make you gain weight. In particular, do not skip breakfast. The large amount of insulin secreted makes it easier to gain weight.
(3) “Eating sweets to get your brain working” is counterproductive.
Taking too much sweet food at once causes low blood sugar, which makes you sleepy and reduces your ability to concentrate. (It is appropriate to eat a little when you are tired.)
(4) “Throwing away canned tuna oil to avoid gaining weight” is a waste.
This is because canned tuna oil is rich in “EPA” and “DHA,” components that “reduce arteriosclerosis, heart disease, and cerebral infarction.
(5) “Eggs with darker yolks are more nutritious” is wrong
The color of the yolk only depends on the feed eaten and has nothing to do with nutritional value.
(6) Be careful about “letting curry sit for a day to make it tastier
If curry is left to stand for a day, Welsh bacillus, which can cause food poisoning, can easily multiply. If you do allow curry to rest, it is important to divide it into small portions and place it in the refrigerator or freezer to rapidly lower the temperature.
(7) “Eating garlic alone for stamina” is ineffective
Garlic is absorbed better when eaten together with vitamin B1. Pork is an ingredient that contains a lot of vitamin B1.
３．What’s the difference, ↑?
Koji Kato and Hiromi Kawada serve as MCs for the popular TBS TV program “What’s the difference, ↑?
(1) “No more than one egg a day” is wrong
According to the “common sense of health today,” it is OK to eat five eggs a day.
(2) “Gargling to prevent influenza” is wrong
According to “current health common sense,” “gargling to prevent influenza is pointless” (because the influenza virus enters the throat within minutes after it gets on the throat).
(3) “It is good to eat 30 items a day” is wrong
According to “current health common sense,” “the number of foods does not matter.” On the contrary, “If you eat dishes using 30 items every day, you are at high risk of becoming obese or developing lifestyle-related diseases due to excess calories.
It is said, “If you consume about 15 items of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits a day in a well-balanced manner, you can get necessary nutrients such as protein and dietary fiber.”
(4) “Early morning exercise is good for you” is wrong
According to “current health common sense,” “don’t exercise early in the morning.” Strenuous exercise in the early morning, when the brain is not awake, causes the heart itself to race out of control, increasing the risk of sudden death such as myocardial infarction.
I have introduced many things above, but in the end, I feel that it comes back to the “simple, old-fashioned common sense” of “eating three well-balanced meals three times a day, without being picky eaters, not eating until I’m full, exercising appropriately without overdoing it, and getting a good night’s sleep to lead a regular life.