Tokyo, April 8, 2016 - Rakuten, Inc.’s. recipe site, Rakuten Recipe and Hirosaki University (Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture), are teaming up to start a “Three Down Recipe Project” that will use everyday recipes to prevent high blood pressure. Under the guidance of culinary researcher Ms. Chinami Hamauchi, the project will promote recipes to lower the dietary intake of oil, sugar, and salt, through contests and other measures.
One in three people in Japan suffers from high blood pressure*[1] , and approximately 1.889 trillion yen is spent treating this condition every year*[2] , making high blood pressure a social problem that requires an urgent solution. It is said that many people suffering from high blood pressure do not notice any symptoms. The condition is chiefly caused by the excessive consumption of salt, as well as obesity, and can be sufficiently guarded against by taking care of one’s everyday diet. The “Three Down” concept of this project is based on the principle that it is possible to use less salt while maintaining a salty flavor by reducing the amount of oil and sugar in a recipe. Recipes that merely reduce the amount of salt used and recipes created for purely nutritional purposes, such as hospital food, are often considered tasteless and unappealing as a regular diet. This project aims to cooperate with Rakuten Recipe users to develop and provide recipes that are simple and fun to make, and do not sacrifice flavor by incorporating the knowledge of medical and culinary specialists.
Hirosaki University has long been undertaking research to develop a healthy and longer living society inspired by its location in Aomori Prefecture, which ranks last in Japan for average lifespan. This collaborative project between Rakuten Recipe and Hirosaki University began as part of the activities for its revolutionary Center of Innovation (COI) STREAM program, which was selected for funding in 2013 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The project will run promotions utilizing the special characteristics of recipe sites with the COI STREAM research leader and a professor of Social Medicine classes at Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Shigeyuki Nakaji, and others.
As a main pillar of this project, for eight months starting from April 8 and running until November, Rakuten Recipe and Hirosaki University will hold a “Three Down Recipe Contest for Preventing High Blood Pressure by Reducing Salt!.” Rakuten Recipe will set up a contest page to gather recipes with various themes. Ms. Hamauchi will develop recipes based on those themes utilizing mainly ingredients from Aomori Prefecture, and introduce these recipes in videos posted on the contest page. The videos will be broadcast monthly as a “Delicious and Low Sodium! Three Down Kitchen” program jointly produced by Rakuten Recipe and “ZIP!FRIDAY,” the lifestyle information TV program in Aomori (Friday evenings by the RAB Aomori Broadcasting Corporation). Ms. Hamauchi, Prof. Nakaji and Rakuten Recipe will select winning recipes and there are plans to then publish those winning recipes in a book for publication in 2017. Furthermore, three people will be randomly selected each month from everyone who submits recipes to receive local ingredients and specialty products from Aomori Prefecture.
Through this and other collaborative projects yet to come, Rakuten Recipe and Hirosaki University are committed to providing and promoting fun, delicious, and healthy recipes.
Overview of “Three Down Recipe Contest for Preventing High Blood Pressure by Reducing Salt!”
Name: “Three Down Recipe Contest for Preventing High Blood Pressure by Reducing Salt!”
URL: http://recipe.rakuten.co.jp/category/39-705/topics/
Contest Period: April 8, 2014 to November 30, 2016
Note: Campaign period subject to change.
Details: Over eight months from April to November, this recipe contest will call for “three down” promotion recipes created in line with that month’s theme. The winning recipes chosen from among those submitted each month will be published in a recipe book planned for publication in 2017. Furthermore, three people will be randomly selected each month from everyone who submits recipes to receive local ingredients and specialty products from Aomori Prefecture.
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