Glycative Stress Research
Online edition : ISSN 2188-3610
Print edition : ISSN 2188-3602
Received : December 15, 2020
Accepted : May 18, 2021
Published online : June 30, 2021
doi:10.24659/gsr.8.2_115

Original article

Reduction of medical expenses by ingesting processed brown rice(sub-aleurone layer residual rinse-free rice, dewaxed brown rice)
Keiji Saika 1, 2), Yoshikazu Yonei 3)1) Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
2) Toyo Rice Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan3) Anti-Aging Medical Research Center and Glycative Stress Research Center,
Faculty of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

Abstract

Objectives: A financial crisis has been induced by the immense increase of national medical care expenditures in Japan,
while investigations of causes and introductions of countermeasures have not yet been conducted. It has been reported thatnutrients in brown rice and processed brown rice would contribute to the retention and promotion of health for citizens
in Japan. The present study examined impacts of staple food replacement from polished rice to processed brown rice,
concerning the reduction of public medical expenditures.
Methods: Test sample products were a sub-aleurone layer residual rinse-free rice (SARFR) or a dewaxed brown rice (DBR).
SARFR was a processed brown rice where sub-aleurone layer (white deep layer bran of brown rice) remains with a polished
white rice-like appearance (patent number: 4708059). DER was a processed brown rice where only the wax bran layer was
removed with a brown rice-like appearance (patent number: 6850526). Research targets were three companies located in
Wakayama Prefecture and public medical expenditure information was obtained through medical expenditure information,
which was issued by each company’s health insurance society. Consumption rates were calculated with annual average riceconsumption per person (2016), quantity of delivered processed brown rice and the number of subscribers. Control targets
were medical expenses of residents in Wakayama Prefecture. The number of insured persons (subscribers) in 2018 fiscal
year (FY) in health insurance societies were 169 (373) in Company T, 64 (98) in Company A, 53 (125) in Company B, and170,939 (297,088) in Wakayama Prefecture. Mean age was 45.4 at Company T, 45.4 at Company A, and 44.5 at Company B.
The number of subscribers is the total number of insured persons (staff) and dependents (family members).
Results: At Company T, which had a large number of regular consumers of test sample products (consumption rate:
66.1% [DBR 14.3 %, SARFR 85.7 %]), annual medical expenses were 120,108 yen for the 2016 FY, 119,264 yen for the2017 FY, and 127,248 yen for the 2018 FY. Average medical expenses in Wakayama Prefecture were 175,683 yen for the2016 FY, 180,966 yen for the 2017 FY, and 183,372 yen for the 2018 FY. Average annual medical expenses in Company
T were approximately 68% that in Wakayama Prefecture. After the introduction of the test product ingestion, Company A(consumption rate: 39.1% [DBR 13.5 %, SARFR 86.5 %]) reduced the average of annual medical expenses by approximately
40 % to 224, 335 yen for the 2017 FY and 134, 354 yen for the 2018 FY. Company B (consumption rate: 29.4 % [DBR
13.3 %, SARFR 86.7%]) reduced expenses by approximately 39 % to 198,892 yen for the 2017 FY and 121,172 yen for the2018 FY.
Conclusion: It was suggested that the ingestion of the test products would lead to the improvement in health condition, thedecrease in disease incidence rates, and the reduction of public medical expenses through the increase of nutrient ingestion
quantity, which is contained in the sub-aleurone layer and bran layer of Japanese short-grain rice.

KEY WORDS: sub-aleurone layer residual rinse-free rice (SARFR), dewaxed brown rice (DBR), brown rice,		

medical expenses

Contact information: Professor Yoshikazu Yonei, PhD
Anti-Aging Medical Research Center / Glycative Stress Research Center,
Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University
1-3, Tatara Miyakodani, Kyotanabe-shi, Kyoto, 610- 0321, Japan
TEL & FAX: +81-774-65-6394 e-mail: yyonei@mail.doshisha.ac.jp
Co-author: Saika K, somu@toyo-rice.jp

Glycative Stress Research 2021; 8 ( 2) : 115-122(c) Society for Glycative Stress Research_ 115 _

Medical Expense Reduction by Sub-aleurone Layer Residual Rinse-free Rice and Dewaxed Brown RiceIntroduction
Trends in national medical care expenditure indicatethat the rate of increase had been approximately zero until
1955, but medical expenditure started to increase since then(Fig. 1) 1) .
An emergence of a new rice polishing method called“air-jet-polishing” was developed around that time, which
was a major change that occurred to influence Japanese life.
It is thought that the increase in medical care expenditure in
Japan could be primarily related to the “air-jet-rice polishingmethod ”.
Another example of an emergence of a rice-polishingmethod can be shown for impacts on health conditions.
Once toward the end of Edo period, during the days of theTokugawa shogunate regime (around 1870), “sand-mixing
rice mills” became widely operated and brown rice, which
had been a staple food, was replaced by excessively polishedrice. This polished rice, where the bran layer was completely
removed from brown rice, led the prevalence of “a polishedwhite-rice-related disease”. This disease, beriberi, was called“Ed-wazurai disease”, which was caused by the deficiency
of a vitamin group, particularly vitamin B1, due to thepolised rice diet. It was recommended in 1919 that this sandmixing polishing method should be banned, and polishingmethod should be improved 2) . The major purpose was not
the improvement of health conditions but the preventionof lower quality of rice due to a sanitation problem of themixing sand. As a result, “Ed wazurai disease” decreased
and was temporarily contained.

While a financial crisis has been induced by immensely
increased national health care expenditures in Japan,
investigations of causes and introductions of countermeasures
have not yet been conducted. It is urgently required to
identify factors for increasing life-style-related diseases
including pre-symptomatic states, and to seek solutions tothis problem.
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
established in 2013 “the Next-Generation Healthcare Industry
Council” aiming to understand the situation of various
products and services in health and longevity that the private
sector provides, and analyze the issues and countermeasuresfrom both demand and supply sides 3) . Wakayama Prefecture
launched an associated project, “ Platform for Wakayama
Health Care Industry” 4) . We conducted research to validate
effectiveness on the reduction of health care costs by the
replacement of polished rice to processed brown rice as thestaple diet. In the present study, reference materials wereintended to be prepared for the investigation of causes and theestablishment of countermeasures.

Methods
Test sample products for research were types of processedbrown rice, sub-aleurone layer residual rinse -free rice
(SARFR) 5, 6) or dewaxed brown rice (DBR) 7 -10). SARFR wasa processed brown rice where sub-aleurone layer (deep layerbran of brown rice) remained (patent number: 4708059.)
DER was a processed brown rice where only the wax bran(trillion yen/year)
45(kg/year)

40
35

Rice consumption
per person

110

30

National
medicalexpenses

100
90

25
20

80
15
70
10
60
5
50
1953 1957

1962

1967

1972

1977

1982

1987

1992

1997

2002

2007

Fiscal year
Fig. 1. National medical expense and rice consumption per person.
The figure is quoted from Reference 1).

_ 116 _

2012

2017

0

National medical expenses

Rice consumption per person

120Glycative Stress Researchlayer was removed (patent number: 6850526.) Research targets
were three cooperative companies located in Wakayama
Prefecture (Company T, Company A, and Company B). The
present study examined the consumption rates of test products
and the total amounts of public medical expenses of eachgroup. The average monthly medical expenses of the 2015
fiscal year (FY) for company T were compiled. Annual medical
expenses were compiled for three years from the 2016 FY.
The number of insured persons (members) in the 2018 FY
in health insurance societies was 169 (373) at Company T,
64 (98) at Company A, 53 (125) at Company B, and 170,939(297,088) in Wakayama Prefecture. Mean ages were 45.4 in
Company T, 45.4 at Company A, and 44.5 at Company B.
Intervention methods were as follows: SARFR and
DBR were provided through the company cafeteria and apurchase-method for employees was provided. Additionally,
dependents of employees were requested to ingest test
products from June of 2014 (SARFR) and October of2015 (added DBR) for Company T, November of 2018 forCompany B, and February of 2018 for Company B. SARFR
and DBR could be freely selected.
Analysis targets were Company T, A, B, and Wakayama
Prefecture for insured persons and their dependents.
Consumption rates were calculated based on the trend ofrice consumption by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries, with average annual rice consumption perperson (2016), quantity of delivered processed brown riceand the number of subscribers. The number of subscribers
is defined as the total number of insured persons (staff ) anddependents (family members). Mean data of public medical
expenses were provided by each company’s health insurance
society. No personal information was included.

Ethical standards
This research was approved by each company and theresearch participants. No information regarding individual
medical expense data was provided by health insurance
societies and personally identifiable information of researchtargets was protected.

Results
Company T had started the ingestion of SARFR in
June of 2014 and the ingestion of DBR in October of 2015.
Average monthly medical expenses per insured person ( 0 ~74 at age) were compiled for 2015 FY (April 2015 ~ March
2016) and the 2016 FY (Table 1). Average monthly medical
expenses in 2015 FY were 13,909 yen for the national
average, 14,124 yen for Wakayama Prefecture, 13,911 yenfor employees with the same occupation in Wakayama(peer average), and 8,269 yen for Company T (154 insured
persons). Compared with national average monthly medical
expenses, Wakayama average was higher by 9.4 % andCompany T was lower by 35.9 %. Company T continues totake SARFR and DBR, and the average annual medical
expenses have remained at a low level since 2016.
Figure 2 shows aggregate results of average annual
medical expenses per person from 2016 FY to 2018 FY. The
number of survey subjects is shown in Table 2.
Average annual medical expenses of Company T, which
had many persons ingesting SARFR (consumption rate: 66.1%[DBR 14.3%, SARFR 85.7 %]), showed average annual
medical expenses of 120,108 yen for 2016 FY, 119,264
yen for 2017 FY, and 127, 248 yen for 2018 FY. This was
68 % of Wakayama average of 175,683 yen for 2016 FY,
180,966 yen for 2017 FY, and 183, 372 for 2018 FY. Afterthe commencement of the ingestion of SARFR, averageannual medical expenses of Company A (consumption rate:
39.1% [DBR 13.5 %, SARFR 86.5 %]) decreased by 40 %:
224,335 yen for 2017 FY and 134,354 yen for 2018 FY.
Similarly, that of Company B (consumption rate: 29.4 %[DBR 13.3 %, SARFR 86.7 %]) decreased by 39%: 198,892
yen for 2017 FY and 121,172 yen for 2018 FY.

Discussion“National Medical Care Expenditure” is an estimate of
expenditure spent on treatments for diseases and injuries atmedical care institutions during the fiscal year. It includes
medical expenditures for medical and dental treatment,

Table 1. Average monthly medical expenses per person.
Per subscriber
National average
Wakayama prefecture average
The peer average
Company T(2015FY)(2016FY)
Per insured person
National average
Wakayama prefecture average
The peer average
Company T(2015FY)(2016FY)

Numbermedical expenses(total)Hospitalization

Out of hospital

Dental

14,202

4,038

8,596

1,568

4,339

8,259

1,600

2,307

6,282

1,420

3,769

8,462

1,678

3,744

8,412

14,093
14,198389
378

9, 266

10,00913,909155

1,628

14,124

3,568

8,269

1, 555

13,911

154

3,777

9,340

FY, fiscal year.

_ 117 _

2,836

8,769

6,108

8,881
5,196

5,261

1,547
1,531

1,675
1,755

1,518

1,243

Medical Expense Reduction by Sub-aleurone Layer Residual Rinse-free Rice and Dewaxed Brown Rice(yen)
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,0000Prefecture average
Consumption rate
DBR
SARFR

T

A

B

66.1%

39.1 %

29.4%

13.5%
86.5%

13.3%
86.7%

14.3%
( 85.7%

Fiscal year

2016

2017

)

2018

Fig. 2. Intake of processed brown rice and average annual medical expenses per person.

See Table 2 for the number of subjects analyzed. DBR, dewaxed brown rice; SARFR, sub-aleurone
layer residual rinse-free rice.

Table 2. Number of survey subjects.
2016 FY

2017FY

2018FY

Wakayama

293,861

296,774

Company T

389

378

Company A
Company B

128

126

The assured

Dependents

297, 088

170,939(46.0)

126,14 9(26.7)

373

169(45.4)

204(28. 5)9864(45.4)

34(24. 2)125

53(4 4.5)72(22.9)

Blue letters indicate the analysis target, and parentheses show the average age. The turnover rate from 2017FY to2018FY is Company T: 3.7 %, Company A: 31.7 %, Company B: 7.4 %. Wakayama, average of Wakayama prefecture
residence; FY, fiscal year

pharmacy dispensing medical expenditures, food and living
care expenditures during admission, and home-visit nursing
medical expenditure as well as transfer expenditures coveredby health insurance.
National medical care expenditures are limited
to treatments of diseases and injuries and excludes thefollowing: (1) expenditure for uncomplicated pregnancies
and deliveries, (2) expenditure for medical checkups andimmunizations for maintenance and enhancement of health,and (3) expenditure for prosthetic devices for eyes and limbs,
etc. required for established physical disabilities. It does
not include optional medical treatments which are coveredby patients such as extra charges for room fees duringadmission and dentistry.
National medical care expenditure for the 2019 FY (thefirst year of Reiwa era) was 43 trillion and 600 billion yen
as an estimation calculated with receipt data, compared with42 trillion 138 billion 100 million yen in the previous FY, an
increase of 2.4 %, one trillion ten billion yen. This was thehighest figure ever for healthcare expenditure 11). National
medical expense per person was 339,900 yen for the 2019
FY. Compared with 332, 000 yen of the previous FY, it
increased by 7,900 yen, or 2.4 %. Estimated medical careexpenditure for the 2020 FY decreased by 1% comparedwith the previous FY. This was in an extraordinary situation
due to the coronavirus pandemic 12) .
Vaccination is an effective measure to reduce healthcare expenditures. It was reported that pneumococcal
vaccination reduced the period of hospitalization and medicalcare expenses in comparison between pneumococcal
vaccinators (310 subjects, 77.4 at mean age) and nonvaccinators (1,045 subjects, 77.5 at mean age) 13). Covid-19
vaccination is being conducted in Japan at the time of thiswriting and it is expected that its efficacy evaluation will be_ 118 _Glycative Stress Research

performed from the perspective of medical care expenditures.
Research has been increasingly reported regarding
countermeasures and causative factors to reduce medical
expenses, as cost reduction is an important issue. Geographic
disparities in average medical care expenses have beenrecognized. Medical costs are high in western Japan andnorthern Japan (Hokkaido) 14). This is associated with medical
and economic disparities such as the number of long-termcare beds and/or mental sickbeds per population, andaccessibility to medical institutions for older adults. Analysisof medical expenses and nursing care have suggested thatcausative factors of increased costs were nursing care levels,
period to death, and increased usage of medical and nursing
resources 15). Cognitive impairment is a serious problem as afactor which raises the nursing care burden.
Social burdens due to cognitive impairments increased
from one trillion 196 billion 400 million yen for 2002 to two
trillion 128 billion yen for 2011. According to an estimation
employing the cost of illness methodology with a basis on
Japanese official statistics, the cost increased 1.78 times
over ten years 16). Regional disparities were extensive from aviewpoint of dementia-related medical expenses and it wassuggested that a higher ratio of hospitalization led to a hugerise in medical care expenses 17). An analysis was reported
on 1,736 subjects of aged patients with cognitive impairment(mean age: 71.6 ± 5.9 years old, females: 56.6 %), which
excluded serious-level cases 18). Impairment degrees wereclassified into 40.3% of high-level group, 38.8 % of upper
mediate group, 16.8 % of mediate group, 2.2% of lower
mediate group, and 2.0 % of low group. Medical and nursing
care expenses (monthly average) were significant in the low
and lower mediate group for five years. After eight years,
expenses were the highest in the mediate group.
Lifestyle-related diseases were not only the biggest
obstructive factor against health and longevity but also had
an enormous impact on national medical care expenditures.
Japan has the longest average life span and healthy life
expectancy in the world. One causative factor is reported
to be the low obesity rate in Japan, compared with otherdeveloped countries 19). According to an analysis with 16,386
of Japanese male employees (48.2 at mean age) regarding
the relationship between medical care expenses and physicalindex (body mass index [BMI], body weight, glyceride, highdensity lipoprotein-cholesterol [HDL-C], blood glucose
level), persons with the most expensive medical care expenses
were those with both obesity and a metabolic disorder 20).
Analytical research regarding abdominal circumscription
and medical expenses (88,556 subjects) recognized a positive
correlation between these two factors. It was suggested that
one centimeter decrease in abdominal circumscription was
related to the reduction of the estimate of average annual
medical expenses with 2,700 yen for men and 2,500 yen for
women 21).
Average annual medical expense of patients withalcohol dependence (1,137 subjects of 63.1 at mean age) was
753,382 yen. Furthermore, medical expenses, even when one
hospitalization was added, would rise drastically. Averageannual medical expense (average period of hospitalization:
71.3 days) increased to 1,434,203 yen 22).
Diabetics largely account for metabolic diseases in theterm of medical care expenses, and varied analyses were
performed. In correlation analysis between medical expenses

and medical examination index (798 subjects, 63.1 at meanage), positive correlations were indicated between medical
expenses and both blood glucose levels and glycoalbumin
levels. A relation was indicated with estimated glomerular
filtration rates 23). A five-year follow-up research study with
318 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) suggested that
average annual outpatient medical expenses per person
significantly increased from 316 thousand ± 167 thousand
to 379 thousand ± 209 thousand 24). The volume of increase
for medical care expenses had positive correlations with
BMI and HbAlc, and negative correlations with hospital
outpatient expense and HDL-C. Furthermore, administrationof costly therapeutic agents for T2DM raised medical careexpenses 25). An awareness survey of pharmacists advocatedan opinion that adjusting prescriptions by appropriately
reusing leftover drugs could contribute to reduced medicalcare expenses 26).
T2DM has a characteristic of causing diverse
complications, which is a factor for the rise of medical
expenses. An examination with 1,099 subjects reported that
average annual medical expenses were 42,461 yen for a group
without nephropathy and 107,027 yen for a group withnephropathy. This was 2.52 times higher than non-nephropathy.
Similarly, 44,819 yen for non-cardiac disease, and 68,458 yen
for cardiac disease, which was 1.53 times higher; 43,900 yen
for non-cerebrovascular, and 90,239 yen for cerebrovascular,
which was 2.52 times higher 27). When serious hypoglycemia
is caused in T2DM management, medical care expenses are
greatly increased. It is required to exert caution for medical
treatments 28).
Furthermore, T2DM with obesity affects medical careexpenditures. Research with 4 02 patients with T2DM (male:
66.2 %, 66 mean age) in 165 subjects of obesity group and237 subjects of non-obesity group reported that subjects
in the obesity group had poorly controlled glycemia at a
younger age than the non-obesity group and had higher rates
of hypertension. Annual medical expenses of the obesity
group were significantly higher than that of the non-obesity
group 29).
Lifestyle-related diseases were not only the biggest
obstructive factor against health and longevity but also had anenormous influence on national medical care expenditures.
“Dietary education (shokuiku)” “physical education (taiiku)”
and “intellectual education (chiiku)” are basic for teaching
and training for the improvement of lifestyle. Physical andexercise therapy contributes to the reduction of medical careexpenses.
A five-year follow-up research study for an exercise
program reported a comparative survey regarding medicalcare expenses; 41 participants (65 ~ 84 at age) of the programfor health promotion in Oizumi, Osaka from 2005 werecompared with 54 control subjects 30). The difference in total
medical expenses widened from 299,911 yen in 2004 to
4,909,799 yen in 2009. The difference in annual average
medical expenses per person was 92,647 yen.
An analytic study in Daisen-cho, Tottori Prefecture, wasreported regarding 80 subjects, who participated in thefollowing exercise program once or more a week for years 31).
The exercise was a 30-minute program consisting of two units(12 minutes × 2) of muscular strength exercises (12 types, 30
seconds) and aerobic exercise (30 seconds) in turn, followedby cool down stretching. Persons with a tendency toward_ 119 _

Medical Expense Reduction by Sub-aleurone Layer Residual Rinse-free Rice and Dewaxed Brown Riceobesity significantly reduced BMI and persons with risks ofhigh blood pressure, hyperglycemia and /or lipid abnormality
improved these indexes. However, the effectiveness of the
medical cost reduction was not confirmed.
A comparative result between an intervention group(296 subjects of 67.0 at mean age) and a control group (882subjects of 66.8 at mean age), which examined the effectivenessof walking on medical care expenses employing a pedometerwith information communication technology (ICT) monitoring
system, demonstrated that medical expenses were reduced but
significant differences between groups were not confirmed 32).
“Dietary education” encourages the practice of a wellbalanced diet at appropriate calorie levels and contributes tothe prevention and improvement of lifestyle-related diseases.
A prospective study with 139 patients with lifestylerelated diseases (70.2 at mean age) was conducted to examine
how effective nutrition education was on high bloodpressure, dyslipidemia, T2DM, and obesity 33). A six-monthnutrition education program for target subjects showed that
HbAlc and body weight were significantly decreased andlow-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) had a declining
tendency, while no significant change was observed in bloodpressure.
There have been a large number of reports that “dietaryeducation” improved glycolipid metabolism. However, there
have not yet been reports that interventions with dietaryeducation leads to a medical care cost reduction. The present
study of an intervention with staple food replacement frompolished rice to test sample products of processed brownrice (SARFR and DWR), has suggested remarkable results.
Through this intervention, medical expenses decreased
by approximately 40 % in one year, without any further
interventions.
These types of processed brown rice for the present
study, contained brown-rice-derived nutrients, while ordinary
polished rice contained them only at a negligible extent.
Their components were dietary fiber, vitamin B1, B2, B6,
magnesium, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, inositol, choline,
vitamin B group such as folate, γ -oryzanol, ferulic acid,phytic acid, γ -aminobutyric acid, and lipopolysaccharide(LPS) 10). The present investigation indicated that thesenutrient components were related to the medical cost
reduction.
Antioxidant vitamin, ferulic acid 34), and phytic acid 35)
are characterized as participating components that exert
antioxidative effects.
As participating components to affect carbohydrate andlipid metabolism, dietary fiber decreases postprandial blood
glucose. Furthermore, γ -oryzanol leads to a breakaway fromaddiction to animal-fat based food and improves insulin
resistance 36) . Triterpene alcohol, which is contained in thelipid-soluble fraction of rice bran, as well as sterol fraction
decreases postprandial blood glucose 37) . Probiotics activities
of dietary fiber lead to the increase of bacteria production
for organic acid and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), suchas bifidobacteria bifidus, lactic acid bacteria, and butyrateproducing bacteria. This promotes basal metabolism when
excessive calories are ingested, namely, the elevation ofbody temperature and the increase of heart rate 38). Thus,
brown rice, including processed brown rice, is effective forthe prevention of obesity and the loss of weight, comparedwith ordinary polished rice 39). Glycative stress reduction is

promoted by these activities.
As participating components for immune function,
dietary fiber (probiotics) enhances the retention of intestinal
flora and LPS promotes intestinal immunostimulatory
activities 40). Furthermore, brown rice ingredients promote thesecretion of IgA in breast milk 41).
To name another participating component, γ-aminobutyricacid (GABA) relieves physical and psychological stress 42).
Furthermore, it was demonstrated that brown-rice-derived
components could help retain cognitive functions and preventthe progress of Alzheimer’s disease 43).
It is recognized that these participating components
function in an integrated and coordinated manner.
Unidentified components could exist. Further research is
required to explore accurate mechanisms.
Results of the investigation of the present study
included dental care expenses. Table 2 shows dental care
reduction in Company T for 2016 FY. Maintenance of oral
functions contributes to the reduction of the increasing
health care expenditures. An analytical survey with 4,700
elderly subjects living in Mie Prefecture (2,745 subjectsof 75 at age, 1,955 subjects of 80 at age) indicated that theperiod of hospitalization was shorter in subjects who had
more remaining teeth and health care expenses were lower
in these subjects 44) . Further research is required to examine
relationships with processed brown rice and oral functions.

Conclusion
The present study examined the impacts on medicalcare expenditures of corporate health insurance societies
by the replacement of staple food from polished rice toprocessed brown rice. The investigation results demonstrated
that the medical expense of Company located in Wakayama
Prefecture was lower by 32 % than the prefecture average.
Companies which had newly introduced the processedbrown rice diet decreased medical expenses by 39 % ~ 40 %.
The present study suggested that the ingestion of nutrientscontained in the sub-aleurone layer and bran layer could
improve health conditions, decrease disease incident rates,
and consequently reduce public medical care expenditures.

Conflict of interest
Research support was provided by Toyo Rice
Corporation.

Acknowledgements
Support was provided for the present study by“Ishokudogen Shouyaku-Kenkyu Zaidan”, the Research
Foundation of Crude Drug gained from the same sourceof Medicine & Food (IDF#21006). Outline of the present
study was reported at the first anniversary seminar of
Platform for Wakayama Health Care Industry (February 4th,2019), the 61th Conference of the Japan Association for the
Integrated Study of Dietary Habits (held online, November
28th, 2020), and the 22nd Glycative Stress Academic
Meeting /ifia Japan 2021 (May 15th, 2021).

_ 12 0 _Glycative Stress Research

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