Free Republic

A team of cognitive health and aging research specialists affiliated with a large number of institutions in Japan has found that ingesting wasabi can help improve both long- and short-term memory retention in older adults. For their study, the group gave one group of older adult volunteers daily wasabi tablets and another group a daily placebo for three months. Wasabi is a kind of plant that grows in Japan and the Russian Far East—some liken to horseradish. The rhizome is commonly used as both an ingredient in food and as a condiment. Prior research has shown that its anti-inflammatory benefits...

Business is booming for a hibachi restaurant after a woman complained she was “sexually assaulted” by a toy used as part of the chef’s routine. While dining at Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Isabelle Lassiter claims she was sexually assaulted by a toy figurine that squirted water on her. According to the 911 call, Isabelle’s husband, James, said the chef “pulled out this little fricking doll with his pants down and he shot water at my wife out of its [expletive].” When an officer arrived on the scene, however, he noted the toy did not depict any male anatomy....

Not just for sushi — but for research. You know that burning sensation when you eat wasabi? Researchers at University of California San Francisco think new information about the so-called “wasabi receptor” can help improve pain medications. The wasabi receptor is a protein inside our nerve cells. It reacts to spicy things like wasabi, and even tear gas. UCSF researchers used new imaging technology to better map the protein. They're experimenting with blocking the pain receptor's response. Pain medications and anti-itch medications could become more effective as a result.

Japan is the de facto world capital of odd flavors for popular American snacks. From 'salty watermelon' to 'clam chowder' here are 12 flavors of Pepsi, Doritos, and more too wacky to dream up if you tried.Wasabi Kit Kats? Tuna Mayonnaise Doritos? Cucumber Pepsi? No, these aren't the results of manatee idea balls (we think). These Franken-snacks actually exist (or have existed) for public consumption in Japan. Although other countries in Asia, like Taiwan, have their own interpretations of Western-style snack foods, the de facto world capital of odd flavors is considered to be the Land of the Rising Sun....

BARNSTABLE, Mass. — A Barnstable man has been charged with assault for allegedly hitting his girlfriend in the face with a pair of designer jeans he had doused in wasabi sauce. .....charges including domestic assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for allegedly attacking his girlfriend because she had received a text message from another man as they drove home from a bar. .....he doused the woman's $200 jeans in the pungent Japanese sauce and threw them outside. ...she went to his home to recover the jeans, he allegedly struck her in the face with them,...

Broccoli is good for you but there's a trick to make it work even harder. Adding mustard, horseradish or wasabi to your broccoli has been found to significantly boost its cancer-fighting ability in a new study published this week. The secret sidekick is an enzyme called myrosinase which is necessary to form sulforaphane, the vegetable's cancer-preventive component. When a food item containing the enzyme was eaten with broccoli, scientists at the University of Ilinois found that the combination revved up the production of sulforaphane in both foods. The study was published online in the British Journal of Nutrition Tuesday. To...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many people believe the sushi-seasoner wasabi clears their sinuses, but new research presented this week suggests that the spicy green paste may do the opposite. U.S. researchers found that eating wasabi appeared to increase congestion in a small group of healthy volunteers, despite the fact that participants said they thought that the spice had cleared their nasal passages. "Actually, wasabi is a congestant," study author Dr. David S. Cameron told Reuters Health. "It makes the space of your nasal passages smaller, but it makes you feel more open." Cameron explained that wasabi probably clogs up...