#11 — “My fresh amazake story”: happy changes from making it at home (amazake)

It works for health, beautiful skin, and beautiful hair! "My fresh amazake story": one happy change after another from making it at home

Here are the real-life experiences of 15 fresh amazake fans who fell for its charms and made it a daily habit. They tell us with delight that by keeping it up they catch fewer colds, their constipation is relieved, their rough skin is gone, and they have found relief from hay fever!

Hay fever and atopic dermatitis symptoms that plagued us for years have eased!Woman, 40

About two years after I made fresh amazake a habit, the hay fever symptoms I had suffered from for more than 10 years actually improved! Medication had never done much, and I struggled with it every year, so I was truly amazed. On top of that, I'm more regular and I have more stamina. It's been nothing but good things, and I'm delighted.

It isn't just me. My husband's atopic dermatitis symptoms eased after he started taking fresh amazake too. He used to go to the clinic for medication once every three to six months, but for the past two years or so he has been able to get by without relying on medication, which amazes us.

On the beauty side, my skin is in such good shape that even people in their twenties compliment me, and I can really feel the effect. Things that are good for health and beauty tend to be hard to stick with, but amazake can be used in cooking too, so it's easy to keep up. I've made it a habit to always marinate meat in amazake before cooking it. It turns tender and tastes far better. Because it's part of our everyday meals, my husband gets it daily without even noticing. For my family's health, I intend to keep on using it.

Amazed to have less gray hair. Some even say it helped with infertilityWoman, 49

At our house, coming up with new ways to enjoy fresh amazake is all the rage! We mix it with milk, blend it with mascarpone cheese for a dessert, and even stir it into homemade ketchup or green curry. Having variations to turn to lets you keep up fresh amazake happily without getting bored.

To make fresh amazake I use the keep-warm function on an induction cooktop. I put fresh koji and soy milk in a pot and hold it at around 60°C (140°F) for about three hours. It cuts down the time it takes, and a mellow sweetness is its hallmark. It keeps just as long as amazake made with rice porridge.

As for effects, I catch colds less easily and no longer get constipated, but what made me happiest is that gray hairs are slower to grow in! I used to have my gray dyed regularly at the salon, but now I can go with my natural hair, and my hairdresser is amazed. From people around me I hear happy comments such as "My good cholesterol went up at my health checkup," "My basal body temperature went up, and it helped with my fertility treatment," and "I lost weight successfully."

Adding fruit to ward off colds and summer fatigue. And an unexpected boost in eyesight!Woman, 58

I don't care for fresh amazake straight, so at our house we steep fruit in it. Add blueberries, kiwi, pineapple, and the like to fresh amazake and it tastes refreshing, which I especially recommend in summer. Since we started eating it, summer fatigue has been a thing of the past. Perhaps because we're getting more vitamins, we catch colds less easily too. Even when the flu is going around, no one in our house comes down with it.

My eyesight also improved astonishingly: one eye that was starting to become nearsighted went from 0.7 to 1.2.

An acquaintance was worried that her adolescent child was emotionally unstable, so I recommended fruit amazake. The two of them began having it together at breakfast, and she was delighted that, perhaps because the child felt more at ease, the stomachaches on the way to school got better.

It's also a huge help in everyday cooking, such as seasoning meat and fish before cooking. I especially recommend spreading it on tuna and wrapping it in plastic wrap, which brings out a mellow flavor. Use it in cooking, and even people who don't like amazake can take it in naturally, day after day.

Fresh amazake improved my allergy symptoms. My parents are healthier too!Woman, 32

It's been more than three years since I started my amazake life, and my health has improved dramatically. I feel better and catch colds less easily, but what I'm most grateful for is that my allergy symptoms, hay fever included, have improved. In spring, hay fever came on top of my usual allergy symptoms, and I went day after day feeling unwell. Tests at the hospital show that my allergy numbers are still high, so I'm not cured, but my symptoms are incomparably milder. I feel sure this is the effect of amazake.

And the people who were even more surprised than I was at the improvement in symptoms I'd suffered for years were my family back home. Having seen the change in me, my parents are now completely hooked on fresh amazake. My mother loves the taste itself. She says it "tastes like the old days." My father seems to have been won over by seeing me feeling better and laughing more, to the point that he goes out to buy more himself when the supply runs out. He hides the fact that he's hooked, but it's obvious to my mother and me.

Perhaps because they feel lighter on their feet, my parents have lately been enjoying trips here and there together. Their mood seems brighter too, and they get in touch more often than before, so as a bonus our family talks more.

As for me, there have been happy changes on the beauty side too! My skin is fairer than before. Even when I go out without foundation, people are surprised: "What? That's your bare skin?" My hair has also regained the bounce and shine it had in my twenties. Friends from my school days are often envious when we meet, and my hair is now something I'm proud of.

I had tried things said to be good for your health before, but I never stuck with them. I think the reason fresh amazake has lasted is how easygoing it is: "one small sake cup a day is enough." You can pick it up at the supermarket, and the price is reasonable. It's handy in cooking as a substitute for sugar. And unlike sugar, I don't feel guilty if I have a little too much, which I like.

Even dry skin is moisturized! I can't do without it for staying in good shapeWoman, 51

Before I discovered fresh amazake, my days were plagued by sensitivity to cold, a weak stomach and intestines, and catching colds easily. But since I started taking fresh amazake, I catch colds less often and my condition has stabilized. My grown daughter started with me, and she was surprised to find that her digestion improved and she tired less easily.

On the beauty side, my gut environment came into balance and my skin troubles dropped dramatically! My skin tone has gotten brighter year by year, and people now take me for younger than I am. When your skin looks tired, I recommend washing your face with fresh amazake: it lifts the dullness and boosts clarity.

In cooking it can be used in place of sugar, so it helps with dieting, and it's nice to feel reassured on the health front too.

Thanks to the health and beauty effects of fresh amazake, I've been able to keep my body and my skin in good condition. I'm grateful that both my work and my private life are full and that I can live with energy. I've come to feel how important it is to keep at it steadily, day by day.

Fresh amazake helps keep the flu away. For boosting immunity, we can't do without itMan, 45

It's been five years since I started drinking fresh amazake. We feel its effects so strongly that now no one in my family can do without it. For the past few years, everyone has been in good health. We haven't been catching colds, I myself tire less easily, and day to day I feel it working on the swelling in my legs and on my weight as well.

My wife, who used to be troubled by rough skin, gradually improved after she started drinking fresh amazake, and now her skin is beautiful! She's happy that "my stomach feels good too."

Since our children started taking fresh amazake, colds, stomach bugs, and the flu have largely passed them by. Our third son in particular, perhaps because we started giving it to him soon after he was born, has never once needed to see a doctor.

Fresh amazake isn't medicine, so the effects don't show up right away. But when I stop for a while, I somehow start feeling off... and I end up starting again.

I've come to feel that what matters is taking it every day, the same as meals, and not only when I feel unwell. I intend to keep it up.

Severe hay fever improved dramatically. A super drink for the whole family!Woman, 53

I started my amazake life under the influence of my cooking teacher. I've kept it up for about five years, and what made me happiest was that the terrible hay fever that had plagued me for more than 25 years became dramatically milder. My cedar allergy numbers, as shown by blood tests, improved astonishingly, and within about three years I no longer needed medication. Spring used to be nothing but misery, but now I can fully enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms.

For my husband and my older daughter, whose work hours are irregular, having fresh amazake with fruit or a smoothie is a daily routine. They say they feel that "this balances out my nutrition." My younger daughter's digestion improved thanks to amazake, and she has become mindful of her gut environment in everyday life. Having fermented foods as part of our diet seems to give the whole family peace of mind about our health.

I'm not especially focused on anti-aging, but thanks to fresh amazake the brightness and condition of my skin have improved tremendously. I feel the effects of natural aging, something I can do without strain through everyday eating.

So glad I can use it with peace of mind in my children's snacksWoman, 33

I came across fresh amazake when I was trying all sorts of things in search of a sweetener to replace sugar. Now I rely on it as a seasoning in place of sugar for everyday cooking and for making my children's snacks. I didn't want to give my children sugar, so I used to make their meals and snacks separately from the adults'. But with fresh amazake, a natural fermented food, I don't worry. Now that they can have the same things as the rest of the family, I have more time and more peace of mind.

At our house we make fresh amazake in the YOGURTiA. A ratio of 2 parts fresh koji to 3 parts hot water gives the sweetness I like. I just press the switch before bed and it's done by morning. That ease is the key to keeping it up.

I now use it not only in my family's meals but also in my classes. I can feel how strong the interest is among mothers worried about their children's allergies and mothers who want to feed their children safe, trustworthy food. I also hear from mothers that it worked on their own constipation and rough skin!

PMS (premenstrual syndrome) eased. I feel the power of fermentation every dayWoman in her 40s

What got me started on fresh amazake was seeing a TV feature on koji. Now I've gone so far as to work in fermentation. I make my fresh amazake in a rice cooker and, as a rule, use fresh koji. Temperature control is the one thing I'm careful about. Beyond that, I try not to be too fussy, and I make it with plenty of love.

As for how I take it, I mix in fruit or thin it with soy milk, milk, water, or tea. Enjoying it in lots of different flavors is the secret to sticking with it. It's my daily routine to have about one small sake cup in the morning or at snack time, and I use it in cooking in place of sugar too.

Since I started drinking it, my painful PMS (premenstrual syndrome) symptoms have eased. I'm calmer mentally too, and I feel that my chronic gynecological condition has become milder.

It's a hit with my family too: they say they're more regular and their skin is better moisturized! I also recommend it as nourishment for small children and older people.

Allergies improved, no more need for medication. It's our family's saviorWoman, 47

My husband had suffered for years from rough skin caused by allergies. But after he started drinking fresh amazake about three years ago, his symptoms improved dramatically! Until then, every summer sweat would leave the skin around his neck raw and inflamed, painful to look at... He was seeing a dermatologist too, but now he's doing so well that he doesn't need medication. I can tell my own skin is in very good condition as well.

We make our fresh amazake in the YOGURTiA or buy it from a sake brewery. When making it, keeping the temperature constant is the secret to success.

My habit is to drink 50 ml after breakfast, but I also mix it with fruit or soy milk and use it in place of sugar when baking sweets or cooking. My family approves: "Using it in cooking is nice because it becomes an everyday habit!"

I like that, as part of Japan's food culture, it fits naturally into daily life. I intend to keep it up.

Moist skin, silky hair. More effective than expensive cosmeticsWoman, 46

I remembered how delicious the amazake I drank at an amazake teahouse as a child was, and about three years ago it suddenly came to mind and I looked into it. That's how it began. Now I'm so hooked on amazake that I make my own. I use a yogurt maker to make fresh amazake. It's a simple recipe: just add water to dried koji or fresh koji. To make it well, I sanitize the container thoroughly with alcohol and adjust the amount of water to the koji I'm using. I like to make it on the sweet side, at a slightly higher temperature.

When I have it straight, I take about one small sake cup, but I often cook with it or combine it with something. Made into fruit amazake with fruit added, or into a smoothie, it has a flavor children like too.

I also use it as a substitute for sweeteners in cooking, as a marinade for meat and fish, and in baking, for things like chiffon cake. I'm trying more unusual ideas too, such as combining it with olive oil for a dressing or with soy sauce for a natto sauce. With all these variations you get to enjoy lots of flavors, and I like that it's easy to make a habit of, not just for me but for the whole family.

Since I started drinking it, I'm less bothered by dry skin in winter. My hair has turned silky too. It works far better than expensive cosmetics! When I have some before going out, my body feels light all day.

Unlike sugar, fresh amazake has natural sweetness and umami. It's rich in vitamins and minerals and good for your health, so I recommend it to the people around me with confidence. I feel lucky that I can get healthy with a traditional food unique to Japan.

Many people make theirs in TANICA's YOGURTiA, and we hear comments such as "People around me say it's easy to use, too."

The power of fresh koji balanced my gut, and my dry skin and constipation were relievedWoman, 36

I first learned about the power of koji about six years ago, when I was in charge of the pages on "enzyme rice" for a magazine. For about half a month then, I was taste-testing the trial batches of enzyme rice every day.

I can't put it into words very well, but I had the feeling of changing from the inside, and in particular a real sense that my gut environment was improving. What surprised me most was that, without restricting what I ate at all, I noticed I had lost a full 2 kg.

From then on I became interested in koji, and my koji life began. Along the way, I arrived at amazake made with fresh koji.

In the morning I drink it mixed with soy milk or add amazake to fruit or vegetable juice. At dinner I use amazake as a seasoning in place of sugar or mirin, and I find it invaluable.

I have dry skin, and it used to bother me that my skin got flaky and itchy at the change of seasons and in winter. But since I started taking amazake, my skin has become more and more moist, and even when the dry-air season comes, I no longer get the itching that dryness causes.

Also, I used to get constipated when work got busy and my routine became irregular, but now, thanks to amazake, my gut environment is in balance and I'm not troubled by constipation either.

Amazake has become inseparable from my health.

I've been making and using amazake for four years. Atopic dermatitis, hay fever, constipation: amazake eased the ailments of all four of us!!Woman, 43

Everyone in our family had an allergy of one kind or another. The hardest time was when, just before we turned 40, my husband's allergies and mine both got worse. My husband had eczema all over his body, and after our older daughter was born I developed hay fever so severe that I lost my sense of taste for more than a month. Our older daughter was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis at age one, and our younger daughter had been so constipated since she was a newborn that she sometimes went four days without a bowel movement.

I wanted to rely on medication as little as possible, so I tried all sorts of natural remedies, but in the end what I arrived at was "making and eating fermented foods myself to get my gut in order."

We enjoy amazake, miso, shio koji (salt koji), nukazuke (rice bran pickles), and the like every day. Amazake in particular is an all-purpose fermented food that you can not only drink but also cook with as a seasoning, so it's easy to keep up without strain.

Now my hay fever and my husband's and older daughter's eczema have improved greatly. Our younger daughter is regular every day. And, happily, people even take me for five or more years younger than I am.

Every day I feel how wonderful fermented foods, which balance the gut environment, are, and amazake above all.

Amazake improved my lifelong frailty and irritable bowel syndrome!Man, 47

Ever since I was a child I've been thin with a small appetite, what you'd call a frail constitution. When I was little I had no sense of being hungry. I ate so little that I wondered, "What does being hungry feel like?" Perhaps because of poor circulation, I was also terribly sensitive to cold, and I got chilblains every winter without fail.

That constitution didn't change when I grew up. I always had pain in my lower abdomen, and rubbing my belly with my hand became a habit. I also had bad diarrhea, and several times a day the urge would come on suddenly and I'd have to dash to the bathroom. I had no strength in my belly and couldn't summon any drive.

On top of that, I had so little stamina that just moving a little brought on palpitations and shortness of breath, or left my whole body feeling heavy. I had been coming to terms with this state since childhood, so I may have partly given up, assuming I would go on living like this forever.

Three years ago the stomach pain and diarrhea got worse, and when I went to the hospital I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. Learning what my illness was made me very anxious, and my symptoms got even worse.

Around that time, a doctor on a TV health program said, "Amazake is a drinkable IV drip, and it improves your gut environment," and it stuck with me. I tried drinking amazake thinned with hot water, and not just my belly but my whole body grew warm. A chilled belly makes diarrhea more likely, so I thought this was a good thing and kept drinking it every day. Then, little by little, my irritable bowel syndrome symptoms subsided. Now I'm hardly ever troubled by stomach pain or diarrhea.

With amazake, not just weight loss but a healthy gut environment too!!Woman

She had tried one diet after another, rebounding every time. Then she took on an amazake diet for a TV program. She started out half in doubt, but her ingrained habit of snacking on sweets disappeared and the diet succeeded. And because there is nothing she has to deny herself, there is no worry about rebounding.

"I can't believe I lost 4.8 kg in two weeks!" That was my honest feeling when I succeeded at dieting with amazake.

I've been a big eater since childhood, but when I was young, no matter how much I ate and drank, I never went over 55 kg. After I became pregnant with my first child, though, perhaps my constitution changed, and I began gaining weight in step with whatever I ate.

Since then I've tried all sorts of diets. But diets that involve exercise are hard, and I can't keep them up. And diets that have you eating things you don't like or that don't taste good, or cutting carbs, may take the weight off temporarily, but because I can't stick with them I rebound right away. It was the same cycle over and over.

That was when a TV program approached me: "Would you like to try an amazake diet?" At the time I knew only amazake made from sake lees, which I didn't much like, so privately I thought I wouldn't last.

But when I tried amazake made with fresh koji, I was thrilled at how delicious it was. I used to eat something sweet whenever I got a little hungry and put on weight right away, but once I started drinking amazake I was able to curb the craving for sweets.

What's more, my stomach is apparently bigger than that of other women my age and I'm quite a big eater, but because I was drinking amazake, which is high in carbohydrates, I was able to cut back on rice by that much without strain. I think that's what led to losing 4.8 kg in just two weeks.

There's one more good thing that came from trying the amazake diet: I woke up to the importance of fermented foods.

I love to eat, so I basically cook good meals for myself. I also thought I was eating a nutritionally balanced diet with my health in mind. Yet I would get constipated from time to time and wondered why.

After I started the amazake diet I became more regular, and it made me realize that what my diet lacked was fermented foods. Since then I've been actively eating fermented foods such as natto and yogurt, and amazake of course.

A diet is meaningless if you can't keep it up. In that respect, the amazake diet is one I recommend: you can continue it without strain, and it balances your gut environment and makes you healthier besides.

Amazake is a delicious diet.

For how to make it, see the rice koji amazake recipe. YOGURTiA is well suited to holding the temperature.

This article provides general information about everyday eating and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any condition. If you have a medical condition or an allergy, consult a doctor or a registered dietitian.