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TANICA YOGURTiA fermented food maker
Set any temperature from 25–70°C (77–158°F) in 1°C steps. Includes two HARIO glass pots and an egg stand. One machine for miso, amazake, shio koji, natto, and yogurt.
#3 — Chapter 3: Koji boosts immunity — Building a body that’s more resistant to colds
3-1. What is immunity? — The body’s most powerful defense system
“I catch colds more easily these days.” “I always get sick when the seasons change.” “I get canker sores when I’m tired.” These can all be signs that your immunity is down. When you keep cutting back on sleep and eating at irregular times, your immunity weakens.
When immunity drops, you become more susceptible to infections, small cuts fester more easily, and canker sores keep coming back. Fatigue gets harder to shake, too. When the body is constantly in “battle mode,” it burns through energy, which leads to chronic fatigue. And when the immune system falls out of balance, it overreacts to things it has no need to react to, and hay fever, eczema, and food allergies can get worse.
3-2. Why the gut holds 70% of your immunity
The gut is the “border between the outside world and the body,” the first place to come into contact with whatever enters through the mouth. That is exactly why huge numbers of immune cells stand watch there 24 hours a day. This is called gut immunity. Absorb the nutrients, eliminate the pathogens — the gut makes these sophisticated decisions in an instant.
When gut immunity is working, pathogens can be blocked right at the gut. When gut health is disrupted, good bacteria decrease and bad bacteria increase, the lining weakens, and pathogens get in more easily. Immune cells malfunction and attack even things they don’t need to attack. This is thought to be one cause of allergies and autoimmune problems.
3-3. The immunity-boosting components in koji
B vitamins, vitamin B6 in particular, are essential for producing immune cells and keeping them functioning. A deficiency is known to reduce the number of lymphocytes and weaken the immune response. Eating koji regularly makes it easier to get these vitamins naturally.
Koji also has antioxidant action. Reactive oxygen species, which increase with stress, UV rays, air pollution, and the like, damage cells, speed up aging, and lower immunity. The antioxidants in koji are an ally that eases this burden. Chronic inflammation wears the immune system out. Fermented koji foods are thought to calm inflammation in the body and make it easier to keep immunity in balance.
3-4. Becoming more resistant to colds, the flu, and allergies
Sneezing, a runny nose, and itchy eyes in spring. The medicine doesn’t bring relief, and going out feels like a chore. Many people spend the season that way. Among people who have brought koji into their diet, quite a few say things like “My hay fever symptoms are clearly milder” or “I’m taking medicine less often.”
Hay fever is a state in which the immune system overreacts to something that is not an enemy. When the gut is in balance, those malfunctions decrease and the reaction can ease. I myself have had less morning congestion and fewer sneezes since I started using koji. Some people also say the itch of eczema or their food allergies have become milder. Not everything disappears. But even a little relief makes a big difference in quality of life. Many people also feel they tend to become more resistant to colds and the flu.
3-5. Key points for a koji habit that boosts immunity
A small amount every day is better than a lot all at once. Your gut health changes day by day with what you eat. What matters is to keep delivering food to your good bacteria without interruption. One to two tablespoons of shio koji (salt koji) or amazake a day is plenty. Pair it with sleep, physical activity, and stress care, and the effects tend to reinforce one another.
How soon you notice a change varies from person to person. Some people find regularity gets easier in 1 to 2 weeks, feel “somehow in good shape” after 1 month, and feel they catch colds less easily after 3 months. If you start 1 to 2 months before the season when pollen bothers you, your gut is more likely to be ready in time. Immunity isn’t built overnight. The longer you keep going, half a year, a full year, the closer you get to a body that stands up well to colds and seasonal ailments.
In an American kitchen, a small routine is easy to keep up: make a batch of amazake in YOGURTiA, and add the shio koji in your refrigerator to whatever you’re cooking. Rather than making a big effort only on special days, have a spoonful on an ordinary Tuesday night.
The next article is Chapter 4: No-fail koji for first-timers — How to choose, use, and store it.
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 allergies, please consult a physician or registered dietitian.
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TANICA dried rice koji, 500 g
Made from 100% Japanese-grown white rice, with high enzyme activity. Use it to make shio koji, amazake, miso, and shoyu koji. One 500 g bag makes about 2.5 batches of shio koji.
$21.99 Buy · $21.99
TANICA Amazake Enzyme
Just stir into cooked rice and water. Non-alcoholic, no added sugar. 10 sticks (2 g each).
From $13.99 Buy · from $13.99- YOGURTiA features
- Amazon US — YOGURTiA, dried rice koji, Amazake Enzyme
You can also find recipe details in the Gohan Japan cooking-video index. The dried rice koji, Amazake Enzyme, and YOGURTiA are the same products whether you buy from the Gohan Japan store or on Amazon US.
#3 — 第3章 麹が免疫力を高める — 風邪知らずの身体
3-1. 免疫力とは？ — 身体を守る最強の防御システム
「最近、風邪を引きやすくなった」「季節の変わり目に必ず崩す」「疲れると口内炎ができる」——これらは、免疫の低下を示すサインになり得ます。睡眠が削られ、食事が不規則な生活が続くと、免疫は弱っていきます。
免疫が低下すると、感染症にかかりやすくなり、小さな傷から化膿しやすくなったり、口内炎を繰り返したりします。疲労も取れにくくなります。身体が常に「戦闘モード」だとエネルギーが消耗され、慢性的な疲労感につながります。さらに、免疫のバランスが崩れると、本来反応しなくてよいものに過剰反応し、花粉症やアトピー、食物アレルギーが悪化することもあります。
3-2. 腸が免疫力の70%を握っている理由
腸は、口から入ったものと最初に接触する「外界と身体の境界線」です。だからこそ大量の免疫細胞が24時間監視しています。これを腸管免疫と呼びます。栄養は吸収し、病原体は排除する——高度な判断を、腸は瞬時に行っています。
腸管免疫が働けば、病原体を腸の段階でブロックできます。腸内環境が乱れると、善玉が減り悪玉が増え、粘膜が弱くなり、侵入しやすくなります。免疫細胞が誤作動を起こし、攻撃しなくてよいものまで攻撃してしまう。これがアレルギーや自己免疫の不調の一因とも考えられています。
3-3. 麹に含まれる免疫力アップ成分
ビタミンB群、とくにビタミンB6は、免疫細胞の生成と機能維持に欠かせません。不足するとリンパ球が減り、免疫応答が弱くなることが知られています。麹を日常的に摂ることで、これらのビタミンを自然に補給しやすくなります。
麹には抗酸化の働きもあります。ストレス、紫外線、大気汚染などで増える活性酸素は、細胞を傷つけ、老化を早め、免疫を下げます。麹の抗酸化物質は、この負担を和らげる味方です。慢性的な炎症は免疫を疲弊させます。麹の発酵食品は、体内の炎症を穏やかにし、免疫のバランスを整えやすくすると考えられています。
3-4. 風邪・インフルエンザ・アレルギーに強くなる
春のくしゃみ、鼻水、目のかゆみ。薬を飲んでも楽にならない、外出が億劫——そんな季節を送っている方は多いでしょう。麹を取り入れた人の中には、「花粉の症状が明らかに軽くなった」「薬の回数が減った」という声が少なくありません。
花粉は、免疫が「敵ではないもの」に過剰反応する状態です。腸が整うと、その誤作動が減り、反応が和らぐことがあります。私自身も、麹を始めてから朝の鼻づまりやくしゃみの回数が減りました。アトピーのかゆみや食物アレルギーが軽くなった、という声もあります。すべてが消えるわけではありません。でも、少し楽になるだけでも、生活の質は大きく変わります。風邪やインフルエンザにも強くなりやすい、と感じる人が多いです。
3-5. 免疫力を高める麹習慣のポイント
一度にたくさん摂るより、少量を毎日。腸内環境は食事で日々変わります。善玉菌のエサを、途切れず届けることが大切です。1日大さじ1〜2杯の塩麹や甘酒で十分です。睡眠、体を動かすこと、ストレスのケアとセットにすると、相乗効果が出やすいです。
変化の目安には個人差があります。1〜2週間で便通が楽になる、1ヶ月で「なんとなく調子がいい」、3ヶ月で風邪を引きにくくなった、と感じる人がいます。花粉が気になる季節の1〜2ヶ月前から続けておくと、腸の準備が間に合いやすいです。免疫は一夜では育ちません。半年、1年と続けるほど、風邪や季節の不調に強い身体へ近づいていきます。
米国のキッチンでは、YOGURTiA で甘酒を仕込み、冷蔵庫の塩麹を料理に足す、という小さなルーティンが続けやすいです。特別な日だけ頑張るより、平凡な火曜日の夜にスプーン1杯。
次の記事では、第4章 初めてでも失敗しない！麹の選び方・使い方・保存法 の話をします。
本記事の内容は、一般的な食生活の情報提供であり、診断・治療・予防を目的としたものではありません。持病やアレルギーがある場合は、医師や管理栄養士に相談してください。
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TANICA YOGURTiA 発酵調理器
77〜158°F（25〜70℃）を1℃刻みで設定。HARIO ガラスポット2個・温泉卵スタンド付属。味噌・甘酒・塩麹・納豆・ヨーグルトを1台で。
- YOGURTiA の機能
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レシピの詳細は Gohan Japan の調理動画索引からも確認できます。乾燥米麹・甘酒酵素・YOGURTiA は、Gohan Japan 公式ストアと Amazon US で同じ品質の製品をお求めいただけます。