Nowadays, there are serious concerns that many people are sufferingfrom lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes. In Japan,the number of diabetic patients in 2007 was 8.9 million, and it issaid that if potential patient numbers were included, the overalltotal would soar to around 2,210 million cases. Within thelast 40 years, this number has increased by 50%, which means thatthe number of patients has increased by more than 10 percent peryear. Diabetes now affects more than 450 million peopleworldwide.Diabetes causes various complications such as myocardialinfarction, cerebral infarction, renal dysfunction, retinopathy,among others. Recently the relationships between diabetes andatopic eczema and gastric cancer have also been reported. Thecost for healthcare associated with these conditions has becomeimmense, and under these circumstances, there is a growing need forlow-calorie, low-carbohydrate foods. Once a person becomes adiabetic, he or she eats staple foods such as rice or noodles, orsweets or fruits, his or her blood sugar level will rise. This means that diabetic patients are sometimes dissatisfied withthe types of foods they are allowed to eat, which has created aneed for the development of a new low-carbohydrate food fordiabetics which is both delicious and satisfying while being low incalories and sugars.For centuries in Japan, Konnyaku has been widely recognised as alow-carbohydrate, low-calorie ingredient, which has been eaten forover 1,500 years. We have improved the texture of traditionalKonnyaku and have developed a new type of patent-protected Konnyakuwhich can be eaten with confidence by diabetics and potentialdiabetics as a substitute for such staple food items as rice,noodles and bread.Our products are ideal substitutes for rice or noodles.Restrict the amount of carbohydrate (low-carbohydrate) is akey to control diabetes rather than cutting down calories.Therefore, our products can be used for carbohydraterestriction for diabetic patients and people who would like toreduce the risk of becoming diabetic.
