A Salt-Cutting Day Before a Big Photo Shoot: Hinata Kato's Low-Sodium Meals, Rules, and the "5core" Method

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Overview

Fitness creator Hinata Kato of Hina Channel filmed this video the day before what they called the most important photo shoot of 2026: body photos for a new method called "5core." To look their best for the shoot, they spent the day cutting salt to reduce swelling. Many viewers had asked for instructions after an Instagram post about the practice, so Kato filmed the whole day: shopping, breakfast, pancakes, a cold-pressed juice experiment, a no-salt tomato stew, and an evening of stretching. Along the way they explain their rules for removing salt and share what they have been learning while studying beauty nutrition. Near the end they announce, somewhat hesitantly, the idea behind the 5core method.

19 min read
0:32

A Warning First: Never Longer Than Three Days

Before any recipes, Kato repeats one warning several times: do not cut salt for more than three days. They expect that some viewers will want to do it every day, and they want to prevent that. Their reasoning is that salt supplies sodium, an important mineral, and that the body holds its salt concentration at exactly 0.9%, never above and never below. Removing too much salt, they say, can cause dehydration, lightheadedness, dizziness, and lethargy.

To show how extreme some approaches get, Kato describes a friend who competes in physique contests. Before a show, this friend eats a lot of salt and drinks 8 liters of water, then cuts salt completely from the next day. Kato calls this dangerous for ordinary people and asks viewers not to copy it. Their advice is to find a gentler approach that suits you.

Kato names the people they think a short salt cut suits:

  • people with a date, wedding, or photo shoot coming up
  • people with chronic swelling
  • people who want to reset their sense of taste
  • people trying to break through a weight-loss plateau
2:16

Why Swelling Happens

Kato's explanation of swelling rests on that 0.9% figure. They give the recommended daily salt intake as 5 g and point out that Japanese diets are heavy in salty foods such as miso soup and soy sauce. They cite average intakes of 7.5 g for Japanese men and 6.5 g for women. In their account, when salt concentration rises above 0.9%, the body holds on to water to dilute the excess, and that retained water is the swelling. Feeling puffy, they say, means your salt concentration has gone above the standard level.

EAAs on the Walk to the Supermarket

Kato skipped breakfast and drank EAAs (essential amino acids) while walking to the supermarket. They take EAAs every day because, they say, the body is depleted after sleep. They also note that their EAA product contains no salt, and they urge viewers to read the ingredient list on packaging even when they are not cutting salt.

They explain that protein from meat, fish, or supplements is broken down in the gut into amino acids. Then, admitting it was not strictly relevant, they add more: in their account, lysine and methionine help produce L-carnitine, which fat burning requires, and histidine promotes the breakdown of fat.

3:48

A Potassium Snack and Rule 1

Kato came home with a large amount of food for the day's meals. Before breakfast proper they ate what they called a nutritional supplement set: a sweet potato, 75% cocoa chocolate, three walnuts, three almonds, and tomatoes from a producer called BRIX9.

The potassium figures they gave are a little tangled. They said two of the tomatoes contain 210 mg and that they eat four, and that a sweet potato contains 480 mg. Their total for the snack was about 1,000 mg. The nuts, they said, add fat but very little potassium. From the rest of the plate they listed omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and iron, plus antioxidants from the high-cocoa chocolate and lycopene from the tomatoes. Because lycopene is fat-soluble, they eat the tomatoes alongside the fats in the chocolate and nuts.

Kato talked about the tomatoes at length. They are high-sugar tomatoes sold only for a limited season. A friend, Mabupina, first sent them, and Kato has since kept ordering them; they said this was their sixth box. They described BRIX9 as a hidden gem with only about 300 Instagram followers, and said it was the first time they had ever bothered to order tomatoes online.

This led to Rule 1: eat potassium-rich foods. Potassium helps excrete sodium. Kato's targets are about 2,000 mg a day for women and 2,500 mg for men, and they cite the Japanese recommended intake as roughly 2,000–2,600 mg. With healthy kidneys, they said, more potassium is probably fine, and 4,000 mg is said to start a powerful detox, improve muscle performance, and protect bones. They made two caveats. The idea does not apply to people with kidney disease, and they had learned that taking 4,000 mg at once from supplements is not a good idea, so getting potassium from food seems better.

6:45

Asking Gemini About Sweet Potato Skin

While eating the sweet potato, Kato asked Gemini whether the skin also contains potassium. The answer said the area near the skin is packed with potassium and dietary fiber. Gemini compared peeling a sweet potato to opening a gift box and throwing away the treasure inside. Kato already eats kiwi skin for fiber and vitamin C and now eats sweet potato skin too.

They also asked about the purple color and anthocyanins. Here they complained, half-jokingly, that Gemini's analogies ("a purple bulletproof vest," "a purple jewel hidden within") made the answer harder to follow. They want the answer, not a metaphor. They suspect they caused this by once praising one of its analogies as very clear; since then, it keeps using them. The substance they took away: varieties that are purple all the way through, such as Purple Sweet Lord and Ayamurasaki, contain a lot of anthocyanin. Common varieties like Beniharuka and Silk Sweet contain very little in the flesh, but the purple skin does contain anthocyanins, as grape skins do.

Kato explained that they have been studying since 2025 to become a certified beauty nutritionist. They use ChatGPT and Gemini when they hit difficult terminology and call it the best thing they have ever studied. What appeals to them is that the body's rules are fixed, so you can choose nutrients to change your body. Their examples: iron and vitamin C start collagen production, and without enough calcium the body takes it from the bones.

Plans for N7 Protein Powders

Kato mentioned that they have been experimenting with making protein powder and want to release protein products under their N7 bust brand. They described two products: one for fat burning and weight loss, and one for body shaping that focuses on skin, bust, and gut health. They had told the factory they wanted a powder that included everything they had learned, and they noted it seems to be a lot of work. The products are still in development.

10:09

A Detour Into Lipids

Snacking on almonds and walnuts with chocolate ("like Meiji's almond chocolate"), Kato used the nuts to explain something they called important beyond salt-cutting: managing fat intake. They said they had recently realized how valuable lipids are.

Their explanation went in layers. Saturated fats solidify easily, as in lard, margarine, and pork or beef fat. Unsaturated fats are fluid oils such as fish oil, and Kato says to eat them whether or not you are dieting. Among unsaturated fats, omega-3 and omega-6 are essential because the body cannot make them, and Kato says omega-3 in particular is usually lacking because people do not eat it often. They name walnuts and mackerel as sources and say omega-3 matters for hormone production and skin hydration, so cutting fat too far is a mistake.

Next they described chain length. In Kato's telling, medium-chain fatty acids, which they say are found in flaxseed oil, MCT oil, and coconut oil, can enter the "fat-burning factory" without L-carnitine. Long-chain fatty acids, as in mackerel, take longer to digest and need an "L-carnitine passport" to enter, but are still very important.

The part Kato stressed most was short-chain fatty acids, which they called the most important of all. These are produced in the gut when you eat dietary fiber and oligosaccharides, not when you eat meat or fat. Kato says they stop fat cells from absorbing fat. They also say obese people have fewer of the gut bacteria that produce them, which makes obesity harder to curb. Their recommended sources are fiber, oligosaccharides, seaweed, sticky vegetables, and fruit.

Kato tied this to their skin. People have started telling them their skin is beautiful, and they say they have not had injections lately. They still visit cosmetic clinics, but they argued that without a solid foundation built through diet, cosmetic treatment is practically meaningless. They boiled it down to three things to remember: eat omega-3, eat omega-6, and get short-chain fatty acids.

13:39

Salt-Free Banana Pancakes

For breakfast, Kato made pancakes from oatmeal, soy milk, one egg, a banana, high-cocoa chocolate, and a pinch of baking powder. They checked that soy milk has no salt and said 100 ml of soy milk plus an egg gives an amino acid score of 100, and that eggs are rich in vitamin B2. They cooked the pancakes in one tablespoon of olive oil and noted it as an unsaturated fat. Butter was off the menu, so they topped the pancakes with Greek yogurt, which they said is rich in potassium and protein, and banana. They had run out of agave syrup, which they described as low-GI, and used an old bottle of maple syrup instead, which they also called relatively low-GI.

Their potassium figures: banana 360 mg, yogurt 170 mg, and oatmeal 440 mg per 100 g, of which they used 40 g. They said the pancakes took about ten minutes and were delicious.

Two side moments: they served the pancakes on a Dior plate from a friend, Koba, who is in Australia. Koba had said they wanted natto, so Kato bought a dried version to send, since fresh natto should not be shipped abroad. Kato also reminded viewers to drink 2 liters of water a day to flush out waste.

17:21

The Cold-Pressed Juice Experiment

Kato had bought a cold-press juicer about a month earlier and never used it. With a day free of meetings, work, and sessions with their bone specialist, they finally tried it, admitting they had no idea how it worked. Their guiding principle was that nutrients are pointless if the juice tastes too bad to drink, so they used only ingredients that seemed tasty: apple (they mentioned pectin), a whole lemon, carrot, kiwi, celery, and ginger. They noted that carrots provide beta-carotene, which becomes vitamin A in the body and promotes skin turnover.

The result had a citrus scent. Because it contained a whole lemon, they drank only a little. They said the ginger made them feel hot immediately. They asked Gemini what to do with the leftover pulp and were told it can add richness to curries and stews, make hamburgers fluffy, or go into carrot cake muffins. Since they were planning a curry-flavored tomato stew, they decided to add it.

Kato explained their approach to supplements. They take one daily for iron and vitamin A because vitamin A, iron, and vitamin C are hard to get from food alone. Otherwise they try to get nutrients from food and use supplements only for what they truly cannot get elsewhere. Copying something they saw on social media, they tried freezing juice in a container to drop into sparkling water. Pouring into it was awkward, and they called that an "incident." They treated it lightly: failure is part of the fun, and the new gadget made them feel their quality of life had improved.

21:48

The No-Salt Tomato Stew and Rules 2–5

The main recipe was a tomato stew with no salt and no consommé. To compensate, Kato picked sweet vegetables and ingredients high in potassium, vitamin C, and oligosaccharides. While heating the olive oil, they laid out the remaining rules:

  • Rule 2: never cut good fats. Lipids make the skin's moisturizing components and hormones.
  • Rule 3: keep eating protein. Skin and muscle are made of protein, and cutting it starts muscle breakdown.
  • Rule 4: drink 1.5–2 liters of water to flush out waste.
  • Rule 5: do aerobic exercise or stretching.

The stew started with chicken thighs, skin on, because Kato has recently started taking collagen and says collagen helps deliver moisture to cells. The chicken was seasoned with black pepper, oregano, and rosemary instead of salt. They forgot the garlic at first, then grated three cloves with a Daiso gadget that turns raw garlic into a paste. They also broke off to tidy the kitchen, saying supplements scattered around look unsightly.

The vegetables and other ingredients went in next, with Kato's notes on each:

  • Pumpkin: potassium and fiber, and it sweetens the stew. They used one-third (about 150 mg potassium).
  • Onion: becomes oligosaccharides when digested, which they say helps gut flora.
  • Leftover carrots: vitamin A; optional.
  • Broccoli: vitamin C, potassium, antioxidants, and zinc. Half a head (about 200 mg potassium).
  • Zucchini: to taste.
  • One can of clams: for iron and a better broth. Kato said that because this is animal-derived iron, collagen can be made even without vitamin C.
  • Canned corn: drained because the liquid contains salt.
  • Leftover beans: for extra protein.
  • One can of tomatoes, the juice pulp, and one tablespoon of spice-based curry powder without wheat flour.

They gave chicken thighs as about 250 mg of potassium. The stew simmered and was finished with herbs.

26:29

Dinner and the Verdict

It was 6:30 p.m. Kato explained that they were eating early because they had weight training at 8, and joked that the video makes it look as if they stayed home in pajamas eating all day. Alongside the stew they had a salmon salad with one-third of an avocado and a dressing of olive oil, lemon, and black pepper. They said avocado contains omega-9, a little omega-3, vitamin E, and potassium, so it is good for avoiding swelling. They described salmon's astaxanthin as said to be 1,000 times more potent than vitamin E and as an antioxidant for the brain. During a salt cut, they suggested sour and spicy flavors such as lemon, vinegar, black pepper, and curry powder to make food satisfying.

They had worried that the kiwi and other fruit in the juice pulp would clash with the tomatoes. After several hesitant tastes, they decided it was delicious and said they now understood what "curry simmered for two days" means. They noted that Vermont Curry contains apple. Viewers who skip the pulp, they said, can still make it tasty with curry powder, tomatoes, oregano, and rosemary. Finding the clams, they mentioned that since studying nutrition textbooks they make their miso soup with clams or short-necked clams. These are an easy source of animal iron, whereas liver is hard to buy and not something they can eat every day.

29:06

The 5core Announcement

Kato then turned to the next day's shoot. They said this year marks the 9th year of Hina Channel, and that they used to hate exercise, strength training, and cooking. Having changed their body and come to enjoy cooking, they framed the hard question as how to make people like something they dislike, especially body shaping, where results are slow. They said they had been studying human psychology for nine years and had finally found an answer.

They called that answer the end of "the age of numbers." Their slogan is "let's make fat our ally," and they want to end the thinking that slim is right and you are not cute unless you are thin. They kept asking whether it was okay to say this here, reasoning that few people watch to the end of a video and that they had not labeled it an announcement.

On the method itself, they said they have also researched bust enhancement and want to focus on it. They said 5core would make three things unnecessary: bust enhancement salons, monthly chiropractic visits, and forcing yourself to go to the gym. They insisted there is a logical reason for each but stopped short of explaining it and asked viewers to wait. They have used the method for a month, eaten carefully, and staked their life on getting this far.

Kato acknowledged that saying people don't need the gym or chiropractors might sound like picking a fight. They gave their reasons: too many people damage their bodies through habits like sitting at a computer without caring for themselves. They were saddened to learn that some bust salons make breasts look firmer just by massaging the muscles. And when they forced themselves to go to the gym in the past, they ended up hating it. They described 5core as a "preliminary stage" that helps people enjoy health by understanding how the body works. They suggested it might even lead people to go to the gym more often. Their stated wish is to help people gain confidence; they also said they hope it can change Japan's awareness of health, while admitting they were exaggerating and were already regretting saying so much.

32:19

Evening Stretching and a Moringa Protein Drink

To follow Rule 5, Kato did stretching and training from their own channel. They said salt-cutting periods call for exercise that improves circulation, and linked this to potassium's role in excreting salt. They called themselves a fan of their own videos because the programs are designed with physical therapists and judo therapists and built around routines they actually want to do. They now enjoy exercise, stretching, massage, and strength training. They also mentioned that they comment every time they complete a session and invited viewers to reply.

They explained why they emphasize the iliopsoas and the front fibers of the gluteus medius. When these muscles are short and stiff, or the hamstrings and hip joints are tight, people walk using the front of the calf and thigh instead of the buttocks and hamstrings. In Kato's account, posture then gradually worsens and the legs thicken. They mentioned their own tight outer thighs and recommended starting with the roughly ten-minute stretching video before forcing yourself into strength training.

To make up for low protein that day, Kato ended with a "matcha frappuccino" made from matcha protein powder, soy milk, about a teaspoon of cocoa for circulation, and moringa in place of matcha. They claimed moringa has ten times the potassium of tomatoes and as much zinc as scallops. They added too much, ran out of ice, and still found it surprisingly good.