Feb 06,2014
In this series, our editors Nobue and Miyoko speak with experts on such topics as food, customs, Japan, and traditional lifestyles.
Miyoko：I feel like my nutrition is off balance lately.
Nobue：When you eat out a lot, you start to wonder what things you should be eating.
Miyoko：Today, let’s ask Ichii some questions about these things, as she enjoys talking about chiropractic and food.
Miyoko：Hello again, Ichii.
Nobue：Before coming here, we were talking about what we should eat when we feel that our nutrition is off balance.
Ichii：Well… If tomorrow were your last day on earth, what would you like to eat?
Nobue / Miyoko：What we’d like to eat? Hmmm.
Nobue：I’d go for sushi.
Miyoko：I’d definitely have cream puffs.
Ichii：The things you just mentioned — what you’d like to eat on the last day of earth — are your favorite foods. The foods you can’t resist reaching for.
Nobue：I think I see where you’re coming from.
Ichii：You said you’d choose sushi. Sushi is a combination of carbohydrates and animal protein.
Nobue：I also love rice bowls.
Ichii：People with your tendencies unconsciously eat a lot of foods that are a combination of carbohydrates and animal protein. Sushi and rice bowls with various toppings are often eaten as complete meals. But that means you tend to lack enough vegetables in your diet, right?
Nobue：I can’t deny that.
Ichii：In your case, Miyoko, you like sweets. And especially Western-style confectionaries.
Miyoko：I have a sweet tooth, and I can’t give them up. I eat sweets as a treat for myself or when I’m feeling tired or peckish on the day. I might end up eating sweets even if it means skipping a proper meal.
Ichii：So, in short, you tend to consume too many foods that combine sugar and fat. You need to take care because those foods can cause your blood sugar levels to peak easily.
Miyoko：Yes, I understand.
Ichii：As for other examples, people who answer grilled meat probably tend to eat a large amount of animal protein. They should check whether they are getting sufficient vitamins and minerals.
And for people who answer noodles, I would advise them to think about whether they are consuming too much salt as well as too many carbohydrates. The broth used for ramen, soba, and udon noodles contains a lot of salt.
Nobue：I get it. This question is a good way to easily check what you tend to eat too much of.
Ichii：Exactly. More to the point, when you are feeling unwell or your physical condition isn’t great, asking what should you eat is a little off the mark. When your health is poor, the first thing I want you to think about is what should I avoid, rather than what should I eat.
Nobue：Is that the case?
Ichii：For sure. Considering the typical person’s modern diet, nearly everyone is eating too much or overconsuming something. But we’ve gotten into the bad habit of immediately thinking about what nutrients we might be lacking.
Miyoko：That makes sense.
Ichii：Imagine that there is a polluted river. No matter how much clean water you pour into it, the river will not become clean. You first have to remove the source that’s polluting the river and prevent it from getting back in the river. Until you do that, adding clean water will not make the river clean. The same holds for your gut microbiome.
Miyoko：I see. So unless we quit or cut back on the things we consume too much of first, then thinking about what nutrients we are lacking is pointless.
Ichii：When it comes to regulating your body and physical condition, that’s how I would put it. Even if you eat foods considered good for the body, if your body cannot digest and absorb them, or if it decides they are unnecessary, those foods will end up just being excreted. If the digestion, absorption, and excretion processes do not function properly, even if you consume foods with high nutritional value, they cannot be absorbed and utilized by your body. It is important to restore your gut microbiome to a healthy state. When your gut microbiome is healthy, the actions of beneficial bacteria such as that found in fermented foods also improve, creating a positive cycle.
Miyoko：Ichii, your explanation has convinced me. But on the other hand, limiting the foods you like and changing how you live is not easy.
Ichii：Let me ask you two a question: What kind of person do you consider as beautiful? A beautiful woman, let’s say.
Miyoko：A beautiful woman?
Nobue：Someone with a cute smile or someone who moves gracefully.
Miyoko：Someone with good posture or with a good figure.
Ichii：Those are all typical answers. For me, a beautiful person is someone who can adapt to change.
Miyoko：A person who can adapt to change?
Ichii：That’s right. I think people who can change, people who are always changing, are beautiful people. It’s not about having wrinkle-free skin regardless of your age or having the body of a model.
Miyoko：What do mean by change in this context?
Ichii：Change is everything. It encompasses the flow of time, transformations in our environment, shifts in our physical condition. This concept holds in chiropractic as well.
Nobue：Chiropractic?
Ichii：Yes. People think of chiropractic as a practitioner who fixes stiff shoulders, relieves back pain, or corrects misalignments in the body by cracking bones.
Miyoko：But you are talking about something different.
Ichii：The real meaning of chiropractic is not this. The well-ordered body that I imagine is a body that’s supple and flexible and can adapt to changes in its environment.
Nobue：A supple and flexible body…
Ichii：That’s right. A well-ordered body boasts ample flexibility, to the point that even the muscles are supple and flexible. People with this kind of body have flexible minds too. This is why they can adapt well to seasonal changes, aging, and other life events that occur.
And looking more internally at the body, such bodies can recover quickly even if their physical condition is run down. More people feel run down during transitions between seasons — especially moving from summer to fall and from winter to spring. A well-ordered body can adapt to seasonal changes, and even if the body becomes run down or unwell, it can bounce back quickly. Moreover, it can flexibly adapt to changes caused by getting older. In short, a well-ordered body is about going with the flow, not resisting it.
Ichii：People talk about anti-aging, but I want to talk about accepting aging. By which I mean accepting that your body ages without resisting it. As we age, many things decline. We are animals, after all. Accepting this natural decline means listening to your body’s signals and adapting flexibly. For example, if you sense your stomach gets weak more easily, you might change what you eat or how you cook, or if you feel you’ve been pushing yourself too hard at work, you might plan a day off. Such a person is beautiful.
I think people who accept themselves and enjoy changing with the times are wonderful.
Nobue：I used to think I had to practice anti-aging, but this concept of accepting aging was a real eye-opener for me. And the idea of listening to your body and not resisting made me happy.
Ichii：The body is constantly trying to tell us things. It’s very important to not neglect or resist these messages and to take in the body’s signals without reservations.
We, however, are flooded with information today. For example, ideally as the seasons change, your body will tell you what you should eat and you would follow that. You would flexibly adapt to what the body wants to eat and you would eat that food. But people who rely on their mind more than their body tend to be swayed by information. If they hear, for example, that vegetables are good for you or that raw food is good for you, they will stubbornly stick with that advice regardless of what their body tells them. But the reality is Japan has four distinct seasons. If someone has read in a book that raw food rich in enzymes is the best thing for them and they have bought into that idea, they might find themselves on a freezing winter morning trembling with cold as they feed on a fruits-only meal just pulled from the fridge. If you were to listen to your body’s signals, you wouldn’t do that. You would understand that your body is cold and wants warm miso soup, and that’s what you would eat. This is what I mean by a flexible body and mind. What your body demands will lead you to health.
Please understand that I’m not saying that raw food is bad. It’s a very good thing to consume enzymes from raw fruit and vegetables. But having the flexibility to listen to your body is also very important.
Nobue：So you can eat as you please whatever your body wants.
Ichii：When you say “as you please”, many people tend to interpret that as “anything goes”. What’s important is eating what your body, or better, your stomach is demanding. Due to stress and other factors, it may be that your mind, rather than your stomach, is making these demands.
Nobue：I see. It’s the gut, not the brain. That’s not easy. What can someone do to better hear signals from their body?
Ichii：Start by returning your body to as natural a state as possible. Humans are animals. For example, I think it’s best to live in rhythm with the sun as much as possible. Some people might have to work nights or otherwise have irregular schedules, and in modern life, there are bound to be busy periods. But it’s about not becoming accustomed to odd hours and getting back to your regular sleep schedule once you have gotten through the busy period. You should also go to the mountains or the sea and use your body in nature and tire yourself out in a pleasant way. Being conscious about these things should allow you to hear your body’s signals. When you can hear your body’s signals, your body will restore its natural balance and you will be able to sleep well at night. And this will enable you to have good bowel movements in the morning.
Nobue：This will produce a positive cycle.
Ichii：Exactly. Each misbuttoned button that you fix is a change for the better. The body is surprisingly simple. Your daily habits have a direct impact on your body. But in today’s world, even those simple things have become difficult. This is why being mindful is so important.
Nobue / Miyoko：We get it. Thank you very much for your time today.
CEO of Karada Design
CEO of Karada Design
Based on the principles of holistic medicine, Ichii has developed healing food, a concept for simple, sustainable dietary improvements that respects the body’s natural rhythms, and self-body design, a method of balancing muscle tone and energy flows and regulating the body. With these methods, she guides people on enjoyable holistic self-care lifestyles.
Ichii is a certified physical therapist, certified chronic disease prevention therapist, holistic self-care coordinator, healing food researcher, a professional member of the Japan Holistic Medical Society and Kanto administration committee member, and member of the Natural Hygiene Promotion Association.
She is the author of Chiropractic Care for Women Over 40: Stay Beautiful for Life (Aspect).
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