Once a day meal can rejuvenate humans?
Posted by: kirin on 
Apr 7th, 2012 | 
Filed under: Book/Movie/Anime Review, Health & BeautyMy eyes were caught by a book titled like “Hunger makes humans healthier” in Japanese. I was so curious about it that I bought the book instantly. 
Can you believe this man is aged 56 or 57?
He is a doctor and he shares his knowledge from medical point of view that how human body can be healthier with small amount of food. He’s been practicing once a day meal instead of three (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for over 10 years and that is the key for the youth and health he maintains. He says in his book that he was fat and less energetic when he was 35.
Actually it was not the first time for me to see his book in a book store. I’ve been curious why he looks so young for his real age since I saw other one of his books some time ago. However, the title of this book was so intriguing! The subtitle says “Eat only 1 meal a day and you will grow 20 years younger!” OHHHH…it crossed my mind that I failed in the sleep less experiment a few years ago, but I felt like trying out what Dr. Nagumo suggests in his book and if I succeed in it, that means I can also sleep less hours and still feel great!
I’m still reading the book, so today is just an introduction. Eat less and we can live longer and healthier. We can stay younger, fit and toned. Maybe we can sleep less and feel more energetic. I also remembered it’s better to eat less when we catch a cold, because we can then save energy to cure the cold instead of using it for stomach to digest the food.
This post is to be continued.
I hope I can copy Dr. Nagumo’s method. XD Can you live with only 1 meal a day in exchange for 20 years’ rejuvenation?
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April 7th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
I can't resist yummy food. And I love to eat, so it might be impossible for me ><
April 7th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
I do feel that this is true!
When I was fasting, I felt healthier. I felt lighter and more energised! And then when I had to eat food because of my job, I became easily tired and irritated. I want to go back to the period of healthy me again, so your post came at a right time! ^^
April 7th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
I've been doing this on and off for a few years. If I eat at my peak time (11AM – 1PM) I'll be fine with one big meal a day.
If I eat earlier (before 10AM) I will eat only two meals a day.
Three meals a day is a bit strange for me, I haven't done it in a long time.
April 7th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Dr. Nakamatsu, the inventor of the floppy disk and the karaoke machine, says the same thing – he eats one meal a day also (at least he was at the time of the documentary made ). It's true that eating less puts less stress on your body and fewer calories to digest also is better for the body. But still, you have to find the balance that's right for you – if you feel weak or overly tired, trouble thinking etc. when you're trying to eat only one meal a day, then it's not right for you. Just my opinion which I'm always sticking in there. lol!
April 7th, 2012 at 4:46 pm
I knew it! now i can go back to eating once a day the way i like to. lol… （ロサゼルスで住んでるのハーフ日本人。）
April 8th, 2012 at 7:19 am
This is very interesting, as I always been interested in unconventional methods to improving overall health, and secrets of the foundation of youth. I grew up with eating three meals a day as the norm, as well as the "never skipping breakfast" rule, but of course that is what majority of society has been instiling in us for decades. This only eating once a day probably is more doable than fasting, and also than not eating one day a week is what I read some people do (example: raw foodists). I'm curious to learn more about this. I do agree about eating less when you're sick to preserve the energy for your body to heal itself, even though people does the exact opposite, they tell you to "eat to keep up your strength". thanks for sharing!
April 8th, 2012 at 2:41 pm
If I don't eat, I get cold very easily and I get really grumpy, except in the summer, when I just get grumpy.
So I don't think his idea would work for me. I think a lot of what is good for you in terms of sleep or amounts of food depends on the person.
April 8th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Actually, I'm used to the three-meals system.
However, I believe in that one should eat more or less according to the daily activity he/she performs. For instance, if one's work is tough and takes a long time or even if he/she makes many activities or plays sports everyday regardless of work, I think one'd better keep on the 3-meal system. If not, then less meals can work.
April 9th, 2012 at 1:52 am
I have that feeling too, but I also want to feel more energy so I may try this method out and see how things change….:p
April 9th, 2012 at 1:55 am
Oh you have tried fasting? I'm too scared to fast so I thought maybe 1 meal per day is still OK to me. :p The doctor recommends to reduce meals from 3 to 2, and 2 to 1 eventually. But I think I will eat an orange and cafe latte in the morning and something very small for dinner, besides 1 fine meal for lunch. I'm still reading the book, so let's see what's best.
April 9th, 2012 at 2:18 am
Ohhhh….you already practice this method! Yes, I wish to eat a big meal by 2pm and maybe some fruits and vegetables for other small meals. But I'm not sure if I can live with that. I'll try to see what happens to me with that diet.
April 9th, 2012 at 2:20 am
Yes, I agree with you that I have to find the best balance for my own diet, even if the doctor recommends only 1 meal a day. I have a feeling that I will eat some fruits and vegetables when I don't eat a big meal. BTW I didn't know Dr. Nakamatsu. Thanks for sharing.
April 9th, 2012 at 2:21 am
You knew it!? Cool! Do you also speak Japanese? ^ ^
April 9th, 2012 at 2:27 am
Me too! I totally believed the "never skipping breakfast" rule, like everyone says, and I've had 3 meals a day in my life. I'm so used to 3 meals by now and I'm not sure if I can live with 1 meal a day yet, but I think this is worth for a try.
I'll update more when I finish reading the book and if I do practice that method as an experiment, I'll share it on TKE blog again.
April 9th, 2012 at 2:33 am
Thank you for your opinion.
If I feel cold or less energy because of 1 meal, I will stop it. I don't know how I will feel so I just want to experiment with that method, by changing 3 to 2 meals, and then 2 to 1 meal eventually. I'll report my experiment on TKE later.
April 9th, 2012 at 2:36 am
That's true. The doctor recommended that pregnant women and kids should eat 3 times a day. But like you said, those who work outside and blue-collar workers would also need big meals everyday.
Eating less is also a good option. If I don't think 1 meal per day is for me, I will try less meals for 3 times a day.
Thank you for your opinion.
April 9th, 2012 at 3:35 am
After reading your post several times, I'm sitting here in front of my computer, shaking my head in disbelieve. This post gets worse the more often you read it…
I don't know where to start with my criticism. I'll try to go from the bad points to the worst.
First of all, I quite don't get your pursue of "eternal" youth. You do realize that to Western eyes most Asian women tend to look way younger (10+ years) than they really are. (This includes you, too.) But since you are living in Tokyo this is probably not much of help
This form of diet is not a really new thing. It's called calorie restriction. You can read more about on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie_restriction). The English entry is more thorough than the Japanese one. Unfortunately this diet won't rejuvenate you, it just slows down the ageing.
What concerns me more is that he, as a medical doctor (?), is suggesting one meal per day. So you have one big sugar spike per day. This will most probably lead to diabetes. I think several meals/snacks throughout the day would be better, since it is all about calorie reduction and not the times you eat per day. (I somehow doubt that the iftar during the Ramadan has a life prolonging effect on the Muslim community.
)
The crazy thing is that this form of diet is apparently already practised in your country:
Okinawa diet
see also
Hara hachi bu
Sure! Why not? I mean, a quick trip to South-Korea can anybody, with money to spare, make look younger.
His next improvement will be probably fighting the receding hairline… Unless I can't get good look at his lower ear region, I don't believe anything. Try this technique on several male(!) Hollywood actors. You will be surprised.
But definitively the worst part is the title. I realize that a book's title is often created by the editor/publisher and aim to catch the attention and generate some interest at first glance. But I wonder if “Hunger makes humans healthier” was the best they could come up with. It's just cynical in so many ways. Maybe they should send some translated copies to North-Korea…
April 9th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Also kirin, is his diet Intermittent Fasting (IF)? If so, thisis really popular in many countries, especially India.
April 10th, 2012 at 3:11 pm
April 11th, 2012 at 12:32 am
Oh I remember him, he even ran for election of a governor last year. I was thinking "WTF is this crazy man, as a governor? Oh come on!" So he was great as an inventor (but I doubt as a governor though). I guess most of Japanese people should know him, but I don't because I rarely watch TV, hahaha… ^ ^;;;
April 11th, 2012 at 12:34 am
He didn't mention the name of diet but he quoted the wisdom from ancient Japanese eating habit. I think it's more Asian way of thinking to eat less and get healthy, that is common in Japan or India. ^ ^
April 11th, 2012 at 12:39 am
lol. yes, that's him. He's a major egotist.
April 11th, 2012 at 12:52 am
As for seeking youth and health, I don't think it's a bad idea. I want youth for my own sake, not because I want others to think that I look young. So whether Westerners or Asians look younger or not doesn't really matter. But of course, "eternal youth" is impossible. I'm getting older and older, easier and easier to get tired, skin becomes less and less smoother…I'm accepting that. Yet, I rather want that happen slowly than quickly.
"One meal per day can give one big sugar spike per day." I think that's true. I have to agree with this. So if I decide to practice this method, I will have a small meal for breakfast and dinner and one normal meal for lunch. But I'm still wondering among the effect of 3 x 60-80% meal.
Yes, Okinawan people live the longest life in Japan, but I think the climate is also the reason besides what they eat. Hara hachi bunme is also a very popular idea that we are taught by our parents since we were small. So yes this eat less thing is not something very revolutionary but we basically had that idea from our ancestors.
OK, the title looks a bit too extreme, that's true. I know how the title could sound to those who suffer from having proper meals in North Korea for example. The author only wanted to exaggerate that we eat way too much than we really need to. Feeling hungry doesn't mean that we have to eat. We should rather enjoy the state of being hungry because that is the time when the cells in our body become so active as to help recovery from injury and etc.
April 15th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
It's true… the more we eat even more work to our bodies, sometimes… unnecessary work. I've experienced this myself, in my case I've turned veggie almost 10 years ago, before that I just ate whatever came in from of me lol
but I wasn't feeling myself in many aspects and when decided to listen to my body instead of my all the time hungry mind, the changes came naturally and I started picking up just the food I needed and stop eating something that somehow affected my digestion or my inner equilibrium (foods have effect over mind too, and I started to perceive those that makes me feel calmer, clearer than the others), not everyone is the same and I naturally went to the veggie path. I was feeling really sick before that with high blood pressure problems and other things. Now after ten years and almost 31 I don't regret having doing it. 
April 16th, 2012 at 11:12 am
I envy that you settled in your diet naturally. My good friend has also become a vegetarian naturally. She somehow didn't feel like eating meat, fish or egg naturally. I like such natural way. But as for me, unfortunately I'm still attracted by the same food including meat, sweets, fast food and etc. -___-
April 20th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
I guess that explains why my brother looks so much younger for his age .. He's now 30 and I'm 20 but he looks around my age or younger than me. He has a weird sleeping pattern so most days he gets 1 meal a day lol Maybe it is true :/
April 24th, 2012 at 10:24 am
hello, suzuki-san.
sorry that it's begin with bad news. i have a cold now (-_-"). and it's really bad timing! your post is really useful! i can use it.
usually i have no time to cook so maybe its good thing (^-^)V i only eat at evenings.
i have a high interest in this book so i will wait for your posts.
greetings,
nana
April 25th, 2012 at 12:04 am
That's very interesting!
April 25th, 2012 at 12:08 am
Suzuki-san sounds so polite and formal. ^ ^;; You can call me Kirin. ^ ^
I was going to write about the continued part of this post, but the thing is I somehow don't feel hungry now in Australia. I live in nature, wake up before sunrise, go to bed before 10pm and eat less. It happened naturally before I tried to follow this book. Yet, I still eat 2 small meals a day. In Japan, I was eating 3 big meals, haha.
Hope you recover from the cold soon.
Take care.
April 26th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
okey then, Kirin
it's really good that it happened natually. good for you.(^-^) but you cant continue the post (T^T).
did you move to australia? or is it just temporary?
its raining here almost everyday! its a little difficult to recover but i feel much better now. thank you for consider.
April 27th, 2012 at 8:45 am
Hi nana,
I'm staying in Australia only for about a month, and then will go back to Japan. So what I can imagine is…I will feel like eating more in Japan. So that's the time I should practice this diet. Sorry I have to keep you waiting because I can't do it while I'm here in Australia.
The author recommends to reduce meals from 3 time to 2, then 1. Gradually. He recommends 1 meal at dinner, if you can't have a nap after lunch. (If you can, you can have 1 meal at lunch instead of dinner)
Anyway, I'll try to write this in June. If I forget, please remind me.
It's raining in Australia too. (T_T)
Take care!
May 3rd, 2012 at 12:41 pm
hello kirin,
Australia is really good choice. (^-^).maybe it is related with weather or something that you feel the change keke i dont really know myself.
it is okey, dont worry. this is your site so do what you feel like.
and enjoy your trip fully!
i have a full schedule so even in summer i must work without holidays. (T^T). such a pain! keke
take care and have a good time! (^-^)//
May 4th, 2012 at 9:54 am
Thank you nana, but I'm in Australia mostly for work. So…I really hope to enjoy my holidays before I return to Japan. To live in other country for holiday or for work is very different. ^ ^;;
May 4th, 2012 at 10:21 am
yeah, that is true…you have to work everywhere (- _-")
okey then, good luck with your work and try to enjoy keke
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