Sagen Ishizuka
Encyclopedia
was a doctor in the Imperial Japanese Army
who pioneered the concepts of shokuiku
(food education) and the macrobiotic diet
. He was one of the first to investigate the nutrition
al value of whole grain
s as well as sea vegetables, daikon
, and kudzu
.
At the age of 24, he enlisted in the army as Imperial Japanese trainee doctor. At 31, he received the degree of military pharmacist and later of "military doctor." He remained in the army for 22 years, retiring with the high degree of "chief military pharmacist." This experience was very useful, since he was confronted in practice with all sorts of diseases and injuries (he participated in the Satsuma Rebellion
in 1877 and First Sino-Japanese War
of 1894).
During his professional career he was disappointed by the western medical system and became gradually convinced that traditional medicine (which often relied on prescribing a simple change of diet) was more effective. He also suffered from eczema
from childhood and chronic nephritis
that conventional medicine could not heal. He developed a theory that the secret to health and healing was to strengthen the body from the inside from a balanced regime. The scheme was, however, almost the equivalent of the traditional Japanese diet (a way of eating that had been ignoring the opening of Japan to the West, towards the 1870s).
When he returned to civilian society, he opened a free clinic
and began to practice exclusively using his method. With the support of leading figures (members of the Japanese imperial family, consuls, and other relationships acquired thanks to his high military rank) he quickly became successful. The demands increased so much that consultations had to be limited to 100 per day; his popularity became such that he got mail with incomplete addresses such as "For the Anti-Doctor Doctor, Tokyo," "Doctor Vegetables, Tokyo" or "Doctor Daikon, Tokyo" (as he often prescribed daikon
).
In 1907 he created the association "Shokuyō" (食養 "Food for Health") to spread and perpetuate his method.
Ishizuka collected his studies in a work called "A Chemical Theory of Nutrition on Health and Longevity", which was published in 1897 in Japan but has never been translated into any Western language.
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
who pioneered the concepts of shokuiku
Shokuiku
Shokuiku is the Japanese term for "food education". The law defines it as the "acquisition of knowledge about food and nutrition, as well as the ability to make appropriate decisions through practical experience with food, with the aim of developing people's ability to live on a healthy diet".It...
(food education) and the macrobiotic diet
Macrobiotic diet
A macrobiotic diet , from "macro" and "bios" , a dietary regimen which involves eating grains as a staple food supplemented with other foodstuffs such as local vegetables avoiding the use of highly processed or refined foods and most animal products...
. He was one of the first to investigate the nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
al value of whole grain
Whole grain
Whole grains are cereal grains that contain cereal germ, endosperm, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. Whole grains can generally be sprouted while refined grains generally will not sprout. Whole-meal products are made by grinding whole grains in order to make...
s as well as sea vegetables, daikon
Daikon
Daikon , Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, also called White Radish, Japanese radish, Oriental radish, Chinese radish, lo bok and Mooli , is a mild flavoured, very large, white East Asian radish...
, and kudzu
Kudzu
Kudzu is a plant in the genus Pueraria in the pea family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It is a climbing, coiling, and trailing vine native to southern Japan and southeast China. Its name comes from the Japanese name for the plant, . It is a weed that climbs over trees or shrubs and grows so...
.
Biography
He was born into a modest family of traditional doctors, and continued their tradition by going into medicine. Having little wealth, he ended up teaching himself basic techniques while working as a language teacher. By the age of 16 he had already learned the Dutch language, essential to study Western medicine in Japan (he later also successfully mastered German, French and English). During the next seven years he taught himself anatomy, botany, chemistry, physics and astronomy.At the age of 24, he enlisted in the army as Imperial Japanese trainee doctor. At 31, he received the degree of military pharmacist and later of "military doctor." He remained in the army for 22 years, retiring with the high degree of "chief military pharmacist." This experience was very useful, since he was confronted in practice with all sorts of diseases and injuries (he participated in the Satsuma Rebellion
Satsuma Rebellion
The was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.-Background:...
in 1877 and First Sino-Japanese War
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...
of 1894).
During his professional career he was disappointed by the western medical system and became gradually convinced that traditional medicine (which often relied on prescribing a simple change of diet) was more effective. He also suffered from eczema
Eczema
Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis . In England, an estimated 5.7 million or about one in every nine people have been diagnosed with the disease by a clinician at some point in their lives.The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions...
from childhood and chronic nephritis
Nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the nephrons in the kidneys. The word "nephritis" was imported from Latin, which took it from Greek: νεφρίτιδα. The word comes from the Greek νεφρός - nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation"....
that conventional medicine could not heal. He developed a theory that the secret to health and healing was to strengthen the body from the inside from a balanced regime. The scheme was, however, almost the equivalent of the traditional Japanese diet (a way of eating that had been ignoring the opening of Japan to the West, towards the 1870s).
When he returned to civilian society, he opened a free clinic
Free clinic
A free clinic is a medical facility offering community healthcare on a free or very low-cost basis in countries with marginal or no universal health care. Care is generally provided in these clinics to persons who have lower or limited income and no health insurance, including persons who are not...
and began to practice exclusively using his method. With the support of leading figures (members of the Japanese imperial family, consuls, and other relationships acquired thanks to his high military rank) he quickly became successful. The demands increased so much that consultations had to be limited to 100 per day; his popularity became such that he got mail with incomplete addresses such as "For the Anti-Doctor Doctor, Tokyo," "Doctor Vegetables, Tokyo" or "Doctor Daikon, Tokyo" (as he often prescribed daikon
Daikon
Daikon , Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, also called White Radish, Japanese radish, Oriental radish, Chinese radish, lo bok and Mooli , is a mild flavoured, very large, white East Asian radish...
).
In 1907 he created the association "Shokuyō" (食養 "Food for Health") to spread and perpetuate his method.
Ishizuka's theory of health and nutrition
Ishizuka’s theory is based on the following principles:- Human health and longevity depend on the balance between sodiumSodiumSodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...
and potassiumPotassiumPotassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
. Where Western theories of nutrition insisted on the importance of proteinProteinProteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
s and carbohydrateCarbohydrateA carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
s, Ishizuka considered minerals, especially sodium and potassium, critical to health as their interrelationship determines the ability of the body to absorb and use other nutrients, the proper functioning of the whole body depends on their balance. - Food is the major factor determining this balance. Other factors such as geography or climate, physical activity or psychological stress play a secondary role. Living in the mountains or the sea, a dry or wet place, being sedentary or having a strong physical activity produces a certain effect, but what is inserted into the digestive system is basically what determines the relationship between sodium and potassium in the body.
- Health and sickness depend on food before anything else. The physical base of operation is achieved through proper daily intake of food, balanced at the level of mineral salts. Disease occurs because of an imbalance between sodium and potassium caused by eating improperly. According to Ishizuka, both acute and chronic diseases (infectious or viral) are due to bad food: germs or viruses can not attack an organism in which the relationship between sodium and potassium are well balanced, even in a case of physical contact.
Ishizuka collected his studies in a work called "A Chemical Theory of Nutrition on Health and Longevity", which was published in 1897 in Japan but has never been translated into any Western language.