Dear Reader,

Shoku-iku (食育) refers to food and nutrition education in Japan, but it is quite different from the food education you might receive in the United States or other western nations.

While western eating guidelines tend to focus on diet science–technical calculations on when to eat, how to eat, and what not to eat–, Japanese shoku-iku takes a more nature-based philosophy on how to adopt a sustainable, well-balanced lifestyle.

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💡 Shoku-iku takes a more nature-based philosophy on how to adopt a sustainable, well-balanced lifestyle.

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The 4 main ideas behind shoku-iku

1) Forget calorie-counting

The first thing to recognize when thinking about a healthy eating lifestyle is that the base of our unhealthy habits tends not to be about ignorance or lack of information, but is primarily due to greater psychological forces that encourage us to overeat or eat unhealthy foods.

In fact most people, even the completely healthy and lean individuals, don’t know how many calories are in their food.

Rather than calories, Japanese shoku-iku teaches the importance of listening to our stomach and tuning into the fullness signals it provides. Instead we should aim for harahachi-bunme, or 8/10ths your stomach, which means eating until you are 80% full.

Neither starving or stuffing ourselves, moderation is key.

2) Eat whole foods

However it's hard to listen to our body's natural cues unless we are also following idea two, which is to have a lot of plant-based, nutrient-dense foods.

Many processed foods today are designed to be hyperpalatable, meaning high fat and high sugar, and they do little to nourish our bodies. Unlike whole foods and produce, these foods fail to trigger the satiation signals which tell our brains to stop eating.

This doesn't mean we need to eliminate processed foods, but we need to eat plenty of whole, nutrient-dense foods. Only with that, are we able to understand our body's natural cues for fullness.

3) Focus on variety

While traditional western diets focus on what we should be cutting out– such as no sugar, low carb, or low fat– the Japanese philosophy toward healthy eating focuses on what we should be adding in.

Variety is not just about adding different kinds of vegetables, proteins, carbs into one meal, although this is very crucial, but it is also about preparing these foods in different ways. This way, we get a range of vegetables, carbohydrates, and protein in flavors that never bore us.

4) Share your meal with others

More than pure fuel for our physical bodies, food satisfies a deeper need for social connection and spiritual wellbeing.

While fast food is convenient, the healthiest of salad desk lunches can’t compare with the satisfaction of a slow, sit down meal with colleagues or friends.

Company and community doesn’t just emotionally feel nice, but it is physically incredibly important to our sense of wellbeing. Japanese philosophy on healthy eating is not just about what and when we eat, but it’s also about where and who we share our meals with.

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Why Japanese shoku-iku works

Japanese shoku-iku, or food and nutrition education, works because it’s not about the calories and it’s not about reducing our diet into blandless “healthy” plain foods that we don’t enjoy.

Instead the Japanese philosophy behind healthy eating is flexible enough that it’s tangible to our bodies and minds, without depriving us of the wonderful components about food that bring us joy.

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Warmly,

Kaki

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