Hara hachi bun me

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The concept of Hara hachi bun me (腹八分目) or hara hachi bu (also often misspelled as hari hachi bu) is the practise of eating until one is about 80% full (literally "stomach eight parts (out of ten)"), a traditional Japanese philosophy to achieve good health and longevity. [1] The elders of Okinawa, are world renowned for their longevity are also featured in a series of books referencing their traditional [2]

[3] [4]

Okinawans[edit]

Chart showing underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese
Body mass index chart

Okinawans, a minority culture who, although are a part of Japan, are descendants of the Ryukyuan Kingdom and who had influences from mainland China are also known to practise hara hachi bun me.[3] They consume about 1,800[4] to 1,900 kilo-calories per day.[5] The typical body mass index (BMI) of their elders is about 18 to 22, compared to a typical BMI of 26 or 27 for adults over 60 years of age in the United States.[6] Okinawa has the world's highest proportion of centenarians, at approximately 50 per 100,000 people.[7]

Biochemist Clive McCay, a professor at Cornell University in the 1930s, reported that significant calorie restriction prolonged life in laboratory animals.[8][9] Authors Bradley and Craig Wilcox along with Makoto Suzuki believe that hara hachi bun me may act as a form of calorie restriction, and therefore extending the life expectancy for the people who practice this philosophy. They believe hara hachi bun me assists in keeping the average Okinawan's BMI low, and this is thought to be due to the delay in the stomach stretch receptors that help signal satiety. The result of not practising hara hachi bun me is a constant stretching of the stomach which in turn increases the amount of food needed to feel full.[3]

In other cultures[edit]

The philosophy of hara hachi bun me is also found in other cultures.

China[edit]

From the teachings of Confucius,[10] philosophies dating back to the 5th century BCE in China, a proverb found in Traditional Chinese Medicine states: "Chīfàn qī fēn bǎo, sān fēn han" (吃飯七分飽、三分寒) or "only eat 7 parts full, and wear 3 parts less.")[11]

India[edit]

The principle of avoiding surfeit also appears in Ayurvedic medicine, dating back to the 4th century BCE in India, embodied in the proverb stating: "you should fill one third of the stomach with liquid, another third with food, and leave the rest empty." [11]

Influence[edit]

Confucian philosophy[edit]

The practise of a Confucian teaching that cautioned about eating too much, so as not to over burden the spleen, stomach or heart [12] evolved into a Japanese proverb as: "Hara hachi bun ni yamai nashi, hara juuni bun ni isha tarazu" (腹八分に病なし、腹十二分に医者足らず) or literally "stomach 80% in, no illness, stomach 120% in, doctor shortage" which usually translated into English as "eight parts of a full stomach sustain the man; the other two sustain the doctor".[12]

Zen philosophy[edit]

In the 1965 book Three Pillars of Zen, the author quotes Hakuun Yasutani in his lecture for zazen beginners advising his students about the book Zazen Yojinki (Precautions to Observe in Zazen), written circa 1300, advised them to eat no more than eighty percent of their capacity, reinforced by the proverb above.[12]

American culture[edit]

Hara hachi bun me was popularised in the United States by a variety of modern books on diet and longevity.[13][14]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  • Buettner, Dan (2008). The Blue Zones. National Geographic Society. ISBN 978-1-4262-0274-2.

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ Imai S. (2009). SIRT1 and caloric restriction: an insight into possible trade-offs between robustness and frailty. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 12(4), 350–356. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCO.0b013e32832c932d
  2. ^ Buettner, Dan (2008). The Blue Zones. National Geographic Society. ISBN 978-1-4262-0274-2
  3. ^ a b c Willcox BJ; Willcox DC; Suzuki M (2002). The Okinawa Program : How the World's Longest-Lived People Achieve Everlasting Health And How You Can Too. Three Rivers Press. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-609-80750-7.
  4. ^ a b Grossman, Terry (2005). "Latest advances in antiaging medicine". The Keio Journal of Medicine. 54 (2): 85–94. doi:10.2302/kjm.54.85. PMID 16077258.
  5. ^ Beuttner, p. 233
  6. ^ Smolin LA; Grosvenor MB (2004). Basic Nutrition. Infobase Publishing. p. 134. ISBN 0-7910-7850-7.
  7. ^ "Okinawa's Centenarians". The Okinawa Centenarian Study. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  8. ^ Ingram, DK; et al. (2004). "Development of calorie restriction mimetics as a prolongevity strategy". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1019 (1). Wiley-Blackwell: 412–423. Bibcode:2004NYASA1019..412I. doi:10.1196/annals.1297.074. PMID 15247056. S2CID 35738969.
  9. ^ "Clive McCay papers, 1920-1967" (PDF). Cornell University Library. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  10. ^ Buettner, pp. 7, 227
  11. ^ a b Andreas Michalsen (8 August 2019). The Natural Prescription: A Doctor's Guide to the Science of Natural Medicine. Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 82–. ISBN 978-1-5293-6656-3.
  12. ^ a b c Kapleau, Philip (1989). The Three pillars of Zen: teaching, practice, and enlightenment. New York: Anchor Books. pp. 43–44. ISBN 0-385-26093-8.
  13. ^ Buettner, pp. 83, 96, 103, 233
  14. ^ Beckerman, James (2011). The Flex Diet. Touchstone. pp. 162–163. ISBN 978-1-4391-5569-1.
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