Most cultures include a smattering of homespun wisdom regarding the benefits of certain foods. In American culture, it is said that carrots are good for the eyes, roughage (like lettuce) is good for digestion, and chicken soup is good for illness. Let’s examine some Japanese parallels and see how they match up.

Konnyaku is thought of as a digestive aid in Japan. It is called the “broom for the intestines”; it is said that “konnyaku sweeps away the body’s sand” (蒟蒻は体の砂払い). Konnyaku is made by harvesting a portion of the root of an odd plant known as the Devil’s Tongue, and then converting it into jelly. Konnyaku is valued for its texture as well as health benefits, and is used as an ingredient in many dishes throughout east Asia. The interesting part about this “food” is that it doesn’t actually have much nutritional value – most of it consists of water and fibers that are nearly impossible to digest. However, it is beneficial for this very reason. The fibers drag across the walls of the intestines, functioning literally as brooms that sweep away toxins. Aside from this fiber, there is some protien, starch and minerals in Konnyaku.

In spite of Konnyaku not having very many calories, it tends to fill you up due to its gelatinous texture and bulky size. So, it is also used as a diet food by many who wish to lose weight. However, be careful not to overdo it. In 1970, the writer Ooya Souichi was advised by a friend to eat konnyaku as a means of reducing his weight. He decided to eat nothing but konnyaku, which resulted in death by malnutrition for the poor writer. The gelatinous konnyaku has also been a killer of unwary children and elderly people in the West who assumed they could swallow it whole as with typical gelatin .

In the west, we have identified lettuce as the portion of our diet that is good for digestion. This food is downright benign compared to the deceptive konnyaku, but the benefits we reap from it are also not as great. While konnyaku is processed and concentrated, lettuce remains in its uncondensed, natural form and few people eat as much lettuce as they would need to really benefit from the fiber, vitamins and minerals in the leaf. Salad, the only dish that really contains a significant amount of lettuce, is typically served with fatty cheese and dressings that temper the benefits with downsides. In contrast, konnyaku is versatile and comes in a variety of forms and tasty dishes in a quantity almost always large enough to provide some benefit.

That’s it for today. Next time, we’ll explore foods of the eyes found on each side of the Pacific: carrots and shijimi.