The Wonders of Miso

By Tom Monte

Miso is a soybean paste that has been fermented in salt anywhere from two months to two years. Often, a grain is added to the mix, such as wheat, brown rice, barley, or millet. Miso was created by the Japanese and used traditionally as a base for soups, stews, and sauces. A staple in Japan for countless generations, miso soup is regarded as a powerful healing food.

Over the centuries, a whole folklore has sprung up around miso soup. "Miso strengthens the weak and softens the hard," goes one traditional saying. The meaning is that it tonifies and restores the vitality to organs that are sick and lethargic, while it softens and breaks up stagnation, cysts, and tumors.  

Of course, Western scientists and physicians had little interest in such traditional foods, and their medicinal uses -- that is until recently, when science began to show that the folklore may well be true.

From the West

In April 1993, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (vol. 90, pp. 2690-2994) reported the remarkable finding that scientists had isolated a substance in miso that effective blocks blood flow to tumors, thus starving them from the essentials of life.  The scientists called the substance "genistein."  What it does is block blood vessels from attaching to tumors, a process known as angiogenisis.  Cancer cells and tumors, like all other cells and tissues in the body, need oxygen and nutrition to survive. In order for them to get both, they need blood.  Thus, cancer is sustained within the body by blood vessels that grow to the cells and support their life. The genistein in miso soup blocks blood vessels from attaching to the cancer cells, and thus literally suffocates and starves the tumor.

In reporting the findings, The New York Times (April 13, 1993) stated the following: "This could have significant implications for both the prevention and treatment of many types of solid tumors, including malignancies of the breast, prostate and brain."  

Dr. Judah Folkmann of the Harvard Medical School, who has studied how blood vessels form to support the growth of cancerous tumors, said that genistein may be an ideal form of cancer therapy, one that attacks the cancer cells but leaves normal cells unaffected.

The National Academy of Sciences report comes after numerous studies by the Japanese National Cancer Center showing that populations of people who eat miso soup regularly have 33 percent fewer incidences of cancer than those who never eat it.

Miso is rich in friendly bacteria, such as lactobacilli, which aids digestion and makes nutrients more available to the small intestine. It is also a good source of protein.    

From the East  

In fact, one of the most celebrated reports of miso's protective effects came from Japanese physician Tatsuichiro Akizuki, MD, who used miso to treat the sick and wounded who had survived the dropping of the atomic bomb upon Nagasaki. Herecorded his experience as follows.

"On August 9, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. It killed many thousands of people. The hospital I was in charge of at the time was located only one mile from the center of the blast. It was destroyed completely. My assistants and Ihelped many victims who suffered from the effects of the bomb. In my hospital there was a large stock of miso and tamari [the liquid that comes off the miso during the fermentation process and also used a condiment and soup stock]. We also kept plenty of brown rice and wakame [sea vegetable]. So I fed my co-workers brown rice and miso soup. I remember that none of them suffered from the atomic radiation. I believe this isbecause they had been eating miso soup."

Miso is highly alkalizing and has long been used to treat stomach and digestive problems. Its natural alkalinity balances stomach and bile acids, which accumulate in theduodenum, the first part of the small intestine. These acids are among the causes of most ulcers. Miso alkalizes the entire digestive tract, thus protecting the life of delicate cells and tissues that exist throughout the small and large intestine.

All traditional cultures prized fermented foods, such as pickles, sauerkraut, and beer. Miso is perhaps the most highly revered fermented food in Japan; others include tamari (the liquid that comes off miso), shoyu (Japanese soy sauce), tempeh(fermented soybean patties), natto (fermented soybean condiment), and sake (or rice wine). All of these foods offer friendly bacteria that assist in digestion.  These bacteriaalso produce oxygen, which further enriches the health and vitality of the intestinal tract.

Traditionally, miso is seen as particularly strengthening to the spleen, large intestine, and kidneys. The spleen thrives under alkaline conditions, according to the Chinese, but is harmed by acidic foods, such as sweet wines, sugar, and strongspices.  Miso alkalizes and strengthens the spleen. The spleen, in turn, passes Qi, or life force, to the large intestine; in this way, it boosts large intestine function. Many people who suffer from digestive disorders are actually suffering from spleen imbalance, according to Chinese medicine.  

Miso also boosts the large intestine function by alkalizing the organ's environment and enriching it with friendly bacteria.

Finally, it tightens and tonifies the kidneys, making the organs more fit and vital.

For all of these reasons, miso is a wondrous food. There are many types of misos today. Among the most popular are rice, millet, barley and chickpea misos.    

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