• t : • • • • : .V- i . . t-i •

Power of the Umeboshi Plum

Cynthia Vann

Umeboshi is a pickled plum—atraditional Japanese food thathas no equivalent in Ameri-

can cuisine. The umeboshi plumis a species of fruit called "prunusmume," which translates as plum, butactually is a species of apricot. Theseplums contain citric and phosphoricacids, which are organic acids that arenot broken down in the pickling pro-cess. Umeboshi plums are picked inthe spring when ripe, then put througha process of soaking in a salty brineand alternating with drying in thesun, a process that requires the heatof summer. Traditional umeboshi areallowed to age in the salty brine for ayear or longer before consumption.

A miracle occurs in the long pick-ling process. A strong combination isformed of very expansive (yin) fac-tors and very contractive (yang) fac-tors. This combination provides theusefulness of this food. Its powerfulacidity has a paradoxical alkalinizingeffect on the body. For example, threetenths of an ounce of umeboshi canneutralize the acidity of'/2 cup of sug-ar. Equivalent substances that mini-mize the effect of sugar are VA cupof kombu, 1 cup of azuki beans, or2'/2 cups of burdock root. Umeboshiplums also reduce fatigue, stimulate

CYNTHIA VANNdigestion, eliminate toxins, and facili-tate calcium absorption.

Umeboshi plums contain citrus,which is helpful in the absorption ofcalcium. They are also said to helpthe liver process excess alcohol, re-store the skin, help regulate sugar me-tabolism, prevent or cure anemia, andrelieve acute stomach and intestinalpain. It is thought to be an antidoteto food poisoning as well as a naturaltranquilizer. Some regard an ume aday as the best preventive medicine.

I did this, eating umeboshi on a

regular basis and suggesting to myfriends to do the same. When onefriend said she hadn't in awhile be-cause she was afraid of the salt con-tent, we derived a plan for takingforms of umeboshi with no salt con-tent, specifically the extract. Umeextract is a black "tarry" substance,concentrated tenfold, made by boil-ing green umeboshi plums down toa concentrate. It has the equivalentcitrus concentration to about 25 timesthat of lemon juice. It doesn't containsalt, which makes it more effectivethan the plum for treatment of highblood pressure and other conditionsthat are not helped by high sodiumlevels. Ume extract when applied tothe skin has been found to cure condi-tions such as ringworm and athlete'sfoot. Plum extract is useful in curingopposite conditions—for example, itcan cure both diarrhea and constipa-tion. It is a powerful balancer and anincredible centering food.

Umeboshi plums and umeboshiextract are often used as is but thereare other uses too, such as in usingthem to make teas. One can make atea from umeboshi extract that is goodfor canker or cold sores, dysentery,acute intestinal, or stomach pain. Onecan make an umeboshi tea by placing

24 MACROBIOTICS TODAY • November/December 2007

a plum in one quart of water, boilingfor 30 minutes, and drinking whenthirsty, or after exercising or hikingon very hot days. It is very refresh-ing and provides electrolytes. Electro-lytes are very important as a sodiumdeficiency can cause low blood pres-sure and the heart to shut down.

The power of the umeboshi plumis well known; yet, there is anotherside to an umeboshi plum that is notas well known—the inside, the seed.Over the years, more than one teachertold me to save them and I did, think-ing I might need them someday. Oneumeboshi pit is the size of a smallmarble, insignificant on its own andeasily lost if set down. A group of pitsrequires ajar; and groups of jars wereaccumulating in my cupboard. Theremust be some way to use them!

1 found a clue in MacrobioticHome Remedies. A bonk with a ham-mer revealed a soft seed in the hardold pit. 1 decided to carbonize theseeds in a 450-degree oven. In eightminutes, they were black. I groundthem to a powder and bingo—I hada new remedy I had never tried. I re-viewed notes from a Kushi Instituteclass and found that the carbonizedseeds are good for stomach trouble,intestinal pains, diarrhea, colds, stom-ach ulcer, intestinal cancer, counter-acting nausea, reducing fevers, con-trolling coughs, and motion sickness.I also found that the shells could bemade into a tea that is good for ane-mia, leukemia, and AIDS.

The shells also can be carbon-ized, which makes them even morepowerful for the most expansive (yin)problems or diseases. It took a littlelonger to tum them black—about 30minutes in a 450-degree oven. Theyare hard to pulverize even when car-bonized, so you don't need to do that,just black shell pieces will work formaking teas; strain the shells piecesbefore drinking, of course.

I tried the ume seed powder onmyself for loose stools; 1 took a tea-spoon of carbonized ume seed in acup of tea and in two days, 1 had a

great stool and felt very well and cen-tered.

Umeboshi plum seeds can beeaten, they taste something like nuts.A friend who was having a hard timegetting out of bed due to heavy flulike symptoms, called to tell me shecouldn't visit. I told her to eat threeumeboshi plum seeds. She had justenough strength to get up, break openthree pits, and eat the seeds. The nextday I got an excited response fromher, "That heavy feeling in my chest,it's gone, I feel so much better, I'msurprised it worked so fast!"

Just when 1 thought I had it all fig-

" Umeboshi plums also

reduce fatigue, stimu-

late digestion, eliminate

toxins, and facilitate

calcium absorption."

ured out, I got a new seed of informa-tion—the seed inside of an umeboshiplum contains a large source of lae-trile, perhaps the largest concentrationavailable. Laetrile is called "amygda-lin," "B|^," and "nitrilosides," and iscontained in many foods.' Laetrile isfound in apricot seeds, bitter almonds,macadamia nuts, buckwheat, and mil-let. (Bitter almond trees are barmed inthe United States.)

Dr. Elson Haas, MD, author ofStaying Healthy with Nutrition: TheComplete Guide to Diet and Nutri-tional Medicine states that 10 to 20kernels of apricot seeds a day is goodfor prevention of disease and that oneto two cups of bean sprouts may pro-vide an equivalent amount. He reportsother uses for laetrile include the treat-ment of high blood pressure and rheu-matism. He calls for better-designedresearch to determine whether laetrilein its natural form is effective.

Other people know about the apri-cot seed as well. The Hunzas lovetheir apricots and they prize the trees.Hunzas are known for their vitalityand longevity. Many live to be 100years old and are able to perform hardphysical labor all their lives. They eatdozens ofthe seeds a day along witha healthy diet low in meat and dairyproducts and with lots of exercise dai-ly. Cancer is rare among them.

In the USA, the FDA claims thelaetriie contained in apricot seeds istoxic. It is not an approved substance,and its sale across state lines or inter-national borders is criminal. Doctorswho use it are harassed—commonlyby their state medical boards.

So, what is the future of laetrile,the substance in an apricot pit? Ac-cording to a BBC News report, thereis a new two-stage drug that harness-es the power of cyanide to kill bowelcancer cells in the lab. It takes a leadfrom some plants that release cyanideto protect themselves from insect at-tack. The first drug contains the en-zyme that will target the specific tu-mors, and the second drug containsthe sugar, which would react with theenzyme to release cyanide to kill can-cer cells.

This sounds an awful lot Uke howlaetrile works. According to RalphMoss, a former researcher at Sloan-Kettering, laetrile does not work on allcancers, but it had stopped metastases100 percent ofthe time. He explainedhow it works: cancer loves sugar. Thesugar in the apricot pits surrounds aphytochemical called nitriloside. Thecancer draws in the sugar, eats it, andreleases the nitriloside from the apri-cot. Cancer cells contain great quanti-ties of an enzyme that when meetingnitriloside creates cyanide and benzal-dehyde. Both are poisons and can killcancer (Http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/cancer l/aitthrv2.htm#Laetrile)

Could it be that the cancer indus-try has finally discovered laetrile butare not willing to call it that? Take thisinformation and do your own researchto leam more about these topics.

MACROBIOTICS TODAY • November/December 2007 25

I leave you with a thought for theday, from Earth Prayers,

Gentle Goddess EarthWho never asks for anything at all.And gives us everything we have,Thank you for this sweet water,And your fragrance.

Retired from the Air Force in 1993,Cynthia discovered macrobiotics in1994 with a visit to the Kushi Insti-tute. Fascinated by macrobiotics, shemade the transition to this way of eat-ing and has been studying ever since.She has completed two Level IVtrain-ing programs and attended her thirdthis August. Cynthia's goals are tocomplete the program and to continuestudying to become a more creativecook. She enjoys hiking, caving, theoutdoors, reading, and Toastmasters.

Note 1: Vitamin B^, appears in abun-dance in untamed nature. Because B̂ ^is bitter to the taste, in man's attempt toimprove tastes and flavors for his ownpleasure, he has eliminated bitter sub-stances like B|.̂ by selection and cross-breeding. It can be stated as a generalrule that many of the foods that havebeen domesticated still contain the vi-tamin B^^ in that part not eaten by mod-em man, such as the seeds In apricots.{Home, bluegrass. net)

Bibliography"Cyanide Targets Cancer", BBC

News Online's Jonathon Amos, 7 Sep-tember, 2000

Earth Prayers From Around theWorld, edited by Elizabeth Roberts andElias Amidon, Harper San Francisco,1991

Macrobiotic Home Remedies.,Michio Kushi, edited by Marc VanCauwenberghe, M.D., Japan Publica-tions, 1985

Natural Healing From Head to Toe,Comellia and Herman Aihara, AveryPublishing Group, Inc., 1994

Staying Healthy with Nutrition, El-son M.' Haas, M.D, Celestial Arts, 1992

Japanese Foods That Heal, Johnand Jan Belleme, Tuttle Publishing,2007

Question and Answer

Which Miso to Use?Carl Ferre

MACROBIOTICS TODAY,

/ have been generally using hatchomiso rather than milder types. What ifanything are the differences betweenthe various different types of miso asfar as macrobiotics is concerned?

Thank you.Lenard Shaw

Chicago, IL

DEAR LENARD,Thank you for your inquiry. There

are two main types of miso—long-term and short-term. Long-term misosare higher in amounts of salt and soy-beans, contain less percentage of koji,and ferment in 1 to 3 years when tra-ditionally made. Short-term misos arehigher in percentage of koji, containless soybeans and salt, and ferment in2 to 8 weeks.

Miso is made of soybeans, a kojiinocuiant, and salt, and most times agrain (or other food)—most common-ly barley or rice. There are many va-rieties available both from Japan andfrom domestic companies. Assumingthe miso is traditionally made, themain macrobiotic consideration is theyin or yang quality of the miso in ques-tion. Chemically-processed misos arenot recommended of course.

The types of long-term misos usedmost often in macrobiotic practiceare barley (mugi), soybean (hatcho),and brown rice (genmai). Barley(mugi) miso is made from soybeans,koji inocuiant, salt, and barley. It issweeter tasting than soybean misoand is recommended for daily use byAveline Kushi in Complete Guide toMacrobiotic Cooking.

Soybean (hatcho) miso is madefrom soybeans, koji inocuiant andsalt only. It is the strongest-tastingmiso and is recommended by Avelinefor making pickles and condimentssuch as tekka, and in soups. Brownrice (genmai) miso is made from soy-beans, koji inocuiant, salt, and brownrice. Aveline recommends it for occa-sional and summertime use.

The long-term misos listed fromyang to yin are: soybean (hatcho), bar-ley (mugi), and brown rice (genmai).More salt and a longer fermentationtime make miso more yang, whilemore koji makes miso more yin. Oth-er long-term misos you might see arered miso (usually a barley or other-grain miso), mame (another soybeanmiso), and kome (another rice misoalthough not necessarily brown rice).Wheat and other grains may be usedto make miso and I've tasted somegood varieties using other beans suchas chickpeas or peanuts.

The types of short-term misos youwill find are mellow, sweet, sweetwhite, or shiro miso. These are goodin summer soups, especially in hotterclimates, in spreads, sauces, or dress-ings. Aveline recommends mellowmiso to be used when serving fishsince fish is more yang and mellowmisos are more yin than any of thelong-term misos.

For the highest quality miso, lookfor "traditionally made" or "naturallyaged," "100% organic ingredients,"and "sun-dried sea salt" on the label.

Further information on miso canbe found in The Miso Book and Japa-nese Foods That Heal by John andJan Belleme.

26 MACROBIOTICS TODAY • November/December 2007