<figure id="attachment_387257" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1667px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-387257"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a663f4b4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/09/5f0e5270fdb3d8c47f0e23273f649f85-rotated.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-387257" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yosuke Kubozuka (Kubo-zuka Yosuke) / Celebrating his 30th anniversary as an actor next year. He has appeared in numerous hit works such as &#8216;IWGT&#8217; and &#8216;GTO&#8217;. In recent years, he is so devoted to gut health that he refers to himself as &#8220;Kubozuka Gut Specialist.&#8221;</span></figcaption></figure>
<p><b>&#8220;I only eat 1.5 meals a day. When my gut is clear, my mind becomes clearer and my personality becomes more positive.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yosuke Kubozuka (45), an actor whose high acting ability and free-spirited words that do not conform to societal expectations have earned him charisma and significant support, especially among young people. Not only are his works being watched, but his lifestyle is also under scrutiny. He is fervently engaged in &#8220;gut health,&#8221; to the extent of calling himself Kubozuka &#8220;Gut Specialist.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Gut health&#8221; refers to activities that improve intestinal environment for health. Kubozuka started his gut health routine during the chaotic times of the COVID-19 pandemic.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;After my work was canceled and I spent time at home, a senior recommended a book called &#8216;The Way of Fermentation—What the Microorganisms of a Sake Brewery Taught Me About Human Life&#8217; by Keisa Terada. Terada is the former head of &#8216;Terada Honke,&#8217; a sake brewery in Kamisaki, Katori City, Chiba Prefecture, that produces organic, additive-free natural sake. The book discusses gut health, microorganisms, and the importance of fermentation for humans. I was deeply impressed by its content.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Originally, Kubozuka had been mindful of his diet since his twenties, avoiding fast food and convenience store bento, and aiming to eat meals free of additives at home. Inspired by </span><b>&#8216;The Way of Fermentation,&#8217; </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">he read extensively about fermentation, microorganisms, and gut health, and came to the realization that &#8216;everything lies in the gut.&#8217;</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;Microorganisms are essential for human life activities, and most of them reside in the gut. Good bacteria that conduct fermentation activities and boost immunity are among them. There is also the term &#8216;gut-brain connection,&#8217; which suggests that the brain and gut influence each other. In other words, mental health issues like depression may, to some extent, be related to the activities of gut microorganisms. This idea resonated with me, and that’s why I started focusing on gut health.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For gut health, Kubozuka practices &#8220;1.5 meals a day.&#8221; In the morning, he has vegetable juice and homemade soy milk yogurt. For lunch, he eats whatever he likes, and for dinner, he lightly snacks on gut-friendly root vegetables, fermented foods, and seaweeds. He considers breakfast as 0.25 meals, lunch as 1 meal, and dinner as 0.25 meals, totaling 1.5 meals.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;I actually want to reduce it to one meal a day, but if it causes too much stress, it defeats the purpose, so I stick to 1.5 meals. Eating less is meant to activate the cells. Also, when you eat a lot, too much of your life energy is used for digestion and absorption, and the energy that should go where it’s needed can’t reach those areas.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For example, when injured, people tend to eat more to enhance recovery. However, Kubozuka says that the more you eat, the more energy is diverted to digestion and absorption, depleting the energy needed for healing, and thus, recovery can actually be delayed.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;Fasting has historically been considered a form of medicine in many cultures. In Germany, there’s a saying, &#8216;Diseases that fasting cannot cure, even doctors cannot cure,&#8217; and in France, there’s a proverb, &#8216;Fasting is surgery without a scalpel.&#8217; Of course, you can’t remain hungry all the time, but not overeating is crucial for enhancing natural healing power.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kubozuka advises that if it&#8217;s difficult to suddenly reduce your meals, start by not eating for three hours before bedtime. Generally, easily digestible foods are absorbed within about three hours. You might worry that not eating for three hours will leave you too hungry to sleep, but he says that&#8217;s just a misconception.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;I thought the same thing at first, but feeling hungry is a result of the brain judging it as &#8216;dangerous&#8217; because it believes hunger could lead to starvation and death. Instead, think of it as &#8216;my body is moving towards health because of this hunger.&#8217; By setting the mindset that hunger is a form of happiness, you can stay positive. Since starting gut health practices, I’ve found that alcohol is absorbed more quickly, improving my efficiency, and it’s all been beneficial.&#8221;</b></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking of Kubozuka, he is known for his love of alcohol and even serves as an ambassador for the organic junmai sake &#8220;Fukukiri.&#8221; The saying goes, &#8220;Sake is the best of all medicines.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;This proverb is actually &#8216;Sake is the best of all medicines, but also the root of all diseases.&#8217; So, in reality, it&#8217;s better to enjoy it in moderation, but since I like it, I end up drinking more than I should. However, because I maintain my health well enough that I don’t suffer from hangovers, I feel good both physically and mentally. As I mentioned earlier, I believe that denying oneself the things one enjoys and causing stress is actually unhealthy.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Therefore, while he chooses less harmful types of cigarettes, he doesn’t intend to quit smoking. He mainly follows a vegetarian diet but occasionally indulges in meat or fast food depending on social occasions and mood.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;It&#8217;s fine to be a vegan according to your heart, but there are some people who attack others for eating meat just because they are vegan. I think those people are not in tune with their bodies or minds at all. I suspect that they are stressed because they are forcing themselves and end up being aggressive.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While being too strict isn&#8217;t good, eating too many snacks and foods with additives is also not ideal. Kubozuka emphasizes the importance of &#8220;balance.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;When practicing gut health, even if something is delicious, eating too much of something different from your usual diet can make you feel sluggish. You naturally start seeking out healthier foods and figure out what feels good for you, like limiting meat to once a month. Finding your own balance greatly improves your mental well-being.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kubozuka&#8217;s activities extend beyond acting to modeling and writing, and recently he has been involved in producing the golf apparel brand &#8220;8G SHOOT&#8221; and pursuing pottery. On his YouTube channel, </span><b>&#8220;Yosuke Kubozuka’s TV for Improving the Now,&#8221;</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> he actively shares information about gut health. Kubozuka, who says he lives by doing only what he truly loves, places great importance on balance in his life.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;Having side projects helps balance my acting work, and balancing with family, friends, and society. Everything surrounding me needs balance, and when it’s disrupted, it creates stress. To maintain balance, it’s important to have a positive outlook, which is why I use gut health to keep my mind and body in tune. I believe that if everyone practiced gut health, there would be fewer people envying or being jealous of others, and the world would become more peaceful.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To make the world a little better, Kubozuka &#8220;Gut Specialist&#8221; continues to advocate for gut health.</span></p>
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<figure id="attachment_387258" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1667px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-387258"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d73ec08c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/09/e5b1dd151b5d189a4ec826a5c66de313-rotated.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-387258" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;Since starting gut health practices, my condition has improved!&#8221;</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_387263" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 352px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-387263"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7b072869"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/09/2021f793c7b36e3a972d14c89158d781.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-387263" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">From his Instagram / A photo with Tomohisa Yamashita at a golf course, taken during their time together on the drama &#8216;GTO&#8217;.</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_387262" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 348px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-387262"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d9d4879e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/09/a8b61e4aa7ffe1984b499a031e354181.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-387262" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">From his Instagram / Kubozuka, who has a wide network of friends, also interacts with former Japan national soccer team player Hidetoshi Nakata.</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_387260" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 307px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-387260"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ae0d1ede"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/09/f49e9d18ce55e4cb2b121e7f3a42549a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-387260" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">From his Instagram / Recently, he has become passionate about pottery.</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_387261" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 325px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-387261"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0558c047"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/09/e5f979eaf3f30072fe3819b53c3d013d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-387261" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">From his Instagram / A smoking shot featured in a magazine that looks too cool!</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_387264" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 360px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-387264"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="771e2001"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/09/0b632cf76ff5b7239bfc53e172de9675.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-387264" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">From his Instagram / Attempting rice planting in an organic paddy field in Hyogo Prefecture.
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 Akinori Nakagawa

 Takehiko Kohiyama

 Yosuke Kubozuka, who made his acting debut in 1995, will celebrate his 30th anniversary next year. He has always been in the center of the news, including his fall from his apartment in 2004 and his declaration that he would never appear in a commercial TV drama.

Self-Proclaimed Gut Specialist Yosuke Kubozuka’s Unexpected 1.5 Meal Routine Started During COVID-19 Pandemic

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