Category 01•
on August 17th, 2010•
JOHN KOZINSKI
John offers classes covering a wide range of topics. Classes may be tailored to meet specific interests. John is available to teach in the United States and internationally.
New York, New York
Time: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Lecture Cost: $25.00
Contact Information; 413-623-5925
Restaurant Opens at 11:30 AM
Learn the latest information on Macrobiotic lifestyles for health and healing through the experience of master teacher and health researcher, John Kozinski. John has taught and counseled thousands of students in his private practice and at the Kushi Institute for over 30 years.
September 12, 2010 What Your Face Reveals About Health
Learn the secrets of oriental diagnosis. Macrobiotic visual diagnosis of the face can see problems in your organs before serious illness arise. John has combined modern macrobiotic diagnosis methods with traditional diagnosis from oriental medicine, to make a more complete and accurate system of health evaluation.
October 3, 2010 Myths and Truths About Food and Health
Food has a powerful impact on health and healing. There are ,also, incredible ideas about health that can change your life. At the same time, there are misunderstandings about food regarding veganism, raw foods, supplements, cholesterol, fats and the four food groups . Many myths about health,also, abound. We will examine the myths and truths of food and health through the philosophy of balance, to sort out the real from the unreal.
October 24, 2010 The Eight Macrobiotic Healing Strategies
Discover the fundamental healing methods and strategies of healing according to the principles of balance. All natural methods can be a part of a macrobiotic healing approach but some are more important than others. Learn about a larger view of macrobiotic healing can embrace all methods of natural healing.
December 12, 2010 Extreme Foods That Weaken Vitality
Learn about the dangers to health of many modern foods that we eat. These foods can weaken our vitality and cause sickness. In this class John will explain which foods to limit or avoid to promote your best health. Learn about chemicals, sugars, stimulants and even natural foods that can weaken your health.
Category 01•
on June 3rd, 2010•
Macrobiotic Nutrition
JUNE 3, 2010
by phiyakushi
I decided to write this article to further clarify a point I brought up in a previous post, “Macrobiotics Is Not Nutritional Science“, in which I lamented how some macrobiotic teachers turn to nutritional science to justify and explain various claims when it is completely unnecessary and may furthermore lead to incorrect dietary conclusions that may even be dangerous. By using nutritional analytical science to justify macrobiotic conclusions those teachers throw away an opportunity to share the unique approach and way of thinking and view of life that macrobiotics has to offer.
Nutritional Analysis
As outlined by the Wikipedia: Nutritional science investigates the metabolic and physiological responses of the body to diet. This approach involves the study and analysis of nutrients that are used and excreted by the body. Essentially, nutritional science looks at two things: 1.) the analysis of nutrients and 2.) how those nutrients are used by the human body.
In addition to calories, nutrients are grouped into categories like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and so on. Based on these categories then recommendations include, for example, eliminating trans-fats, adding omega-3 fatty acids, eating foods with anti-oxidant properties and so on. Accordingly, one should incorporate a whole list of nutrients in order to maintain one’s health and avoid or prevent many diseases. Ongoing studies continue to reveal the benefits or dangers of various nutrients leading to new recommendations, policies and supplements. Generally speaking, according to the latest nutritional scientific findings we should be eating a plant based diet that contains all the essential nutrients. But recommendations to get these nutrients from which specific foods, how they should be prepared and other details are absent and if we aren’t getting enough essential nutrients then supplementation is recommended. This is fundamentally the extent of nutritional science.
Macrobiotic Nutrition
Macrobiotic Nutrition includes the full scope of Nutritional Analysis but also goes far beyond it. Not only is it concerned with nutrients and metabolic response but also how such nutrients came about, how they are prepared, processed, stored, transported, farmed or raised, the season they grew in, the climate and geography and the evolutionary development of the plant or animals species. from whence they came Regarding metabolic function, Macrobiotic Nutrition is not only concerned with the body but also a person’s dietary, medical and health history, their family history, their mental and emotional disposition, their aspirations and ambitions, lifestyle habits, work environment, cultural influences, genetic and ancestral influences, seasonal and climate influences, geographical influences and evolutionary development as a species and more.
Macrobiotic Nutrition also seeks to answer the fundamental questions of “why?”: Why do we eat the foods that we do? Why are we hungry? Why do we eat at all? It seeks to ask questions and solve problems from not only from a position of academic authority but also from a place of child-like naivete. In this way we can draft some basic nutritional guidelines that even a child can understand, for example:
- Don’t eat food from another planet unless you live there or unless you are an alien.
- It’s easier to eat plants since they don’t run away when you try to catch them.
- We are not fish so don’t eat a lot of fish food unless you want to become like a fish.
- To stay as a human being eat food that makes you human.
- When you are hungry then eat and when you are not hungry then don’t eat.
These sample basic Macrobiotic Nutritional principles can and have been further expanded upon by my father, Michio Kushi, into what he formulated as “Macrobiotic Dietary Recommendations.” Along with many other recommendations, he suggests that we , being human, should eat whole grains as our principle food since grain eating caused the evolutionary development of humans. The recommendations he suggests are not meant to be offered as a prescribed diet, but instead as a conclusion, based on Macrobiotic Nutrition, for what humans should be generally eating. Additional adjustments must be added and tailored to fit specific individual needs and circumstances.
Macrobiotic Nutrition is not only concerned with “macro” influences but “micro” influences as well. Where Nutritional Science stays primarily focused on the molecular level, Macrobiotic Nutrition is also concerned with the atomic level, the sub-atomic level, the electrical and energetic level and even with the empty spaces in between. In short, Macrobiotic Nutrition is concerned with every influence on every level.
Macrobiotic Nutrition vs. Nutritional Analysis
Without the larger context of Macrobiotic Nutrition, Nutritional Analysis will always present a distorted view of what we should be eating. A while ago it was found that eating the fiber from oats was beneficial for heart disease. This finding was then exploited by the food industry to promote oatmeal and adding extra fiber to foods. What was ignored was the fact that all whole grains contain fiber, not just oats.
Proponents of Nutritional Analysis will recommend, for example, to take omega 3 fatty acids with little concern about the source and whether it is from fish, krill, algae, seeds or nuts. Macrobiotic Nutrition, on the other hand, is not only concerned about the differences in the sources of omega 3 and but also how it is prepared and processed, what is ingested together with it, when it is ingested, how such a deficiency could occur in the first place, who is ingesting it and the condition and health history of the person and on and on. The fact that a nutrient like an omega 3 fatty acid comes from a fish as opposed to a seed is of a great significance in Macrobiotic Nutrition. The further we step back and include larger additional considerations and influences then the more significant these differences become.
Lycopene, is a nutrient found in tomatoes and in watermelons and while it may not matter from a analytical point of view where you get it from it makes a huge difference from a macrobiotic nutritional point of view. Not only is there the obvious difference between a tomato and watermelon, but also how the tomato was grown, how it is prepared and many other factors are significant when it comes to Macrobiotic Nutrition.
Beta-Carotene, the nutrient found in carrots that make them red-orange, was found to have beneficial health properties. Because of this companies that sell Nutritional Supplements created Beta-Carotene supplements. It was later discovered that those supplements were actually harmful. Beta-Carotene is only beneficial when it is eaten in the form of a carrot. Macrobiotic Nutrition always recommends eating nutrients in their whole original form first and foremost. This and the other examples mentioned above illustrate the differences between Nutritional Analysis and Macrobiotic Nutrition.
Macrobiotic Nutrition can also predict findings that Nutritional Analysis has yet to discover. Macrobiotic teachers have always promoted eating whole grains and plant-based foods for many decades while such foods are being recommended by Nutritional Analysis only more recently. In another example, it has been recently found that tomatoes are beneficial for cancer prevention. However, future studies by Nutritional Analysis will reveal that tomatoes are beneficial only for certain types of cancers and not all of them, where Macrobiotic Nutrition has already been recommending tomatoes for prostate cancer and not for breast cancer.
Same Universe, Different Paradigms
A simple way to better understand the difference behind the thought processes and logic between Nutritional Analysis and Macrobiotic Nutrition is by looking at the Japanese way of addressing a letter versus the American way doing the same thing. When a person addresses a letter in Japan, they start with the country first followed by the state, town, street, building, apartment, last name and, finally, the first name. The American way of addressing a letter begins with the addressee’s first name followed by the last name, street, town, state and lastly, the country. The focus, or emphasis is on the small toward the great or large where in the Japanese way, the emphasis is from the large to the small.
Although it really does not matter in which direction you write the address, since all the information provided is necessary to deliver the letter, what is important to note is where the emphasis is placed in terms of value. In the Japanese way of addressing the letter the country comes first. The emphasis is placed on the larger differences than the smaller ones whereas in the American way of addressing a letter the emphasis is placed on the smaller differences first and then the larger ones.
Similarly, in Macrobiotic Nutrition, emphasis is placed first on the larger differences than on the smaller nutrients as it is in Nutritional Analytical Science. Therefore in Macrobiotic Nutrition, for example, the fact that we are human beings and not, say, fish, is a primary concern when deciding what to we should be eating. This is the reason why grains are, first and foremost, recommended because they are food for land animals and, more specifically, mammals and, even more precisely, humans.
Compare this approach to Nutritional Analysis which emphasizes molecular chemistry and biology and results in recommendations in the form of nutritional supplementation with little emphasis and concern for the source, growth, development, evolution and processing of those nutrients. Such a limited and narrow view is similar to trying to deliver a letter knowing only the addressee’s name and street address and not knowing if one is in the right town, state or even country. By approaching the question of nutrition from a “macro” view beginning with the fact that we are of this planet, that we are animals and not plants, and that we are humans then it is safe to conclude that we should probably derive the majority of our nutrition from grains, seeds and modern plants.
In summary, while explanations based on nutritional analysis is a part of and can be used in macrobiotics, they are insufficient and if relied upon alone are incorrect and can lead to serious health problems. Much of today’s distorted nutritional views stems from the reliance upon limited nutritional analysis. In order to solve these problems we must approach the problem of nutrition from a different level of thinking. As Einstein once said, “Problems cannot be solved by the same level thinking that created them.” Macrobiotic Nutrition offers that different level of thinking.
I hope this helps clarify the value and significance of Macrobiotic Nutrition and it’s superiority over relying upon Nutritional Analysis for dietary guidance.
How can arrogance be cured? To cure it, one should experience it. Whoever says “I am not arrogant” is arrogant; whoever says “I am arrogant” is not. If you try to attack and accuse an arrogant person in order to make him change, you will fail. The best way is simply to let him enjoy his arrogance to the full. This might cause him to lose his life, or to be destroyed, or to meet great misery, or to make enemies. This is the greatest trial. When a mother, or a teacher, or religion, says “Don’t do this, don’t do that,” it causes unhappiness and never solves anything. Moses said “Don’t” ten times and his commandments have never made anybody happier or higher. You should give unconditional freedom to others; there is only one thing which must done according to the Order of the Universe, everyone must have absolute freedom. By the accurate, eternal and perfect laws of Infinity, some will pass the test, and others will be destroyed. They will be destroyed by their arrogance, without the need of your intervention.
Michio Kushi (from the forthcoming re-release of the Order Of The Universe Booklet – “Expanding Pathways” – from lectures of Michio Kushi in 1966.
Dear Customers,
We are happy to be loved by so many regular customers who had supported Souen Union Square for a long long long time. We will come back in September to be able to provide better quality and environment.
Thank you very much for all your support and we will see you in fall.
“Cultivate A Sense Of Humor”
Ohsawa called ‘Good Humor’ one of the basic conditions of health. Humor comes from the Latin word humere, which means, “to be wet, or fluid, like water.” In Buddhism and Taoism, water imagery represents flowing freedom and perfect naturalness. If you think about it, humor has a watery quality that we can be most receptive to by “going with the flow,” allowing ourselves the mental flexibility to be open and taken by the imagery of the comic, or the comic irony of a particular situation.
In foolishness or silliness, there is a sense of the sublime. Embodying this principle offers us a secret power in being able to lift our spirits at almost any given moment. And, it brings us to experience child-like qualities of our vulnerable, spontaneous and joyful self.
Feeling or expressing something humorous is a novel way to experience ‘being in the moment.’ Recall when you’ve really been amused or laughed aloud—were you thinking about your mortgage tax that’s due? Were you thinking about your childhood and your cruel stepfather with his martial punishments? How about your overbearing boss—was he on your mind? Truth is, it would be difficult, because humor invites you into the present moment and then locks the door. Now, you’re face to face with joy. And, it engages 100% of your intention (unless the humor is really bad).
Experiencing this and being mindful of it will help you become more consistently present in everything you do.
Humor can give us new ways to view uncomfortable circumstances, thereby becoming a coping tool. There are many events that occur in our lives that we really have no control over. For some, this sense of powerlessness can be grounds for frustration and depression. By developing a humorous outlook we find ways to minimize these situations to our best advantage. We must learn to laugh at ourselves a well as with others.
Obviously, humor does not cure all, but a sense of humor has a unique way of helping you navigate through life’s daily disappointments and upsets. It doesn’t really change anything for the long haul, but it usually makes everything instantly more tolerable and sometimes can give you a new way to reframe your situation. Humor, the Vitamin “H” of good medicine, is free, can be shared, and most definitely can be contagious! Can’t ask for much more.
By Vernes Macrobiotic Principles.
principles.htm#18
1. Cultivate your will and desire to live
Having the will and desire to live is primary and essential to avoiding premature death, be it by accident, sickness or any other method. The desired life that I am talking about here is not the normal day to day living that most people do. I am talking about living an extraordinary life full of passion such that you look forward to and are happy to wake up to every single morning.
Many are unhappy with their lives yet instead of doing something about it they settle for a life of stagnant resignation. As a result, they get what they settle for and create their own demise one way or another. Those whom I have seen reverse their sickness cultivated their will to live and became hungry for life. Their illness was a wake-up call and they believe it was one of the best things that could have ever happened to them. They accepted and took full responsibility for their situations, and from that moment on they became alive. They became greedy and egocentric in a positive sense. They became hungry and famished for life and because of this they were able to transform their situation and avoid premature death by illness. If you want to become healthy, you must first and foremost cultivate the will and desire to live life in a way that you have never done so before. It will not always be easy. It will not always be comfortable and it will not always look the way you imagined. But that is the nature of life itself.
In the future you might eventually satisfy this hunger for life and become full again. At that time you may again become sick and you may die. That will be up to you.
2. Be flexible and willing to change anything and everything in your life, if necessary
Many would rather die then change their life and that is exactly what happens to them. But those who avoid an early death and live longer are those who are willing to change anything in their life including the food they eat, where they live, the relationships they are in, and the beliefs that they hold.
Life and aliveness can be defined in many ways and one them is the ability to respond and adapt to the environment, in other words, be flexible. If you lose that flexibility then you are doomed.
3. Develop your sensitivity and respect for the environment. Be aware how you respond to it.
The natural environment creates your food and you. Pay attention to it, accept it fully, take care of it and nurture it. If you don’t, it will destroy you. What you eat, drink and otherwise take into your body is how you interact with the environment. What happens to you when you eat one type of food versus another? What if you changed the water you drink? What if you changed where you live? How does your body respond? Only you can know this for certain, not your doctor or other professional. Not even those close to you. By becoming aware and begin paying attention to this you will know when to make the necessary changes in your life that lead you to either sickness or health.
On a larger scale, because of humanity’s insensitivity and lack of concern for the environment, our agriculture and our food, we have made the Earth toxic and many plant and animal species are becoming extinct and we have made countless others, including ourselves, sick. If we continue in this way and do not develop our sensitivity and respond, adapt and take care of our environment then we will naturally perish.
4. Be willing to eat anything and be willing to prepare your own food
Sickness is not an enemy but is only the bodies natural attempt to discharge excess and regain a dynamic harmony with the environment. In other words, if you didn’t get sick you would already be dead. Our food, everything we ingest,(and expel) is how we interact and create harmony with the environment. The principal way most people get sick is by over exercising their freedom; abusing their bodies through eating, drinking and doing other things excessively. Some may be able to get rid of symptoms through medical treatments but unless the source is addressed, which is what they have been eating, drinking and doing, then they will never get rid of their problems. In general, most people in developed nations eat too much animal food and therefore feel better when they switch to a plant based diet. But there are no specific rules. Some, who may have avoided eating meat their whole life, may need to eat some to feel better, while those who ate meat everyday may need to stop it completely for the rest of their lives. It depends on the individual, which is why you, who are sick and wish to get well, must be willing to eat anything.
You also must be willing to prepare and be responsible for your own food. Ultimately, only you know what you need most. No one will be able to figure that out for you. If they did then you would owe them your life. The wealthy, who rely solely on the best chefs and best restaurants in the world, become slaves of their own doing and will never find true health and freedom. Likewise, the poor who subsist solely on processed pre-cooked foods, like junk foods and soda, and inexpensive take-out meals also become slaves to the food industry and prisoners of their own doing. Essentially, what must be done is to establish or re-establish a direct connection to your food and to minimize your reliance upon others for this. Study food, learn as much as you can and experiment until you master it. Become a master of your own food and you will become a master of your own destiny. Until then, you will remain a slave to those who control your food.
5. Be honest with yourself and everyone else, all the time. Constantly review and monitor your own situation.
If you ignore your bodies warning signals and pretend they don’t exist, then you will not get better. If you aren’t honest with yourself and don’t confront and deal with your own issues, then there is no hope. If you don’t listen to your loved ones and address their concerns then there is no purpose to your life. If you aren’t honest with and don’t serve humanity then your life has no value. Being truthful, no matter how painful, with ourselves, our world and reality, allows us to know ourselves and monitor our progress through life. Knowing who we are, where we are and what progress we have made is critical to exercising our freedom to transform our health. A useful way to gauge one’s level of honesty is to look at how large our sense of humor is and if we are able laugh at our own folly.
6. Be grateful to all, especially your difficulties
Without sickness we would not know health. Without the possibility of a premature death we could not appreciate life. Without our health we could not abuse it and become sick and so on. Whether we feel sick or feel healthy the experience of life is a gift to be cherished and be grateful for. This gratitude is not mandatory but is a choice for each of us to make. We can choose to be grateful and to appreciate every moment in life, or we can choose to be ungrateful, feel victimized and blame everyone and everything for our problems. Choosing gratitude makes us responsible which, in turn, give us the freedom to change our destiny. You can be grateful, or you can be ungrateful. It is your choice. If you choose not to be grateful then you are also choosing to give up your freedom. So choose wisely.
7. Choose and actively pursue a goal and dream that benefits everyone
What is your life about? What do you dream of being and doing? What do you wish to accomplish in this life? What do you wish to do this year, tomorrow, or even in the next moment? Regardless of the state of our bodies and our health, life is about dreams and having the passion to make them come true. The most important aspect of becoming and staying healthy is to know why you are doing so. What you dream and wish to accomplish is the “why”. You can choose to do anything you want. If you wish to be a mean and hateful person and make people unhappy then you will be miserable and your life will be cut short, if not by yourself then by others. If you choose to serve others and make them happy then you will be happy regardless of the state your body. Everyone who recovered from a terminal illness with macrobiotics, had a dream and vision for what they wanted to do with their lives. They all lived long enough to achieve those dreams. The greater your dream is then the more your body becomes only a vehicle to achieve that dream. If your dream is great then it will continue long after your body has died. That is true health.
By Phiya Kushi
Vegetables in the Macrobiotic Diet including dietary gidelines for the tropics
Vegetables are universally agreed to be healthy. And they form the second biggest portion of the macrobiotic diet, making up about 25 to 30 percent of the entire food intake.
Among the different health philosophies, however, there is some disagreement about how vegetables should be eaten – whether cooked or raw – and even disagreement over which are good (or better) for health.
In macrobiotics, the recommendation is to eat mainly cooked veggies, with only small amounts uncooked.
Some macrobiotic dishes, particularly nishime, involves cooking veggies for quite long periods and people tend to worry that vitamins are lost in the process.
But this should not be a major worry because only a few heat sensitive vitamins – mainly vitamin C – are lost through long cooking. Certain other nutrients, such as beta carotene, actually beome more readily available to the body through cooking.
The bottom line is that people who follow a macrobiotic diet generally enjoy good health, even excellent health. So the loss of vitamins through cooking is not a major issue.
In any case, the macrobiotic diet does include fair amounts of lightly cooked vegetables, salads, pressed salads (quick pickles), pickles and garnishing with raw herbs like spring onion, coriander leavesl, parsley, etc. These are all rich sources of vitamins.
It is not as if everything in the macrobiotic diet is cooked until all vitamins are lost. Overall, the macrobiotic diet is actually very rich in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, including phytonutrients.
Macrobiotic classification
Here, we look more at the unique way in which plant foods are classified in macrobiotics. Most books on macrobiotics talk about three main types of vegetables and emphasise the importance of eating all three types on a daily basis:
- Roots
- “Round” vegetables whch grow either just above or below the ground
- Greens.
In the tropics, however the range of plant foods is much wider.
ROOTS, in macrobiotic books, normally refer to those that grow straight downwards, like carrot, white radish (daikon), parsnip, burdock and jinenjo (wai san).
A few grow sideways but are also very hard, for example, lotus root (picture) and arrow root.
These have stronger contractive energy. They are more hard and strengthening. And they generally nourish the intestines and lower organs.
One extreme example is ginseng. It is so hard that it will not soften even if cooked for hours, and so strengthening that only a tiny portion is used.
Another example is kuzu or kudzu, which is used in macrobiotics as a home remedy – and also scientifically proven to be an effective remedy for hangovers.
The kuzu root is huge, sometimes bigger than a man. And it is rich in minerals.
One way to tell that kuzu is yang or contractive is this – when you dissolve kuzu starch in cold water, it settles down very quickly compared with other types of starches. Corn starch, in contrast, takes a long time to settle down.
ROUND VEGETABLES are those that grow either just below the ground, like onion, turnip and beetroot, or just above, like cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower and pumpkin (above ground).
These generally nourish the middle organs, such as stomach, pancreas and spleen.
They also tend to be naturally sweet. Cooking them slowly, for a long time, intensifies their sweetness as the starches are converted into sugar.
Eating such naturally sweet vegetables can help balance the body sugar levels and reduce cravings for refined sugar.
One macrobiotic home remedy, called sweet vegetable drink, is specially formulated for this. It uses carrot (another naturally sweet vegetable), cabbage, pumpkin and onion.
GREENS include those that grow straight upwards, like spring onions, leek, chives and celery and other green leafy vegetables that grow upwards and outwards, like spinach, kai lan, bok choy, chye sim, etc.
Green vegetables that grow straight up nournish the liver. Those that grow up and out nournish the heart.
ALL THREE GROUPS OF VEGETABLES MENTIONED ABOVE ARE IMPORTANT TO EAT DAILY.
Vegetables for tropics versus temperate climates
In general, people in the tropics and those with a more yang (contracted) condition should eat more green leafy vegetables, while those in colder climates or with a more yin (expanded) condition should eat more downward root vegetables.
Almost all vegetables can be prepared in all ways – as raw salads, pickled, steamed, blanced, sauteed, stir fried, cooked in soup or stews, baked, deep fried, and so on.
Those living in the tropics may eat greater amounts of raw salads and lightly cooked vegetables. Likewise for those in temperate climates during summer.
Note, however, there are some vegetables that are not advisable – some even poisonous – to eat raw. They include potato, tapioca, eggplant, okra (lady’s fingers) etc. These are the more yin (expanded) vegetables.
In cold climates, it is common for people to eat vegetables cooked for long periods, such as baked or in stews. This helps the body to keep warm.
But there seems to be some exceptions, which I do not yet fully understand. Once, I saw a TV documentary about Heilong Jiang (Black dragon River) in Northeast China, which is famous for its sturgeon caviar.
The place is extremely cold, to the extent that ice forms on the moustaches of men. Yet I clearly remember one scene, where the people were eating raw cabbage.
TROPICAL PLANTS
In the tropics, a much wider range of plant foods are encountered and commonly eaten. We apply the macrobiotic principle of yin and yang – expansion and contraction energy – to understand their effects on the body and when we should, or should not, eat them.
ROOTS THAT GROW SIDEWAYS – potato, sweet potato, tapioca and yam (grows straight down but swells sideways in the middle),
These are more soft and porous, meaning they have more expanded or yin energy. They tend to be weakening.
They may be eaten in moderate amounts, perhaps a few times a week, by healthy individuals living in the tropics. Sometimes, they are eaten in place of rice and other grains, or cooked together (as in the case of yam rice and sweet potato porridge).
These roots should always be eaten cooked, never raw.
Potatoes are, of course, eaten as the main carbohydrate dish in many Western, temperate climates. This makes a bit of sense when potatoes (yin / expanded) are taken together with meat (yang / contracted).
Still, it is not exactly a healty way of eating as carbohydrates should come mainly from whole grains, whether in temperate or tropical climates.
NIGHTSHADES
This family of plants include potato, tomato, eggplant, bell pepper and tobacco. They are botanically classified as belonging to the belladonna or “deadly nightshades” family.
The word “deadly” is perhaps too strong. You certainly will not drop dead from eating these veggies. But they do contain some natural poisons called alkaliods. The most famous alkaloid is, of course, nicotine, found in tobacco.
Nightshades are known to cause , or contribute to, diseases like arthritis. Also, some people are allergic or sensitive to nightshade plants.
Some macrobiotic books say to avoid them, but this applies mainly to people living in temperate climates or those with a yin (expanded) condition.
MUSHROOMS
Again, they are very strong yin, that is, have strong expanding energy. Mushrooms grow very quickly – some grow overnight. Most are very soft, porous and spongy.
One notable exception is the lingzhi or reishi mushroom, which growly slowly and is hard like wood! It is highly valued for its medicinal properties.
Mushrooms can therefore also be very weakening. This is why macrobiotics recommends eating dried rather than fresh mushrooms. The sun’s energy is yang and it balances the yin nature of mushrooms.
An important benefit of mushrooms is that they can help reduce cholesterol levels.
As with nightshades, mushrooms are actually more suited for meat eaters than for vegetarians. And they are best eaten cooked rather than raw.
STICKY, SLIMY, SPONGY VEGETABLES
In the tropics, many plants have very strong yin or expanding energy.
They include the leaves of tall plants like tapioca leaves, creepers and climbers like sweet potato leaves.
They also include fruit-type vegetables like long beans, bitter gourd (picture), angled loofa, hairy gourd plus, of course, the nightshade vegetables.
In general, these are sticky, slimy, juicy, spongy or hollow.
Chilli, for example, is hollow inside. So is the stem of the kangkong, a popular Southeast Asian vegetable.
They are okay to eat occasionally if you live in the tropics and are in good health. Eat them well cooked, not raw. However, such vegetables are best avoided by those who are weak from illness.
And some may have special medicinal properties, like the bitter gourd, which is a natural diabetes remedy.
ORGANIC vs CONVENTIONAL vs HYDROPONIC vegetables
The macrobiotic principle of yin and yang (expansion and contraction energy) is also useful in helping us appreciate the difference between organic and conventional, chemical-fertilised, as well as hydroponic vegetables.
The purpose of adding chemical fertilisrs is to make plants grow bigger and faster. From the macrobiotic perspective, plants grown this way are more yin or expanded.
Hydroponic-vegetables grown in water – and fertilised by chemical solutions – are even more yin or expanded. So are aeroponic-vegetables grown in air.
In contrast, organic vegetables fertilised with compost, or grown in naturally rich soil, tend to grow more slowly, They are typically more yang or contracted.
It is therefore possible to see, feel and taste the difference between organic and chemically-fertilised.
Organic vegetables are generally more compact and thus, harder. They are often, but not always, smaller. They tend to have stronger, more intense colours and. likewise, more intense flavours.
And if you cut something like an organic carrot versus a chemically-grown carrot, you can even hear the difference. The organic carrot is harder, and the sound of the knife against the cutting board will be sharper and more “solid”.With a macrobiotic understanding of vegetables, you can even hear the difference!
Enzymes
Another worry about cooking is the destruction of enzymes. Even mild heat of about 115ºF or 46ºC, which is way below boiling or cooking temperature, is said to destroy or deactivate enzymes. So cooked food usually has zero or very little enzymes left.
But it is debatable whether or not we need to “eat” enzymes in our food, or whether the enzymes produced by the body are adequate.
In the macrobiotic diet and way of life, there are two important sources of enzymes that are often overlooked.
One is chewing. Thorough chewing of food, of up to 50 times per mouthful, is highly recommended in macrobiotics – but, unfortunately, not always observed by followers. Chewing produces a lot of enzymes in the saliva.
The other source of enzymes is pickles and other fermented foods. Interestingly, most pickles contain salt and salt is known to enhance the activity of enzymes.
Again, pickles are often neglected by people who do not follow the macrobiotic diet strictly. Although pickles make up only a very small portion of the diet, they are important.
Here, pickles refer to good quality, preferably home made pickles. Apart from enzymes, these also contain beneficial natural vinegars.
Cheap, mass produced pickles sold in packets and bottles are best avoided. These tend to be pasteurised and they no longer contain enzymes. They also tend to be made with poor quality, often artificial, vinegar.
Cooked vs. raw vegetables
On the surface, macrobiotic teaching may seem to get it wrong with its emphasis on cooked rather than raw veggies.
A deeper study of macrobiotics, however, reveals a profound understanding about how different types of plant foods affect the body and how they can be used to help recovery from disease.
At the same time, observation of those who eat predominantly raw salads and fruits – and understanding them from the macrobiotic perspective – reveals that they tend to be highly unbalanced.
These people tend to have overly expanded conditions. For example, their palms tend to be very soft, with red blotches (indicating that blood vessels beneath the skin have become overly expanded).
A friend of mine once met a raw vegetables person in Bali. The sun was hot and the person was wearing two layers of clothes – and still complaining of feeling cold. These are not signs of health.
By macrobiotic-diet-today.blogspot.com
Choose Brown Rice•
on January 11th, 2010•
There is a difference in appearance, taste and nutritional content between brown rice and white rice. In light of these differences and studies showing the health benefits of brown rice and rice bran in the diet; there are more and more people making the switch. Brown rice is made up of numerous layers even after the simplest of processes that removes just the hull from the brown rice. If brown rice is processed further to the extent that the rice bran and parts of the germ layer are removed you have white rice. To add insult to injury; after all nutrients are removed from the brown rice; the FDA requires that the process must reverse itself to “enrich” the white rice with only a portion of the lost nutrients.
Magnesium, selenium, phosphorus, copper, thiamin, niacin, fiber, iron and vitamin B-6 are just a few of the vital components in the make up of whole brown rice. Unfortunately white rice in its “enriched” state still cannot compare to its former self; bro wn rice. Essentially brown rice and white rice are the same in relation to amounts of their calories, carbs, fat, and protein. However, major differences between brown rice and white rice from processing the brown rice result from not being able to add back all the great parts of the bran to the brown rice. There is a significant loss of magnesium in addition to fiber and fatty acids including bran oil from having been removed from brown rice.
In lieu of recent studies of the effects of brown rice and rice bran in a healthy diet; we do ourselves a great disservice in eating a processed brown rice in the “polished” white form. Studies show the rice bran oil may assist in lowering the bad cholesterol known as LDL. It also indicates that women who eat more whole grains like brown rice weigh less and gain less weight over time than women who eat processed foods. Magnesium is a work horse in converting protein and carbs to energy. The fiber in brown rice assists our digestive processes and help to treat constipation. In addition; the fiber in brown rice coupled with amounts of selenium also found in brown rice aid in the fight against colon cancer.
Individuals living on a vegetarian or macrobiotic diet have long understood the benefits of brown rice and rice bran in their diets. Under processed foods like brown rice lend themselves to a healthier diet and lifestyle. We eat all around better foods for our bodies; what is brown rice without a few good steamed vegetables. We exercise with the extra energy we have from a food like brown rice. It’s that wonderful merry-go-round; if you eat better, you live better; if you live better, you eat better. So hop aboard now before it’s time to get off.
By macrobiotic-diet-today.blogspot.com
