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Anyone interested in Macrobiotics?


David W Jackson

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The older I get the more I'm beginning to see that less really is more. I used to be into macrobiotics and am in the mood - after gorging on Beijing's multivaried and often health-negating cuisine - to get back into it. Anyone interested in swapping recipes, discussing the pros and cons, etc? Maybe even cooking something together?

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I'm really interested in macrobiotics, but I find it really hard to find whole and natural foods where I live (Tokyo suburbs). It's easy downtown, but out in the "burbs" its tough. When I give it my effort and get back on the wagon, I normally eat the healthy foods, but not the whole/natural version. Is the whole/natural food thing really an important part of macrobiotics? I wonder sometimes if that "school of thought" is just to sell certain products...

I am curious, what type of online resources do you reference for your diet? Do you know of any good recipe databases? I find it normally helps to start with breakfast and lunch on the weekdays in the macrobiotic diet, and then slowly move your other meals over.

At any rate, I'd love to have a discussion about macrobiotics. I'll try to post more of my thoughts tomorrow.

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Instead of going out of your way to find "natural" foods, you can go a long ways by having your meals full of fresh vegetables and fruits, and having good sources of protein. For meat sources, I would avoid cured or processed meats like ham, bologna, salami, etc. Meats like fish and poultry are good, or lean cuts of beef. If you want to have ground beef, get the package with the lowest fat content. A serving of meat should be about the size of a deck of cards. Definitely avoid trans fats and high fructose corn syrup. If you can't avoid them, make sure they are waaaay down low in the ingredient list. Trans fats are listed as either hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated. They don't exist in nature, and don't belong in one's tummy. The abnormally high volume of fructose in HFCS will not register with whatever it is in your body that tells you that you are full, causing you to take in even more calories. Nuts are good in moderation. The candied and flavored kinds may sabotage your diet, though. If you want peanut butter, the natural style is best, the kind where you have to stir the oils in. Trans fats are used to prevent oil separation.

Definitely avoid most canned soups and frozen entrees - they are so loaded with sodium that it makes you wonder if they're giving you food with your salt. Which is a hard thing for me to give up - one of my favorite foods of all time is chili, which is a salt mine in itself.

It's better to eat six smaller meals than three big ones. It will tame your hunger a bit so you won't be tempted to gorge yourself when you are ravenously hungry. And by all means, do not skip breakfast and do not eat too soon before bed. I try to avoid eating after 8:00 pm.

Be sure to get plenty of exercise.

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The basic idea of macro (great) biotics (life) is to select foods from the middle range of yin and yang (energy insensitives may have some difficulty with this but those with qigong or other energy work experience will most likely not) and to avoid unnecessary toxins, so yes, the natural/wholefood concept is pretty central. In terms of online resources I haven't found much but google about and see what you come up with. I just yesterday ordered a couple of books from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Day-Macrobiotics-Transform-Your-Spirit/dp/1556436432/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209006931&sr=8-1 and http://www.amazon.com/Macrobiotic-Community-Cookbook-Andrea-Lerman/dp/1583331654/ref=pd_bbs_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209006931&sr=8-7. I know Simon from his days at the East West Centre in Old Street London. He knows his stuff. The problem in Beijing is that even the so-called health food stores are full of junk and there's no macrobiotics section though you can get miso and brown rice so it's still doable. There's a recipe database here: http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/3464/recipeindex.html. There's something irritating about those who proffer unsolicited advice: the arrogant presumption of it. This is meant to be a thread about macrobiotics not every Tom, Dick and Harry's two-penneth of regurgitation.

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David, I like the cooking idea you proposed. I picked up a macrobiotic cookbook from my local library today and paging through it is sparking my interest again. Perhaps we could make a goal of cooking something one a given day of the week and then share the recipes and even pictures if one is willing to go that far. I'm interested to see what other people could whip up in other parts of the world.

Different subject, but I remember the last time I was trying macrobiotics that caffeine is supposed to be limited if possible. The book I read proposed only bancha, but I'm not sure what it is to this day. The bancha I see in Japan is just green tea harvested in spring. What about teas like oolong tea or barley (mugi) tea? I'm not big on coffee but I'm crazy about Taiwanese oolong tea and all sorts of green teas and well...barley teas and roasted teas as well. I don't think I can give up my teas no matter how hardcore macrobiotic I became.

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David,

Question:

Ok, I figure if a person is going to go macrobiotic, s/he should do it wholeheartedly, I mean 100% is best.... but.... well, I'm curious about it but I wonder if only eating that way *sometimes* would be worth it. (I'm referring to me trying it but not having the time/energy/resources to do it full-on)

I mean, of course that way of eating is very healthy, so there'd be general health benefits, but I mean the yin/yang part of it... if one eats only occasional meals according to yin/yang, then eats something extreme for dinner... do you think that would make following the yin/yang principles almost useless?

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Doc, to be honest whilst I like your idea right now I'm so under with work that I doubt it's feasible. That might chance. Re the question of extremes: I think that both with the tea issue and just generally a too radical switch is asking too much of one's self. Better to phase it in: that way there's a realistic chance of sustaining it going forward. Bancha was sold roasted in the good old days. A kind of roasted tiny twig tea. Tasted quite gross unlike mu which I liked. But it's all subjective I guess. As for the health benefits it seems hard to refute the cancer cures. I once met a lady who was living proof. On the other hand, Kushi's wife is said to have died of cancer despite eating that way for yours due to her predilection for an evening nut or two. Go figure..

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