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The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health
A Complete Guide to Preventing and Relieving More Than 200 Chronic Conditions and Disorders Naturally
Written by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack
“Food is the chief of all things, the
universal medicine. . . . Food transmutes directly into body, mind, and spirit .
. . creates our day-to-day health and happiness.”
—from The Macrobiotic Path to Total
Health
Even in medical schools, alternative medicine is blossoming. Two thirds
of them now offer courses in complementary healing practices, including
nutrition. At the heart of this revolution is macrobiotics, a simple, elegant,
and delicious way of eating whose health benefits are being confirmed at an
impressive rate by researchers around the world.
Macrobiotics is based on
the laws of yin and yang—the complementary energies that flow throughout the
universe and quicken every cell of our bodies and every morsel of the food we
eat. Michio Kushi and Alex Jack, distinguished educators of the macrobiotic way,
believe that almost every human ailment from the common cold to cancer can be
helped, and often cured, by balancing the flow of energy (the ki) inside
us. The most effective way to do this is to eat the right foods, according to
our individual day-to-day needs. Now in this marvelous guide, they give us the
basics of macrobiotic eating and living, and explain how to use this powerful
source of healing to become healthier and happier, to prevent or relieve more
than two hundred ailments, conditions, or disorders—both physical and
psychological.
This encyclopedic compendium of macrobiotic fundamentals,
remedies, menus, and recipes takes into account the newest thinking and evolving
practices within the macrobiotic community. The authors integrate all the
information into a remarkable A to Z guide to macrobiotic healing—from AIDS,
allergies, and arthritis, to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. They also
clearly explain what we need to know to start eating a true macrobiotic diet
that will provide us with a complete balance of energy and nutrients.
Living as we all do in environmental and climactic circumstances that
are largely outside our personal control, it is vital that we follow a healthy
lifestyle, including a flexible diet that we can adjust to meet our own
individual needs. The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health gives us precisely
the tools and the understanding we need to achieve this goal. Use it to build a
strong, active body and a cheerful, resourceful
mind.
Author
Biography
Michio Kushi is a leader
in the international macrobiotic community. The author of many books, Kushi
received the Award of Excellence from the United Nations Writers Society. In
recognition of his role in launching the modern health and diet revolution, the
Smithsonian Institution opened a permanent Kushi Family Collection on
Macrobiotics and Alternative Health Care in 1999. Kushi lives in Brookline,
Massachusetts.
Alex Jack is an author, teacher, and dietary
counselor. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Cancer
Prevention Diet, Imagine a World Without Monarch Butterflies, and
The Mozart Effect. President of Amberwaves, a network devoted to
preserving whole grains from the threat of genetic engineering, he lives in
western Massachusetts with his wife and family and can be contacted at
shenwa@bcn.net.
Category: Health & Fitness - Healing
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Format: Trade Paperback, 560 pages
Pub Date: November 2004
ISBN: 0-345-43981-3
Online
excperts from the book
Excerpt
1
The Macrobiotic Way
of Eating
As the 21st century begins, the world faces an
unprecedented health and environmental crisis. New diseases and epidemics have
emerged, family and social conflicts have increased, and ecological threats have
multiplied and spread, imperiling humanity’s biological and spiritual evolution,
as well as the future of other life on this planet. At the heart of this
escalating crisis is the integrity of the world’s food supply. Genetic
engineering, cloning, food irradiation, microwave cooking, and other new
technologies are radically changing the way humans have eaten, fed their
families, and managed their health for thousands of years, violating millions of
years of natural order.
Personal and planetary health are inseparable.
World hunger and poverty cannot be divorced from eating beef, chicken, and other
animal foods that require up to ten times more grain to produce than growing
grain directly for human consumption. SARS, AIDS, mad cow disease, and other new
epidemics are connected with a widespread decline in natural immune function as
a result of the modern way of eating and overmedicalization. Violence and war
are intimately related to liver, kidney, and pancreatic imbalances that give
rise to anger, fear, and greed on a personal, family, or societal
level.
The macrobiotic way of eating is very broad and comprehensive. It
has been observed by millions of human beings for thousands of years,
contributing to health, happiness, and peace for endless generations and our
species overall biological and spiritual evolution. For the most part, it is
based on whole cereal grains (the traditional staff of life), vegetables from
land and sea, beans, and other fresh foods, with a minimum of animal products.
With the advent of the modern era about 400 years ago, this way of eating
steadily declined around the world, as meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy became the
center of the diet; white flour and white rice displaced whole-wheat flour and
brown rice; and canned and frozen foods, highly processed foods, and foods grown
with or containing chemicals largely replaced fresh, local produce grown
organically and consumed in season.
Today the modern supermarket and
natural foods store contain a cornucopia of foods from all over the world.
Bananas, mangoes, and other tropical foods are eaten by people living in the
Arctic, while dwellers in the rain forest have access to hamburgers, french
fries, and soft drinks. Watermelon, strawberries, and other perishable fruits
are consumed in winter, and steak, fried chicken, and other heavy animal foods
are consumed in summer. The typical family today rarely eats home-cooked food
together, and electric or microwave ovens are found in the vast majority of
households. The end result has been a wave of epidemic and degenerative disease,
including heart disease, cancer, AIDS, new multiple-drug-resistant strains of
tuberculosis, and other afflictions. The advent of cloning and genetic
modification of foods and medicines; the rise in organ transplants and implants,
especially from animals to humans; the spread of artificial electromagnetic
fields from computers, cell phones, and other technology; and the destruction of
the environment, including desertification, the thinning of the ozone layer, and
the onset of global warming, have contributed to a further decrease in natural
immunity to disease. The biological degeneration of human beings, reflected in a
sharp rise in infertility and the use of new artificial birth technologies, as
well as the spread of infectious, degenerative, and immune-deficiency diseases,
threatens the continued existence of our species. The modern evolutionary crisis
encompasses all of the nearly 200 conditions and disorders dealt with in this
book.
The world is now splitting into two directions. The first is
respecting nature, traditional wisdom, and natural order. The second is oriented
toward artificial intervention into natural processes. Our natural evolution on
this planet will end if the second way prevails. The present situation is
similar to that described in the story of Noah and the great flood. Unless we
awaken to the spreading chaos around us, the earth will be engulfed by a
biological catastrophe of its own making.
Our species and the planet as a
whole are in urgent need of healing. For many years, the macrobiotic community
has warned that the outer environment is a reflection of the inner environment
and that the key to the health and environmental crisis is a return to a more
natural way of life centered on a natural way of eating. Personal and planetary
health are indivisible. When one person is nourished, the whole planet benefits.
When the earth prospers, each person is energized and refreshed. Modern
macrobiotics is devoted to creating a world of universal health, happiness, and
peace in harmony with natural order for endless generations.
Despite the
lack of a leading philosophy and its practical application to every dimension of
the crisis, modern society is beginning to take positive steps to redress the
balance. First, the health revolution, as noted in the introduction, is now
spreading. This includes organic farming, the environmental movement, and the
macrobiotic community. Modern science and medicine has rediscovered the central
importance of whole grains, as reflected in the Food Guide Pyramid and other
dietary and nutritional guidelines. Second, communications networks are
elevating consciousness. Through the Internet, information on health and diet is
easily exchanged, and there is the potential to reach every home or community
directly through this new technology. Third, new alternative approaches to
health and well-being have emerged that emphasize a balanced diet, healing with
energy and vibration, and living a natural way of
life.
The Macrobiotic Diet
The macrobiotic way of eating has
been practiced widely throughout history. Each culture and civilization has
applied principles of balance to the proper selection and preparation of food
and developed a unique cuisine in harmony with its natural environment. The
macrobiotic approach is based not only on meeting optimal nutritional needs but
also on a deep understanding of the earth’s relation to the sun, moon, and other
celestial bodies; the evolution of life on the planet; ancestral tradition and
heritage; ever-changing environmental and climatic conditions; humidity,
pressure, and other atmospheric influences; local availability, affordability,
and other economic factors; natural storability and other practical
considerations; and the effects of different foods and beverages on our mind,
body, and spirit.
The macrobiotic way of eating is not a set diet that
applies rigidly to everyone, but a flexible dietary approach that differs
according to climate, environment, condition of health, sex, age, activity
level, and personal need. Macrobiotics is the collective wisdom and universal
heritage of humanity. It is not the manifestation, property, or exclusive
possession of a single era, culture, society, nation, religion, school, family,
or individual. The goal of macrobiotics is freedom—the ability to create and
realize our dream in life as part of our endless spiritual journal in the
infinite universe. Standard macrobiotic dietary practice provides almost
limitless variety and choice to prepare healthful, delicious food suited to our
unique requirements, needs, and goals. No food is prohibited in the macrobiotic
way of eating, and no food will heal all diseases. The standard macrobiotic diet
is based on a comprehensive approach that takes into account the overall balance
of energy and nutrients of food and looks at multiple causes and effects. Table
1 summarizes the major approaches to healing.
In comparison with the
modern way of eating, the standard macrobiotic way of eating has the following
general nutritional characteristics:
• More complex carbohydrates,
fewer simple sugars
• More vegetable-quality protein, less
animal-quality protein
• Less overall fat consumption, more
polyunsaturated fat, and less saturated fat
• A balance of various
naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients and less
supplementation
• Use of more organically grown, natural food and
more traditional food processing techniques and less chemically grown,
artificially produced, or chemically processed foods
• Consumption
of food primarily in whole form as much as possible and less refined, partial,
or processed food
• Greater consumption of food that is high in
natural fiber and less food that has been devitalized by
overprocessing
Dietary Guidelines
The following guidelines
represent a standard average for persons in usual good health. Those with one of
the conditions described in this book may need to limit some types of foods,
especially fish and seafood, fruit, juices, seeds and nuts, snacks, and
desserts, as well as the amount of salt, oil, or other seasoning used in
cooking, until their health improves. Please refer to the specific conditions
and disorders in Part II for dietary advice and Part III for one of three
comprehensive healing diets that can be indivi- dually tailored to your
condition and needs. Part III also includes a comprehensive list of the major
foods used in the modern macrobiotic diet in a temperate climate as well as a
list of foods that are generally avoided or minimized.
DAILY FOOD FOR
THOSE IN GOOD HEALTH
WHOLE GRAINS
The principal food is cooked
whole cereal grains, comprising from 40 to 60 percent of the daily food intake
(average 50 percent by weight). Whole grains include brown rice, whole wheat
berries, barley, millet, and rye, as well as corn, buckwheat, and other cereal
grasses cooked in a variety of styles. Short-grain or medium-grain brown rice is
the staple today in most macrobiotic homes around the world, generally
pressure-cooked or occasionally boiled, and is eaten at least once a day. It may
be cooked plain or together with about 10 to 20 percent millet, barley, whole
wheat berries, fresh corn kernels, or other grain. It may also be cooked
together with a small volume of adzuki beans, lentils, chickpeas, or other
beans. The majority of whole grains are to be eaten in whole form, and ideally
constitute the center of every meal. Occasionally, several times a week,
whole-grain products, such as cracked wheat, rolled oats, noodles, pasta,
unyeasted sourdough wheat or rye bread, and other unrefined whole-flour products
may be taken as part of this category. White flour and other highly refined and
polished grains are avoided or minimized. From time to time, organic white rice
may be taken for relaxation, enjoyment, or medicinal benefits. Whole grains
should be freshly prepared at least once a day and may be used for leftovers the
same day or the next day.
SOUP
One to 2 servings of fresh soup are
consumed each day, either a cup or bowl, making up about 5 to 10 percent of
daily food intake. The soup is frequently seasoned with miso (naturally
fermented soybean paste) or shoyu (naturally fermented soy sauce), to which
wakame (a sea vegetable) and carrots, onions, or seasonal land vegetables are
added during cooking. The taste of miso or shoyu should be mild, not too salty
or too bland. Barley miso, rice miso, or hatcho (all-soybean) miso, aged for two
to three years naturally, are recommended for regular use. A wide selection of
sweet vegetable soups, bean soups, and grain soups may also be prepared. Soup is
to be prepared with fresh ingredients each day and not be canned, packaged, or
precooked.
VEGETABLES
About 20 to 30 percent of daily food
includes fresh vegetables prepared in a variety of ways, including steaming,
boiling, and nishime-style (long simmering). Vegetables are also occasionally
sautéed, stir-fried, baked, deep-fried, or prepared tempura style. Further,
salads are boiled, pressed, or occasionally eaten fresh. The vegetables include
a wide variety of leafy green and white vegetables such as kale, collard greens,
broccoli, and watercress; round and ground vegetables such as cabbage, onions,
and fall- and winter-season squashes and pumpkins; and root vegetables such as
carrots, daikon, and burdock. Shiitake and other mushrooms are also used
occasionally. The major portion of vegetables is cooked and a minor portion is
pickled or eaten raw. When preparing root vegetables, the root and leaf portions
may be cooked together to achieve a balance of energy and nutrients. Tropical
and semitropical vegetables are best avoided, including eggplants, potatoes,
tomatoes, asparagus, spinach, sweet potatoes, yams, avocados, peppers, and
others, unless you live in a hot and humid climate. Mayonnaise and commercial
salad dressings should also be reduced or minimized. Vegetables are to be
prepared as freshly as possible and not canned, frozen, or bottled, which
reduces their energy and nutrients. As much as possible, vegetables are to be
eaten the same day they are prepared.
BEANS
A small portion, about
5 to 10 percent of daily food, consists of cooked beans or bean products. Beans
for regular use include adzukis, lentils, chickpeas, and black soybeans, while
all other beans may be used on occasion. Bean products such as tofu, tempeh, and
natto may also be used daily. Beans will keep for about 24 hours and may be
reheated or added to soups, stews, and other dishes.
SEA
VEGETABLES
A small volume of sea vegetables, about 2 percent, is taken
daily, including nori sheets, wakame, and kombu. Nori, the thin sheets used to
wrap sushi, is eaten as a condiment, while wakame is used daily in miso soup,
and kombu is frequently cooked with grains, beans, and vegetables as a seasoning
to supply minerals. Hijiki or arame may be taken as a small side dish about
twice a week, while all other sea vegetables such as dulse, sea palm, and Irish
moss are optional. Sea vegetables are very strong and after cooking will usually
keep for a day or two.
SEASONING
Naturally processed white sea
salt is used as a regular seasoning, along with miso (soybean paste) and shoyu
(naturally fermented soy sauce). Daily meals, however, should not have an overly
salty flavor, and seasonings are generally added during cooking and not at the
table. Other seasonings may be used occasionally such as umeboshi plums,
umeboshi vinegar, rice vinegar, lemon, ginger, horseradish, mirin, garlic,
mustard, black or red pepper, and orange. Naturally processed, unrefined
vegetable oil is used in cooking, especially light or dark sesame oil. Kuzu is
the principal thickener used for gravies and sauces. Commercial seasonings,
herbs, spices, and other sugary, hot, pungent, aromatic, or stimulant seasonings
are avoided or minimized.
CONDIMENTS
Condiments are placed on the
table for use, if desired, to balance the meal. Condiments for daily use include
gomashio (toasted sesame seed salt), made usually from 16 to 18 parts roasted
sesame seeds to 1 part roasted sea salt, half ground together in a small
earthenware bowl called a suribachi; roasted wakame or kombu powder, made from
baking these sea vegetables in the oven until black and crushing them in a
suribachi and sometimes adding toasted sesame seeds and storing in a small
container or jar; umeboshi plums, small salted plums that have been dried and
pickled for many months with sea salt and flavored with shiso (beefsteak)
leaves; tekka, a root vegetable combination of carrot, burdock, and lotus root
chopped finely and sautéed in sesame oil and miso for many hours; and green nori
flakes. Other condiments may be used from time to time.
PICKLES
A
small volume of homemade pickles is eaten each day to aid in digestion of grains
and vegetables. A variety of vegetables may be used to make pickles, including
daikon, red radish, turnip, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, and turnip. These are
made with bran, brine, miso, shoyu, or umeboshi and are aged from several hours
to weeks, months, and even years. Lighter pickles (pickled for a shorter time)
are recommended in spring or summer or for persons who need to reduce their salt
intake. Saltier pickles (pickled for a longer time) can be eaten during colder
weather or by those who need to strengthen their condition. Sauerkraut is a
traditional pickle and may be eaten regularly. Commercial pickles made with
spices, sugar, and vinegar are avoided or minimized.
GARNISHES
To
balance various dishes and make the meal more beautiful, garnishes may be used
frequently. These include grated fresh ginger root, chopped scallions, grated
daikon, grated rad- ish, grated horseradish, green mustard, lemon slices, orange
slices, red pepper, black pepper, and others.
BEVERAGES
Natural
water is used for drinking, cooking, and preparing teas. Spring water, well
water, or filtered water are most suitable. Bancha twig tea is the principal
beverage, while roasted barley tea, brown rice tea, and other grain-based teas
or any traditional, nonstimulant, nonaromatic beverage may be used
occasionally.
SUPPLEMENTAL FOODS FOR PEOPLE IN USUAL GOOD
HEALTH
ANIMAL FOOD
A small volume of fish or seafood may be eaten
a few times per week. White-meat fish is less fatty and oily than red-meat and
blue-skin varieties. This includes cod, haddock, flounder, trout, and many
others. It should be taken with grated daikon, lemon, or horseradish as a
garnish and plenty of fresh vegetables at the meal. Infrequently, other types of
fish, seafood, or shellfish may be taken. All other animal food is customarily
avoided in the modern macrobiotic community, including meat, poultry, eggs, and
dairy foods of all kinds.
FRUIT AND JUICE
Fruit may be taken
several times a week, preferably temperate-climate fruit such as apples, pears,
apricots, berries, or melons. It may be taken stewed or cooked, naturally dried,
or fresh in season with a pinch of sea salt. Tropical fruits such as bananas,
pineapples, mangoes, papayas, figs, dates, and kiwis are avoided or minimized.
Citrus fruits such as orange, tangerine, and grapefruit may be taken in small
volume, especially in season or in warmer weather. Juice is very concentrated
and has more expansive effects than fruit. A small volume of cider or
temperate-climate juice may be taken, preferably in season and at room
temperature or warmer.
NUTS AND SEEDS
A small volume of nuts and
seeds may be taken, about 1 cup a week. Almonds, walnuts, pecans, and other
smaller nuts are preferred over large or tropical varieties of nuts, such as
cashew, macadamia, and Brazil nuts. Sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, and other seeds
may be eaten lightly blanched or roasted as an occasional snack. Nut and seed
butters are highly concentrated and may be taken in small volume.
SNACKS
AND DESSERTS
Delicious snacks and desserts may be taken in moderate
volume two or three times a week and may include a wide array of sweet dishes
prepared with natural ingredients. Often desserts can be prepared with sweet
vegetables such as squash, pumpkin, and parsnip; fruits such as apples, berries,
or melon; chestnuts; adzuki beans; and other naturally sweet foods without a
concentrated sweetener. However, for dishes that need a strong taste, a
grain-based sweetener is recommended, including amasake (a fermented sweet rice
beverage), barley malt, or brown rice syrup. Soft snacks such as mochi, sushi,
noodles, puddings, kanten, and chest- nuts are preferred over hard baked snacks
and desserts. Cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, rice cakes, popcorn, and puffed
grains, however, may be taken in small volume. For custards, whipped toppings,
and frosting, agar-agar, tofu, tahini (roasted sesame butter), or kuzu (a white
root that is used to thicken dishes) may be used instead of eggs, cream, milk,
and other animal products. In macrobiotic households today, sugar, chocolate,
brown sugar, honey, molasses, fructose, saccharin, and other highly refined or
artificial sweeteners are strictly avoided. Maple syrup is used sparingly for
special occasions. BEVERAGES
Recommended daily beverages include bancha
twig tea, roasted brown rice tea, roasted barley tea, and other traditional
nonstimulant, nonaromatic teas. Spring water, well water, or filtered water is
used for daily drinking, cooking, or preparing teas. Occasional-use beverages
include kombu tea, umeboshi tea, mu tea, and grain coffee (made without figs,
dates, or tropical sweeteners). Carrot or other vegetable juice may be taken
several times a week. Infrequent-use beverages include green tea, soy milk,
beer, sake, and other light to moderate alcoholic beverages. Stimulants such as
coffee, decaf, black tea, and aromatic herbal teas such as peppermint, rose
hips, and chamomile are avoided or minimized. Chlorinated, fluoridated, and
other chemically treated water is avoided, as are distilled water, carbonated
and bubbling waters, soft drinks, very cold beverages, and hard
liquor.
Way of Eating
The standard way of eating provides a
complete balance of energy and nutrients. There is no need to count calories or
calculate individual nutrients. You may eat regularly 2 to 3 times a day, as
much as is comfortable, provided the proportion of each category of food is
generally observed. Thorough chewing is essential to digestion, and it is
recommended that each mouthful of food be chewed 50 times or more until it
becomes liquid in the mouth. As Gandhi wryly observed, drink your food, and chew
your liquids. Eat when you are hungry, but it is better not to overeat. Leaving
the table satisfied but not full is recommended. Similarly, drink only when
thirsty, but do not unnecessarily restrict liquid. Avoid eating for three hours
before sleeping, as this can cause stagnation in the intestines and throughout
the body, overburden the pancreas and contribute to hypoglycemia, and disturb
the kidneys and bladder.
Before and after the meal, express your
appreciation to God, the universe, or nature for the food you have received, and
reflect on the health and happiness it is dedicated to creat- ing. Appreciation
may take the form of grace, prayer, chanting, or a moment of silence. Express
your gratitude to parents, grandparents, and past generations who nourished us
and whose dream we carry on, to the plants and animals that gave their lives so
we may live, and to the farmers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and
cooks who contributed their energies to making the food available. Every day it
is also helpful to reflect on your physical, mental, and spiritual condition.
Take just a few minutes to review the events of the day, including thoughts,
feelings, and behavior. Try to connect them with your way of eating, especially
foods consumed in the last 24 hours. Soon a clear pattern will emerge, and you
will know intuitively what kind of effects different foods and beverages have on
your daily health and happiness. |
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