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in, or with any number of
ansions, yachoul..... "Welcome to the macrobiotic way where we respect food as the essence of life, including the physical and spiritual environment. We regard food as a spiritual manifestation of the universe as well as recognizing its physical value. However, the way we eat is as important as what we eat. We should treat every tiny grain, every slice of vegetable, and every seed, root, leaf, and fruit as a spiritual manifestation. We should never waste food in the process of farming, shopping, cooking and eating. UP "Before and after we eat, we should dedicate our heartfelt gratitude for the food that has come from the infinite universe, materializing in the form of a meal, and we should dedicate our endless thanks to nature and the universe, as well as to society which has made our existence possible at this moment. Further, we should dedicate our deep appreciation to the people who have prepared the meal, beginning from cultivation through transportation and processing. We should be grateful to the plants and animals who have given their lives that we may live." "While we are eating we should chew thoroughly in order to both physicalize and spiritualize what we are eating, maintaining in our mind constant self-reflection whether we are worthy to consume the meal. We should reflect on the physical and spiritual activity that shall come from this food, for the benefit of society and all people, and for the harmony with nature and the universe." "During the meal we should never leave any food on our plate or dishes. After the meal we should wash our own dishes and utensils and keep them in beautiful order with silent thanks for their efficient service in making it possible for us to enjoy the meal. Spiritual practice and understanding is inseparable from biological nourishment. By eating whole foods in a spirit of modesty and humility, and in a graceful and beautiful manner, all other aspects of life will proceed harmoniously." "When we have finished eating, we should be clearly aware that what we have shared with friends and family - eating together, drinking together - is now producing a similar quality of blood, body, thought and movement. We should extend this consciousness to every person living in our society and in our world, thinking of them all as one family upon the earth and in the universe." UP WHOLE GRAINS
"Whole Cereal Grains: the principal food of each meal is whole cereal grains,
comprising from 50 to 60 percent of the total volume of the meal. Whole grains include
brown rice, whole wheat berries, barley, millet, oats, and rye, as well as corn, buckwheat
and other botanically similar plants. From time to time, whole grain products such as
cracked wheat, oats, noodles, pasta, bread, baked goods and other flour products,are
served as part of this food. However, their energy and nutrients are substantially less
than grain consumed in whole form, which ideally constitutes the center of each
meal." UP PICKLES "A small volume of homemade pickles is eaten each day to aid in digestion of grains and vegetables. Traditionally fermented pickles are made with a variety of root and round vegetables such as Daiken, turnip, cabbage, carrots, and cauliflower are aged in sea salt, rice or wheat bran, tamari soy sauce, umeboshi plums or shiso leaves or miso." UP WATER "Spring and well water is used for drinking, preparing tea and other beverages and for general cooking. Bancha twig tea (also known as kukicha) is the most commonly served beverage, though roasted barley tea, roasted brown rice tea, and other grain based teas or traditional, nonstimulatingh herbal teas are also used frequently. Grain coffee, umeboshi tea, mu tea, dandelion tea, and other nonromantic root and herbal teas are prepared occasionally. Less frequently, green tea, fruit juice, vegetable and herbal beverages are served. The consumption of black tea, coffee, herb teas that have stimulant or aromatic effects, distilled water, soft drinks, milk and dairy beverages and hard liquor is usually limited or avoided." UP CHEWING "Food should be chewed in the mouth at least 40 times, because the saliva is a yang alkaline liquid which mainly digest and decomposes carbohydrates. In the stomach there are Gastric juices which is acid or yin, digesting and decomposing mainly fat and protein. Then the liver and gallbladder bile and Pancreatic Juices are again yang. These digestive liquids are alkaline mainly decomposing fat, protein and carbohydrates. Finally, Intestinal Juice is yin or acid digesting and decomposing all remaining fat, protein and carbohydrates. These decomposed food molecules are absorbed into the bloodstream, which is a weak yang alkaline substance." UP MEAT
"While meat quality foods are part of the traditional diet in colder and polar
regions of the world, their regular consumption in temperate and tropical climates can
have adverse effects on human health. Meat begins to decompose as soon as the animal is
killed, even with modern preservatives such as salt or with refrigeration's to retard
spoilage. Meat is harder to digest than plant foods and continues to putrefy in the
digestive tract, taking 4 to 41/2 hours to be absorbed in the intestines verse 2 to 21/2
hours for grains and vegetables. Putrefaction produces toxins and amines that accumulate
in the liver, kidneys and large intestine, destroys bacterial culture, especially those
that synthesize the Vitamin B complexes, and causes degeneration of the villi of the small
intestine where metabolized foodstuff are absorbed into the blood. Saturated fatty acids
from meat and other animal products accumulate in and around vital organs and blood
vessels often leading to cysts and tumors." UP VITAMINS
"Vitamins exist naturally in whole foods and should be consumed in whole form as
AddNewModeConstants part of the food together with other nutrients. Vitamin pills and
other nutritional supplements became popular in recent decades to offset deficiencies, and
in extreme cases deficiency diseases, caused by modern food processing. In essence, the
vitamins and minerals that are taken out of whole wheat, brown rice and other whole
unrefined grains to make white flour, white rice, and other refined foods are sold back to
the consumer in capsule form. When taken in this unnatural way as a supplement to our
regular food, vitamin pills produce a chaotic effect on the body's metabolism. For
hundreds of thousands of years humanity has taken vitamins in whole form. This practice is
respected by the macrobiotic dietary approach and is beginning to find acceptance in some
scientific quarters." UP BEANS "A small portion, about 10 percent by volume of daily food intake includes cooked beans or bean products such as tofu, tempeh and natto. These foods may be prepared individually or be cooked together with grains, vegetables, or sea vegetables as well as served in the form of soup. Though all dried and fresh beans are suitable for consumption, the smaller varieties such as azuki beans, lentils and chickpeas contain less fat and oil and are preferred for regular use." UP SOUP "One or two small bowls of soup, making about 5 to 10 percent of daily food intake, are consumed each day. The soup broth is made frequently with miso or tamari soy sauce, which are prepared from naturally fermented soybeans, sea salt, and usually grains, to which several varieties of land and sea vegetables, especially wakame or kombu, and other vegetables such as carrots, onions, cabbage, Chinese cabbage. daikon greens and roots, may be added during cooking. The taste of miso or tamari broth soup should be mild, not too salty nor too bland. Soups made with grains, beans, vegetables, and occasionally a little fish or seafood may be also be prepared frequently as part of this category." UP VEGETABLES "About 25 to 30 percent of daily intake includes fresh vegetables prepared in a variety of ways, including steaming, boiling, baking, sautéing, salads, marinades and pickles. The vegetables include a variety of root vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, burdock, and Daikin radish, ground vegetables such as onions, squash and cucumbers, and leafy vegetables such as kale, collard greens, broccoli, Daiken greens, turnip greens, mustard greens and watercress. The selection will vary with the region, season, availability, personal health, and other factors. More than two thirds of the vegetables are served cooked and up to one third may be prepared in the form of fish salad or pickles. Vegetables that historically originated in the tropics, such as tomato and potato are avoided." UP FISH "A small volume of fish or seafood may be eaten a few times per week by those in good health. White-meat fish generally contains less fat than red-meat or blue-skin varieties. Currently, salt water fish also usually contain fewer pollutants than freshwater types. To help detoxify the body from effects of fish and seafood, a small volume of grated Daiken, horseradish, fresh ginger, or mustard is usually consumed at the meal as AddNewModeConstants condiment. Other animal quality food, i including meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy food, is always avoided, with the exceptions of infrequent cases when it may be recommended temporally for medical purposes." UP SEEDS "Seeds and nuts, lightly roasted and salted with sea salt or seasoned with tamari soy sauce, may be enjoyed as occasional snacks. It is preferable not to overconsume nuts and nut berries as they are difficult to digest and high in fat." UP FRUIT "Fruit is eaten by those in usual health a few times a week, preferably cooked or naturally dried, as a snack or dessert, provided the fruit grows in the local climate zone. Raw fruit can also be consumed in moderate volume during growing season. Fruit juice is generally too concentrated for regular use, although occasional consumption in very hot weather is allowable as is cider in the autumn. Most temperate climate fruits are suitable for occasional use such as apples, pears, peaches, apricots, grapes, berries. melons, and others. Tropical fruit such as grapefruit. pineapple, mango, and others are avoided." UP DESSERT "Dessert is eaten in moderate volume two or three times a week by those in good health and may consist of cookies, pudding, cake, pie, and other sweet dishes. Naturally sweet foods such as apples, squashes, azuki beans, or dried fruit can often be used in dessert recipes without additional sweetening. However, to provide a stronger sweet taste, a natural grain-based sweetener such as rice syrup, barley malt or amazake may be used. Sugar, honey, molasses, chocolate, carob, and other sweeteners that are refined, extremely strong or of tropical origin are avoided. A delicious seaweed gelatin called kanten made with agar-agar and various cut-up fruit, nuts, or beans is very popular and served often." UP SEASONING
"Naturally processed mineral rich sea salt and traditional, nonchemicalized miso and
tamari soy sauce are used in seasoning to give a salty taste. Food should not have an
overly salty flavor, and seasoning should generally be added during cooking and not at the
table, though occasional personal adjustments may need to be made at the table in which
case a moderate amount of seasoning may be added. Other commonly used seasoning include
brown rice vinegar, sweet brown rice vinegar, umeboshi vinegar and grated gingerroot. The
frequent use of spices, herbs and other stimulate or aromatic substances is generally
avoided. For sauces, gravies, and thickenings, kuzu root powder or arrowroot flour is
preferred over other vegetable quality starches. Sliced scallions, parsley snips, nori
squares or strips, fresh grated gingerroot and other ingredients are commonly used as
garnishes to provide color, balance, taste, stimulate the appetite and facilitate
digestion." UP HOSPITAL TRIAL "In 1982, Dr. Jonathan Lieff, Chief of Psychiatry and Geriatric Services at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston and doctors at Tuffs University School of Nutrition, designed an experiment to test the effects of macrobiotic food vs. regular institutional food on long-term psychiatric and geriatric patients. The patients had been diagnosed with psychosis, dementia, bipolar disorder and depression, and some of them had been confined in the Shattuck Hospital for most of their life. IN a double-blind study in which neither the ordinary hospital staff not patients knew they were participating, macrobiotic meals designed to look and taste like regular food were introduced to two wards of patients over an eight week period. Altogether 187 food items on the macrobiotic menu were prepared, as well as chicken, coffee and butter which were difficult to simulate. -The results showed a significant decrease in manifest psychosis and irritability in the experimental group- the researchers concluded . This pilot study suggest that diet could have a real impact upon mental illness, but because of the multiple variables it is impossible to tell which variables are important. - Elimination of sugar, food preservatives, dairy products, and processed food were mentioned as possible factors as well as the introduction of whole grains and vegetables." UP PREHISTORY CULTURES "The traditional diet of humanity consist of whole grains and other foods of primarily vegetable quality rather than meat and other animal food as popularly believed. Recent investigations into the dietary habits of prehistory peoples and their primate predecessors suggest that heavy meat eating by modern affluent societies may be exceeding the biological capacities evolution built into the human body. The result may be a host of diet related health problems, such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and some cancers. The studies challenge the notion that human beings evolved as aggressive hunting animals who depended primarily upon meat for survival. The new view - coming from findings in such fields as archaeology, anthropology, primatology and comparative anatomy - instead portrays early humans and their forebears more as herbivores than carnivores. According to these studies, the prehistoric table for at least the last million and a half years was probably set with three times more plant than animal foods, the reverse of what average Americans currently eat." UP WORLD HUNGER "In 1971, Frances Moore Lappe compiled information showing that there was enough food to end world hunger but 50 to 90 percent of the world's grain was fed to livestock rather than people. To get one pound of beef, it takes 18 pounds of grains and soybeans; pork, 6 pounds; turkey, 4 pounds; eggs, 3 pounds; chicken, 3 pounds. Meanwhile, pounds of usable protein per acre were tabulated as follows: 356 pounds from soybeans; 260 pounds from rice; 211 pounds from corn; 192 pounds from other legumes; 138 pounds from wheat; 82 pounds from milk; 75 pounds from beef." UP BASEBALL "In 1983 a Japanese professional baseball team climbed from last place to first place by switching to a macrobiotic diet. After taking over the last place Seibu Lions in October, 1981, as manager, Tatsuro Hirooka initiated a dietary experiment. Restricting the players intake of meat, sugar and white rice, he instructed them to eat brown rice, tofu, vegetables and soybean products. He told the men that animal food increases an athlete's susceptibility to injuries. Conversely, natural foods, they were told, protect the body from sprains and dislocations and keep the mind clear and focused. During the 1982 season, the Lions were ridiculed by a major meat company. However, the Lions defeated the Ham-Fighters for the Pacific League crown and continued to the Japan World Series and beat Chunichi Dragons. The Lions won the championship again the following year as well." UP BABOONS "Dr. William Castelli, director of the Framington Heart study, the nation's oldest and largest cardiovascular research project, and a participant in research on macrobiotic people at Harvard Medical School, noted that macrobiotic people have healthier hearts and circulatory systems than conditioned athletes. - The macrobiotic people we studied, incidentally, had a (total cholesterol) ratio of 2.5. Boston marathon runners were at 3.4. These ratios at which rarely, if ever, see coronary disease. - DR Castelli also contrasted the healthfulness of the macrobiotic food program as Boston's Shattuck Hospital with ordinary food. Dr. Robert Wissler, the professor and chairman of the Department of Pathology of the University of Chicago fed usual house diet of the Billings Hospital to his baboons and they all lost their legs from atherosclerosis. - How our patients are supposed to get well from this food is beyond my imagination." UP BLOOD VALUES "In 1983 researches at the Academic Hospital of the Ghent University in Belgium revealed the blood values of twenty men working a Lima Natural Foods Factory who had an average age of thirty-six and had been macrobiotic for about eight years. According to the tests, all the men were very healthy. Their blood pressure and body weights were low, their hormone levels favorable, and they had normal proteins, vitamins and minerals. Overall, however, their cholesterol values were superior to ordinary people. JP Deslypere, MD, one of the researchers, concluded, - In the field of cardiovascular and cancer risk factors this kind of blood is very favorable. It's ideal, we couldn't do better, that's what we're dreaming of. It's really fantastic, like children, whose blood vessels are still completely open and whole. This is a very important matter, deserving our full attention." UP SOLANACEOUS PLANTS "The regular consumption of tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and other solanaceous plants that originated in South America or other tropical regions of the world is believed to be a contributing factor in the loss of natural immunity in temperate climates and may lead to a wide range of sickness ranging from colds, flu to skin rashes and itches, loss of sexual vitality, polio and others. DR Norman Children, a professor of horticulture at Cook College in New Jersey who had worked with solnaceous plants all his life, reported that regular consumption of tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant is a primary cause of arthritis. He noted that in arthritic patients symptoms of this potentially crippling disease go away usually in a period of several weeks to several months when they stop eating these food." UP HIPPOCRATES "In the Fifth Century BC, Hippocrates, the father of western medicine, taught a natural healing method emphasizing environmental and dietary factors. he especially recommended barley and wheat and supplemented dietary adjustments with simple, safe compresses made of grains, vegetables and herbs which could be prepared at home. - I know too that the body is affected differently by bread according to the manner in which it is prepared. It differs according as it is made from pure flour or meal with bran, whether it is prepared from winnowed or unwinnowed wheat. whether it is mixed with water or little, whether well mixed or poorly mixed, over baked or under baked, and countless other points besides. The same is true of the preparation of barley meal. The influence of each person is considered and each has a totally different effect from another. How can anyone who has not considered such matters and come to understand them possibly know anything of the diseases that afflict mankind? Each one of the substances of a man's diet acts upon his body and changes it in some way and upon these changes his whole life depends." UP CANCER "In a 1994 experiment at the Harvard School of Public Health, laboratory animals fed a control diet with 5 percent Kombo, a brown sea vegetable, developed induced mammary cancer later than animals not fed seaweed. - Seaweed has shown consistent antitumor activity in several in vivo animal test - the researchers concluded. - In extrapolating these results to the Japanese population, seaweed may be an important factor in explaining the low rates of certain cancers in Japan. Breast cancer shows a 3-fold-lower rate among premenopausal Japanese women and a 9-fold-lower rate among postmenopausal Japanese women in Japan than reported for women in the United States. Since low levels of exposure to some toxins substances have been shown to be carcinogenic, then it may be that low levels of daily intake of food with antitumor properties may reduce cancer incidences." UP BLOOD PRESSURE "In 1974 Harvard Medical School researches reported a direct relation between blood pressure levels and articles of diet, especially the consumption of animal food. From November 1972 through February 1973, 210 men and women from many different backgrounds eating macrobiotically in Boston study houses were subjected to a wide range of medical tests. Overall, the researchers found that men had a mean systolic blood pressure of 109.7 mm hg and diastolic pressures of 60.9. The women had slightly lower reading, 100.9 and 58.2 respectively. Both of these measurements fell well within the normal blood pressure category and approached the systolic level of 100 under which Framingham Heart Study researchers theorized there would develop virtually no coronary heart disease. Meanwhile, those in the group who ate fish and seafood regularly as a supplement to grains and vegetables had significantly higher pressure than those who ate no animal food. The addition of sea salt at the table was not associated with changes in blood pressure in those examined, and those individuals who abstained from coffee or cigarettes smoking has lower systolic but not diastolic pressures. The unexpectedly low blood pressures of the macrobiotic group was considered all the more remarkable because of the relatively short time the participants in the study had been on the new diet." UP NATURE "Christopher W Huffelanf, MD., an 18th Century macrobiotic philosopher, professor of medicine, and physicians to Goethe, recommended a simple grain and vegetable diet, warned of the health hazards of meat and sugar, and promoted breastfeeding, exercise and self-healing. - The more a man follows Nature, and is obedient to her laws, the longer HE/SHE will live; the further they deviate from these the shorter will be his existence. The healing power of nature must, above all things, be supported from the beginning, because it is the principal means which lies in ourselves for rendering the causes of disease ineffectual. This may be done chiefly by not accustoming the body to first too much to artificial assistance. Otherwise Nature will be so used that she will depend on foreign aid, and the length lose altogether the power of assisting herself." UP INFECTIONS "In 1913, Yukikazu Sakaranazawa, later known as George Ohsawa, cured himself of terminal tuberculosis after reading a book on health and diet by Sagen Ishizuka, the founder of macrobiotics in Japan. Over the next fifty years, Ohsawa devoted his life to spreading macrobiotics and guided thousands of people to health and happiness. Among the many medical and scientific experiments he conducted, in 1941 he oversaw the treatment of 23 sick and wounded soldiers at a military recuperation center in Tokyo. All medications were stopped, and all soldiers were fed brown rice and vegetables. Wounds and infections were treated with salt water only. After one month, all the men had made progress physically and their moral was higher." UP PROCESSED FOODS "For many years dental surgeon Weston Price performed field work among the Indians of North America, the Eskimo, the Polynesians and Australian Aborigines and reported no trace of cancer, heart disease and other degenerative illnesses among those cultures and communities following traditional ways of eating. He noted that disease of modern civilization appeared only following the introduction of white flour, white rice, sugar, canned for and other articles of the modern diet." UP W.W.II "During World War II, rates of cancer, heart disease, and other degenerative illnesses declined as a result of wartime restrictions on articles in the modern diet. For example, In England and Wales, breast cancer mortality fell as consumption of sugar, meat and fat declined and consumption of grains and vegetables increased. By 1954 consumption of these foodstuff returned to prewar levels, and breast cancer levels eventually climbed to previous levels." UP HEALTHY CULTURE "From 1904 to 1911 British surgeon Robert McCarrison traveled in Hunsa, a remote Himalayan kingdom on the then Northwest Territory of India. There he was astonished to discover a completely healthy culture in which the infectious and degenerative diseases of modern civilization, including colonial India, were unknown. - I never saw a case of asthenic dyspepsia, of gastric or duodenal ulcer, of appendicitis, of mucous colitis, or of cancer, - he informed his medical colleagues. McCarrison theorized that the unusual health and longevity of the Hunza people were due primarily to their diet of whole-wheat chapatis, barley., and maize, supplemented of leafy green vegetables, beans and legumes, apricots, and a small amount of animal food. The Hunza did not eat refined white rice, sugar, black tea, or spices as did most of the India population." UP STOMACH DISORDER
"In 1558 Venetian born architect and counselor Louis Cornaro wrote as essay on health
and diet describing how he suffered from a terminal stomach disorder in middle age which
he overcame by adopting a grain-based diet and avoiding certain kinds of animal food, raw
salads, fruit, pastries and sweets. Stating that we cannot partake of a -more natural
food- than plain dark bread. Cornaro lived to age 102 and his book became one of the most
influential books on health and diet during the Renaissance." UP "All food items contain both Yin And Yang -Ki-
forces or properties. Some foods contain more Yin (expanding) than Yang: likewise, some
foods contain more Yang (contracting) than Yin. When a person chooses the macrobiotic way
of life, and diet, they consume food only from the Moderate Yin Yang Food Category, as
shown above. We avoid consumption of all foods that are extreme Yin or extreme Yang. Take
a few minutes to scroll through each category listed above. Click on the Food Category
buttons to the left to read and learn more about food types that are edible and why or why
not we should eat them. The RULE to follow is: 50 to 60% or your daily diet should consist
of Whole Grains. 25% should be vegetables. 5 to 10% should be bean and bean by-products.
And 5 to 10% should be soups. You may supplement this with: occasional fish and seafood,
seasonal fruits, nuts and seeds, natural nonromantic and nonstimulating beverages, and
natural processed seasonings and condiments." "As a species we eat both visible food - minerals, water, vegetables, animals, and air, as well as invisible food - vibrations, waves, radiation and varies waves. We call the former physical food and the latter spiritual food. Physical food we ingest primarily through the digestive and respiratory systems on the front of surface of its body, while spiritual food is ingested primary through the nervous system and the network of meridians on the back or deep inside of the body. We eat physical food only at intervals, but we eat spiritual food continuously. Physical food is taken in limited volume, but spiritual food is taken without limit. Between physical food and spiritual food, or material food and nonmaterial food, however, there is an antagonistic and complementary relationship in the quality and volume consumed. First, the more material food we eat, the less nonmaterial food we eat. The less material food we eat, the more spiritual food we eat. Second, the more we eat animal quality food, the more long waves and less short waves we take in from our environment. The consumption of animal food tends to limit our perception to the immediate environment and inhibit our awareness and receptivity to the unlimited scope of infinite time and space. Third, the more we eat vegetable quality material food, the more short waves and less long waves we receive. The consumption of vegetable quality food tends to broaden our mental and spiritual view and lessen our concern for small matters of the relative world." UP
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& Healthy Living
